606 - Consumer Engagement Done Right: Designing Digital Health Experiences With Consumers

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Shelley Thomson, Co-Founder and Director of the Patient Experience Agency and host of the Consumer Health Partnerships podcast.

They explore what genuine consumer engagement looks like in healthcare and digital health, why it is often missing, and how organisations can move beyond basic feedback towards meaningful, ongoing partnerships with patients and consumers.

The conversation unpacks the gap between how healthcare is designed and how it is actually experienced, highlighting how patients move across multiple services and touchpoints while systems often remain siloed.

Peter and Shelley discuss why many digital health solutions still miss the mark by focusing on workflows and technology rather than lived experience, and why honest, open feedback is both essential and difficult to capture in practice.

They also examine the difference between consultative feedback and true collaboration, and why engagement must be continuous rather than treated as a one-off activity.

This episode offers a grounded look at how healthcare organisations can build consumer engagement as a core capability, creating more connected, effective care that better reflects what matters most to the people it serves.

Key Takeaways

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Consumer engagement is about genuine partnership, not just surveys or one-off feedback.

🧭 Building organisational capability is needed—consumer engagement is an ongoing practice, not an add-on.

🌏 Digital health solutions often focus on workflows or tech and miss the lived experience of patients.

🔑 Honest feedback requires safe environments for open conversations with all stakeholders.

🗺️ Patient journey mapping helps identify real issues that sit between services, not just within them.

Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction

01:12 - Shelley Thomson’s background & role

02:21 - Defining consumer engagement

04:02 - Why it’s often missing

06:16 - Measuring what “good” engagement is

09:30 - Recruiting the right people

13:12 - Common challenges in engagement

18:05 - How to start: practical strategies

19:59 - Real-world example: dementia journey

22:35 - About Consumer Health Partnerships podcast

Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.

If you’re enjoying the show and want access to exclusive healthtech discussions, meetups, and member-only content, you can learn more about becoming a THT+ Solo Member here: talkinghealth.tech/solo_shownotes.

And if this episode was useful, leaving a review or sharing it with someone in the industry always helps.

Mentioned in this episode:

THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit

Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.

THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit

Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.

THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit

Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.