What is the business model behind e-health? A pattern-based approach to sustainable profit

Inspired by the vast opportunities that today's technologies provide and driven by the need to both cut the costs and increase the quality of health services delivery, many e-health initiatives and ventures were launched in the last couple of years. However, a large number of these projects failed. They were either not able to articulate a clear value proposition to patients or lacked a sustainable profit generation formula. It seems to be difficult to understand the business logic behind e-health services in today's complex environment. This study aims to analyze and explain the business logic of e- health service provisions. Based on a design pattern-based approach, three distinct examples are illustrated as archetypical design solutions of successful business models: freemium, two-sided market, and crowd-based e-health. Explanations of the different, isolated business logics help to foster the understanding of the essence of value creation and revenue flows. These findings provide an instrument for e-health marketers to develop more sustainable business models. They facilitate further research in innovation and experimentation with different business model designs.