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The COVID-19 Pandemic has greatly challenged the existing capabilities of the Healthcare Industry. The rapid spread of the virus has brought the world to a standstill and has health leaders scrambling to find new approaches to healthcare. Despite the obstacles that have been thrust upon the industry, the prospect of technological advancement gives the healthcare industry an opportunity for accelerated growth.

Short-Term Impact of COVID-19

One of the main consequences of the Pandemic has been undermanned or under-equipped health staff. The intensity of the virus has left many clinics with less than the required resources to help COVID patients. Another related issue faced mainly by urban health clinics is Hospital Overcrowding. Non-COVID related patients will also see delays in their care journeys. The healthcare industry must also prepare for the following long-term impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Increasing Role of Virtual Health services

The pandemic has revealed the importance of virtual health care services such as Telehealth and Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM). The contagious nature of COVID-19 has forced many clinics to close their doors to non-COVID patients. Without virtual care technology, many patients with chronic or other severe conditions would lose access to essential healthcare. In addition, clinics would be losing a significant portion of their revenue. However, providers who utilize a virtual telemedicine platform are still able to connect with their patients. As of 2017, some form of Telemedicine platform is employed by over three-quarters of hospitals in the US. The pandemic will cause that number to increase while encouraging existing users of telehealth to make their platforms more extensive.

Eliminating the Traditional Care Journey

The emergence of telemedicine has allowed for the virtual exchange of high-quality health services. By using virtual technology, physicians are able to provide check-ups, patient education, and care plans. Patients can access these services from the comfort of their homes. This new development due to the pandemic has brought into question the future of traditional clinical visits. Hassle-free telemedicine solutions have exposed the inefficiencies of conventional care journeys. Previously, patients might waste an entire day for a simple check-up due to long wait times and large clinical facilities. In the end, they may not even receive conclusive treatment if they are referred to another practice. These inefficiencies contribute to a high patient no-show rate, which costs the American healthcare industry over $150 billion/year. Convenient telemedicine platforms remind patients ahead of their appointments and provide them with effective and timely care.

Altering the future of Value-Based Care

While the “Value-Based Care” movement has been gaining momentum for a few decades, the COVID-19 pandemic might slow down the shift. The decrease in elective surgeries and non-COVID related care has been financially crippling for many practices. While RPM and Telehealth reimbursement codes cover for some of these losses, clinics are still seeing a decline in revenue due to the pandemic. The deal-breaker for most clinics involves the financial risk involved in a Value-Based model. Many Value-Based contracts involve a great deal of downside risk, or potential financial shortcomings due to missed targets. This financial risk may have over half of Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) consider abandoning this model. This may also encourage current fee-for-service providers to avoid adopting a Value-Based platform in the future. In order to mitigate a large-scale exodus from the Value-Based scheme, the CMS could subsidize providers by removing downside risk clauses for the near future.

Accelerating the Adoption of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a new solution for the current healthcare-related issues. AI involves the use of machines to perform human activities such as learning, interpreting, and analyzing. While AI in healthcare has not yet reached its full potential, investment in this field is expected to grow tenfold between 2014 and 2024. While AI systems are still in an early developmental stage, they are already used by many providers in areas such as diagnosis, patient education, and predictive analysis.

Robotic machines are an example of how AI could be put into action in a healthcare setting in the near future. These systems could carry out tasks like patient engagement, or even remote surgery. When dealing with infectious diseases like COVID-19, AI based robots could eliminate unnecessary human interactions, thus decreasing the risk of transmission. When used for diagnosis and treatment, these machines are significantly more accurate than existing technology. In the long run, AI could lead the way for virtual/augmented reality to make its way into mainstream healthcare.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a watershed event in the history of medical care. While the industry continues to face immense challenges, greater opportunities for growth lay ahead.

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How the move to Value-Based Care affects Innovation

The Healthcare industry has witnessed a shift towards “Value-Based Care” over the past few decades. This model focuses on the patient outcome more than any other factor. This has influenced technological innovations to be patient-centric rather than purely profit-focused.

RPM Devices

how remote patient monitoring helps to achieve value based care

Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM) is a form of real-time telehealth that employs the use of technology in the live collection of vital parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, weight, or any other relevant measure. These compact gadgets track and send these parameters to qualified health professionals who can analyze the results. RPM devices give patients the opportunity to monitor their condition on a daily basis without constant clinical visits. These devices have allowed providers to remain updated with their patients when a physical visit is not possible. Effective use of these devices is proven to decrease the number of readmissions, which costs the industry over $41 billion a year. The RPM market is expected to grow to $2.7 billion by 2020, per a projection by Research and Markets. If RPM devices can prove their value in a competitive health tech market, they may become an integral part of human life. Their compact nature can allow them to become as ubiquitous as a wristwatch, especially for aging populations.

Telehealth

Telehealth involves the transfer of healthcare services through a telecommunications platform. While it includes monitoring and education, it is most commonly used as a tool for virtual appointments between providers and patients. Commonly used Telehealth platforms involve the use of a video/audio system with the ability to send EHR/EMRs or other health records by message. Telehealth acts as an added revenue stream as the CMS reimburses providers who employ telehealth services. For patients, telehealth means they can access high-quality healthcare from the comfort of their homes. The use of telehealth has rapidly grown over the past decade as 75% of hospitals utilized a telehealth platform in 2017 as opposed to 35% in 2010. In the long run, telehealth can help eliminate nonessential patient visits which waste both time and resources. With technological advances, telehealth might soon adopt a “virtual reality” based format. This can increase patient-provider interaction while enhancing the quality of care.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) involves the use of machines to perform human activities such as comprehension and analysis. In a healthcare setting, it can be used to make an advanced interpretation of health-based data. The amount of investment in health-based AI is projected to grow from $600 million to $6.6 billion between 2014 and 2021. AI can make patient-specific care plans by accounting for millions of variables involving the patient’s health condition and trajectory. AI could potentially open the door for “Precision Medicine,” which could be a landmark development in modern medicine. While this method is still highly experimental and embroiled in controversy, the prospects of an effective model remains promising.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Health Tech Innovations

The COVID-19 Pandemic has placed a heightened focus on the current capabilities of the Healthcare industry. The pandemic has offered both challenges and opportunities for technological innovation. One of the primary flaws of the industry that COVID-19 has highlighted is the prevalence of unnecessary and inconvenient patient visits. As health centers across the country have been focused on tackling the pandemic, patients with other conditions have been encouraged to stay home and receive virtual care. Many patients are able to mitigate their existing conditions without time-consuming visits to a clinic. At the same time, this provides an opportunity for a widespread adoption of telehealth services. Many providers have experienced the efficiency of virtual health services and will continue to invest in these solutions. Clinics without such platforms will likely adopt telehealth to address their lack of virtual care services. The pandemic will no doubt leave an enduring mark on the healthcare industry. The lessons learned from the pandemic will surely shift the focus of innovations towards virtual health solutions.

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How COVID-19 is changing the Healthcare Industry