**What Is Digital Health?

(And How It Shows Up in My Everyday Life)**

Simply Flava – Health & Wellness Thursday

Let me break something down for you.

We hear these big, shiny words tossed around in healthcare — digital health, innovation, modernization — and it all sounds like something happening somewhere far away in a boardroom. But let me tell you the truth from someone who works right inside the system every single day:

Digital health is not “the future.”

It’s right now — and it’s showing up in our clinics whether we’re ready or not.

And yes, it’s shaking things up.

So what is digital health? Really?

Digital health is every piece of technology that’s now woven into how people get care:

Telehealth visits

MyChart messaging

Smart devices that send readings to your doctor

Electronic records

Digital faxes

Automated phone systems

Virtual scheduling

Scanning and indexing

Wearables tracking your heart rate and sleep

AI tools that support care teams

It’s everything that used to be done by hand…

now happening through screens, apps, tablets, or remote systems.

Sounds convenient, right?

Well… yes and no.

Let me paint a picture from my world.

A patient checks in through a kiosk.

Their records come through a digital fax machine.

A referral shows up in an inbox.

Messages are flying through MyChart.

Doctors want scans uploaded.

Insurance forms arrive electronically.

Charts need updating.

Phone systems are reconfigured.

Tasks once handled by an entire department…are now pushed down to the front desk to “absorb.”

Welcome to digital health — the real version.

It’s not just apps and fancy tech.

It’s the shift in who does the work and how fast everything moves.

And while patients feel the convenience…the healthcare workers feel the weight of the transition.

Digital health can be a blessing… when it works.

It helps patients:

Get care without traveling

See their results faster

Communicate directly with their team

Track their health in real time

Stay engaged with their wellness

That part is beautiful.

That part matters.

That part saves lives.

But behind the scenes? It’s an adjustment.

Let me be real — the transition is not smooth.

A lot of tasks are moving around.

Departments are changing.

Some are being eliminated.

Phone systems switch up.

Scanning responsibilities shift.

Things we never used to touch are suddenly ours to manage.

And when nobody explains the “why,”

you feel the stress before you ever hear the story.

Digital health is not just technology.

It’s transformation.

And transformation always comes with growing pains.

So why am I sharing this?

Because everyone should understand what digital health actually means:

It’s not about replacing people.

It’s about changing how care is delivered.

And if we’re going to move forward in this new world, patients and staff need clarity — not chaos.

Support — not silence.

Communication — not surprises.

Digital health is powerful.

But only when people are trained, informed, and supported.

Here’s the truth from me to you:

We are all learning this together.

Patients. Providers. Support staff. Everyone.

And the more we understand digital health, the better we can navigate it — with less stress and more grace.

This is the new chapter of healthcare.

And I’m living it, working it, and learning from it every single day.

Welcome to the digital health era.

Let’s walk through it… one real story at a time.