The rise and fall, and rise and fall again, of virtual care
Many years ago, before virtual primary care was even a twinkle in most eyes, I told a telemedicine vendor that their solution wasn’t innovative. When they objected, I pointed out that while there was plenty of room to innovate in the virtual care space, their product was one of many similar solutions in the market.
Since then, a wave of solutions have come to market that have found different and often truly innovative ways to deliver care. Solutions focused on specific demographic groups, or on specific conditions, promised to make healthcare more personalized, tailored and convenient. That looked like progress – but then suddenly there was a unique offering for everyone and every condition. The problem is that when everything is “unique”, nothing is. Post-COVID, market expansion brought on by record funding, and born of pandemic-driven necessity, has led us to where we are today – to another saturated, undifferentiated market.
The virtual care market continues to be nothing short of turbulent, with major retailers entering then abruptly exiting the space (Walmart, Walgreens); long-time darlings of the space reporting challenging results to wall street (Teladoc); and continued M&A activity (Amazon/One Medical). Health tech funding levels have fallen from the high of 2021. But despite all of this turbulence, virtual care isn’t going anywhere.
Our point of view – that virtual care is just “care” – continues to prove itself. While it may seem as if members have no shortage of healthcare access points, access continues to be a problem, especially in rural areas and for disadvantaged populations. This means that employers must think about how to design their benefits ecosystem to address unique needs in their populations, while optimizing the delivery of care and the solutions they provide. Care that is delivered virtually can greatly enhance access, reducing challenges for members, and disparities across member populations.
In our view, it’s all about the user experience. As consumers we demand a great user experience from the brands we use every day – it should be no different with benefits. How do I take advantage of everything my employer offers? How do I avoid frustration when dealing with an increasingly complicated healthcare system? As an employer today, in addition to monitoring the programs you provide for performance and outcomes, you need to understand how your members interact with the healthcare system and receive the care they need, virtual or otherwise. How do you get employees to take advantage of the benefits you’ve invested in? How do you ensure that quality care is delivered? And how do you avoid confusing employees with so many options that they make inefficient use of benefits?
Virtual care providers that successfully prioritize the user experience, (while also meeting the administrative demands of employer plan sponsors) will ultimately win the market. As we all know, healthcare is complex – but this complexity can be reduced (along with cost) if members effectively use the supports that are provided along the way. Despite the turbulence we’ve seen recently, virtual care isn’t going away. In fact, as the market corrects for the recent over-saturation of undifferentiated offerings, it should cut out some of the noise for plan sponsors as they make decisions about virtual care vendors and solutions.
