Telehealth saw tremendous growth in 2020 and a decline in 2021. Why are consumers stepping off the telehealth throttle, and what features are they looking for moving forward?

Takeaways

To fellow bookworms

• As of this recording, Joe Public 2030 is officially available for pre-order. Backed by more than 250 resource citations and input from 22 industry experts, including health system CEOs, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and physicians, Joe Public 2030, makes five game-changing predictions about the future of health engagement. 
• What are our predictions, and how will your organization be impacted? Order your copy of Joe Public 2030 for a deep dive into the potential future of consumer health engagement. 
• A bookworm and avid learner, Stephanie Wierwille finished 95 books in 2021. Her recommendation for other bookworms looking to read more? Carry multiple formats of books at all times – you’d be surprised at how often you can pull out a book or plug in your earbuds in a day.

New & noteworthy

Here comes 23andMe

• DNA testing company 23andMe took its first drug to clinical trial, using clinical insights derived from saliva test DNA results from consumers.
• This news, coupled with 23andMe’s recent acquisition of telehealth platform, Lemonaid Health, indicates the newly-public company’s intentions to grow beyond DNA testing and into personalized medicine.

That no good, very bad word: COVID-19

• Just when we thought we were out of the hot water, COVID-19 surges have forced hospitals to postpone elective surgeries … again.
• For hospitals and health systems, pausing elective surgeries means pausing critical revenue streams while patients’ untreated symptoms often worsen.
• Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 seem to be plateauing in major metropolitan markets.

The advertising market, party of three

• Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon are projected to account for 50% of the $1 trillion ad market by 2025, including non-digital advertising.
• If you’re a small business, you’re probably running digital ads, which means that your reliance on these three companies is greater than that of a big brand. 

ICYMI: Advocate Aurora at J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference

• In addition to being a non-profit hospital system, Advocate Aurora is moving to become a health-related company and gave a rundown of its latest moves to do so.
• This year, the system will continue to invest in “become[ing] more evolved in healthcare beyond just hospitals and doctors,” Advocate Aurora CEO Jim Skogsbergh said.
• Advocate Aurora detailed how it is buying stakes in innovative consumer health tools. This investment includes a 20% stake in the telenutrition business FoodSmart and the complete acquisition of the home care and wellness company Senior Helpers. The system also bought a 17% stake in the digital and analytics platform Xealth.

The latest trends in telehealth

Virtual care on the decline

• Virtual care, which boomed during 2020, has reportedly experienced a significant decline in consumer usage in 2021.
• It would be interesting to know if this decline results from lower demand for virtual care or lower supply. Do consumers no longer want virtual care, or are their health systems not supplying it?
• Some data shows that no shows were significantly higher with telehealth which could de-incentivize providers to offer virtual care services.
• Telehealth was primed for its big moment but ultimately disappointed many because the industry failed to integrate it into the patient experience. 

When consumers prefer telehealth

• A month ago, eMarketer released a US Telehealth Trends 2022 report, which found that the number one reason people use virtual is to avoid contracting a disease.
• While adoption is low, it could be possible that the market hasn’t reached the tipping point where telehealth will prevail yet. If you look to other industries, it took time for consumers to become comfortable with a digital experience, so perhaps healthcare is no different.
• Health systems need to prepare themselves for when consumers are ready to embrace telehealth because those leading the charge will end up on top.