February 4, 2025

From Metrics to Meaning: A Blueprint for Evaluating Digital Health Products through Data Storytelling

By Neel Majumder, Senior Leader, Digital Health Analytics & Evaluation, PHSA

The Problem with Dashboard Overload

As a digital health product leader, have you ever been bombarded with dashboards full of metrics—only to find yourself struggling to extract real meaning from them? The latest visualization tools, sophisticated reporting systems, and endless KPI trackers may look impressive, but without the right context, they often feel pointless. I know this challenge all too well—because I’ve lived it.

While leading the digital health product analytics team at Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), my team and I faced the same frustration. We had access to a wealth of data on virtual health adoption across British Columbia, yet our reports weren’t driving real decisions. The missing piece? Data storytelling. We realized that raw numbers alone weren’t enough—we needed narratives that connected the dots between metrics and real-world healthcare impact.

Our journey toward integrating data storytelling into digital health product evaluation is still evolving, but we’ve learned valuable lessons along the way. In this blog, I’ll share a blueprint for using data storytelling to gain meaningful insights into digital health products—helping leaders move beyond dashboard overload and towards data-driven decisions that improve healthcare.


Our 4-Step Blueprint for Data Storytelling in Digital Health Evaluation

At Provincial Virtual Health (PVH), we transitioned from data-heavy reports to structured storytelling, helping decision-makers move beyond metrics and into action.
Here’s how we applied this approach to evaluate BC Virtual Visit (BCVV), which facilitated over 3 million virtual health visits across British Columbia.


Step 1: Frame the Right Evaluation Questions

Most product evaluations start with surface-level questions: How many patients used the platform? How many appointments were completed?

But to truly measure impact, we needed to dig deeper:

  • Who is using virtual visits the most?
  • Are there disparities between urban and rural adoption?
  • Has the service reduced ER visits and wait times?

By structuring our evaluation around real-world challenges, we moved beyond adoption metrics and towards insights that helped optimize virtual care delivery.

👉 Key Insight: Usage data alone is meaningless unless it’s linked to patient access, clinical efficiency, and health outcomes.


Step 2: Build a Narrative, Not Just a Report

Data without context is noise. Instead of presenting fragmented statistics, we structured our evaluation into a clear story arc:

📌 The Challenge: Virtual care was essential during the pandemic but was it equitable and effective?
📌 The Data: Virtual visits surged, but certain patient groups had lower adoption rates.
📌 The Impact: In remote regions, virtual care improved access, yet some populations still faced digital barriers.

📌 Next Steps: We needed targeted outreach and policy adjustments to ensure equitable adoption.

This approach turned raw numbers into an actionable strategy, helping leadership prioritize future investments.

👉 Key Insight: Structuring data into a story makes it easier for stakeholders to understand impact and make informed decisions.


Step 3: Use Visuals That Drive Action

Dashboards should clarify, not overwhelm. Instead of dumping multiple charts into a report, we used visuals that highlighted key takeaways:

Trend lines to show long-term adoption patterns.

Before-and-after comparisons to measure impact on ER visits.

Heat maps to visualize gaps in access by geography.

For BC Virtual Visit, these visuals helped identify rural communities with lower adoption rates, leading to targeted awareness campaigns.

👉 Key Insight: The right visual should immediately answer a question, not raise more of them.


Step 4: Drive Decisions, Not Just Reports

A good data story doesn’t just inform—it influences action.

Instead of presenting numbers and leaving stakeholders to interpret them, we made clear, data-driven recommendations:

  • Expand telehealth training for seniors to increase adoption.
  • Integrate virtual visits into chronic disease management for long-term impact.
  • Adjust funding models to improve accessibility for underserved populations.

These insights shaped future policy and funding decisions, ensuring virtual health investments led to real patient benefits.

👉 Key Insight: End every data story with a call to action—what should happen next?


Final Thoughts: Moving from Data to Decisions

At PVH, our shift from static dashboards to data storytelling transformed the way digital health solutions were evaluated and scaled. The impact was tangible:

Increased adoption of virtual care insights by stakeholders.

More evidence-based decision-making for virtual health investments.

Stronger alignment with provincial health priorities.

For any digital health organization, adopting data storytelling isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a critical tool for ensuring that technology investments lead to real-world impact.

How to Get Started

🔹 Evaluate your dashboards—where is storytelling missing?

🔹 Shift from “how many?” to “so what?” in evaluation questions.

🔹 Use structured narratives to connect data with impact.

🔹 Simplify visuals to highlight key takeaways.

🔹 End every analysis with clear, actionable recommendations.

By embracing data storytelling, we can move beyond dashboard fatigue and ensure every digital health product is guided by meaningful, evidence-based insights.

Would love to hear your thoughts—how are you using data storytelling in your digital health evaluations? Find me on LinkedIn