Key takeaways

• Independent university-led research has validated that consistent use of dacadoo’s Digital Health Engagement (DHEP) can achieve a ∼5% reduction in basic healthcare costs.

• The cost savings are achieved through frequent, consistent user interaction with the platform, highlighting the power of personalized, habit-forming digital design.

• The platform increases engagement with mental health services while stabilizing overall healthcare costs, pointing to a successful early intervention model.

• DHEP offers a proven, scalable, and personalized solution for insurers and providers looking to implement a strategy of proactive, value-based care for their communities.

The compounding pressures on modern healthcare

Since 2019, healthcare systems worldwide have faced mounting financial strain. According to the World Health Organization’s 2024 Global Health Expenditure Report, global health spending reached USD 9.8 trillion in 2022, equivalent to 9.9% of global GDP. Yet, after a period of accelerated investment during the pandemic, many governments have since reduced the share of national budgets allocated to health, leading to tighter operating margins for both payers and providers.

In other words, while spending levels remain historically high, the efficiency and sustainability of that spending are declining. Healthcare systems are being asked to deliver more with less while simultaneously contending with demographic shifts, chronic disease burdens, and growing mental health needs.

Adding fuel to this economic fire are several compounding factors:

Rising labor costs: Wages for clinical staff continue to climb due to severe shortages of nurses and physicians. With healthcare labor costs outpacing inflation in many countries, providers face persistent margin pressure and reduced financial flexibility.

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and chronic care: Chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity now account for the majority of global healthcare spending. Managing these long-term conditions demands significant, sustained investment in care and resources.

Operational and supply cost inflation: Inflationary pressures are driving up the prices of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and essential supplies. This results in higher operational costs for providers and rising insurance premiums for consumers.

The mental health challenge: Mental health needs have surged globally, with millions of people requiring treatment or ongoing support. Untreated behavioral health issues often escalate into chronic diseases and social instability, amplifying the cost burden on public and private health systems alike.

Lifespan vs. health span: Perhaps the most structural threat to the “diagnose and treat” model is the growing gap between how long we live and how long we live in good health. Populations are aging, but many of those added years are spent managing multiple chronic conditions. Extending health span—not just lifespan—has become a critical priority for policymakers, payers, and providers seeking to ensure both affordability and quality of life.

Digital engagement: Delivering a proven 5% healthcare cost reduction

The claims that digital health platforms deliver concrete cost savings aren’t just sales slogans. dacadoo’s DHEP has proven its impact through independent, peer-reviewed research, providing clear evidence that engagement technology can directly lower claims and healthcare use.

A study led by the University of Groningen investigated the impact of dacadoo’s DHEP on sample group of 47,874 people. The results were profound.

Significant cost reduction in healthcare: The platform delivered a 4.9% reduction in basic healthcare costs for active users in the first year, with a reduction of 5.3% in the second year. This saving is tied to a lower frequency of claims and overall service use, which also eased the healthcare system’s burden.

Frequency trumps intensity: A key insight confirmed that higher app use frequency was more influential in achieving cost savings and health improvements than the intensity of individual use. This underlines the digital health principle that consistent, personalized interaction drives lasting behavioral change.

Mental health supported without cost burden: The study also observed an increased use of mental health services among users without causing a rise in overall healthcare expenses. This suggests the platform successfully encouraged early mental health intervention, preventing escalation to more expensive care.

Why Digital Health Engagement works

The mechanics of dacadoo’s DHEP combining AI, behavioral science, and gamification are designed to align with the strategic needs of modern healthcare systems.

Prevention lowers claims and healthcare use

The Risk Engine and dynamic Health Score that serve at the heart of dacadoo’s DHEP quantify an individual’s health status based on body, mind, and lifestyle. This actionable data inspires users to adopt healthier habits, addressing risk factors before they translate into costly claims. Encouraging the small, frequent actions that the University of Groningen study showed were so effective, the platform significantly reduces the frequency and severity of future health events.

Supports the stretched workforce

Our DHEP is an always-on digital coach that allows users to manage their own wellness. Handling low-acuity support and general questions digitally, the platform frees up clinical staff time. This allows the healthcare system to focus its limited human resources on high-need, complex patient cases, making the entire workforce more efficient.

Promotes mental well-being and healthier daily habits

dacadoo’s DHEP creates an engaging user experience using gamification and lifestyle coaching to drive consistent behavioral change. Importantly, the platform includes dedicated support for mental well-being. Making the management of stress a rewarding and habitual part of a user’s daily routine, our DHEP not only improves physical health but proactively addresses mental health needs.

Extends health span alongside lifespan

The objective of modern healthcare isn’t just to extend life, but to extend the quality of it. By cultivating long-term, positive lifestyle changes, our DHEP helps to compress the period of morbidity, effectively extending the health span alongside the lifespan.

This long-term prevention strategy—validated by the platform’s high engagement and retention rates (7x higher retention than the industry average)—is the key to making healthcare fundamentally more affordable and effective for an aging global population.

Broader implications for a sustainable future

The success of Digital Health Engagement extends beyond an individual’s health improvements; it creates systemic benefits that directly address the core financial and operational challenges facing insurers and providers.

Better ROI in healthcare spending: For insurers, the proven cost reduction of ∼5% transforms digital health spending into a meaningful investment. With dacadoo reducing the frequency of hospital visits and claims, our DHEP provides a clear and measurable financial return.

A scalable model for population health: dacadoo’s DHEP offers an eminently scalable model for population health. It can be deployed in a way that suits any enterprise architecture, including:

• API Integration: Embedding the core engine and Health Score into your existing mobile apps.
• White Label solution: Launching a branded, ready-to-use app quickly and efficiently.
• Turnkey SaaS platform: Using it as a complete, out-of-the-box solution.

This flexibility allows organizations to rapidly deliver highly personalized, preventative care to millions of people, moving the health needle for entire populations without the vast investment needed in traditional care models.

Data-driven personalization & engagement: The platform generates rich, real-time data from user activity and its proprietary Health Score. This data moves beyond simple claims history to provide deep insight into a user’s actual lifestyle and risk factors. This data-driven personalization and engagement allow insurers to offer highly relevant product offerings, target specific risk groups with prompt interventions, and inspire loyalty through deeper, more personalized relationships. In short, it’s the key to value-based care.

Next steps

As profound an impact as dacadoo’s DHEP can have on patient health, medical costs, and industry efficiency, the full insights and implications of the technology lie well outside the remit of a blog post.

To gain a more complete understanding of the real-world capabilities of dacadoo’s DHEP, we invite you to download our White Paper. Whether you’re an insurer, provider, or consultant, the findings of the independent study into our DHEP build a solid case for its implementation.