Business Model Changes Through Collaborative Dynamic Capabilities Through Insurance Company Use of IT (InsurTech) in the Medical and Health Sectors

Abstract

In recent years, the use of information technology (IT) in the medical and healthcare sectors has been rising rapidly. Variously called “e-health,” “digital health (care),” “smart health (care),” and so forth, these concepts differ slightly conceptually, but are all having an impact on the health insurance industry. In e-health, described as “a mechanism for collecting information from organizations involved with medical and healthcare information including hospitals, and making it available to individuals and organizations that require it,” (Nikkei Business Online Edition 2010, p. 167) health insurance companies are positioned as one type of organization involved in medical and healthcare information that collect healthcare information from citizens and use healthcare information acquired from other organizations. In digital health, described as “represented by digitalization of healthcare and nursing systems,” (Japan Association of Corporate Executives 2015, p. 1) the expansion of private health insurance in conjunction with a review of the scope of application of health insurance systems is anticipated as a future issue. In addition, regarding smart healthcare, described as “approaches to link systems and services to acquire physiological data from people and process it through a network,” (IoT News) promotion of the penetration of private health insurance products interlocked with individuals’ health can be seen targeted in related Japanese industries (Next-Generation Healthcare Industry Council 2016, p. 16).

Therefore, this chapter organizes trends in the use of IT by insurance companies in the medical and healthcare sectors, and discusses two main points in that regard. First is the influence on insurance business models, and second are theoretical considerations from the perspective of collaborative dynamic capabilities.