Providers want and need digital health and technology solutions, but they have a tough time evaluating potential partners. Digital and technology leaders at these organizations are overwhelmed with hundreds of emails and cold calls a day from different vendors pitching potential solutions. And initial conversations with vendors aren’t much better, largely because vendors and providers have different views on which problems to solve and how to solve them.

To understand how to improve these interactions, we interviewed several digital health and technology leaders at provider organizations. We aimed to uncover how vendors could enhance their value propositions to better align with the needs of providers. A value proposition is a statement that clearly articulates why a customer would choose one product or service over another, focusing on the specific advantages the product or service provides.

A recurring theme emerged from our discussions: Communication between providers and vendors about value is fraught with difficulties. This issue leads to misaligned expectations and unrecognized value, posing a significant barrier to successful partnerships. Here are the three breakdowns in communication that came up in our conversations.