For more on the latest virtual care trends and use cases in key areas, download a newly released white paper. “Deconstructing the Telehealth Industry: Part IV – Health. Virtually. Everywhere®” addresses workforce optimization, remote monitoring, behavioral health, digital patient navigation, decentralized clinical trials, and emerging topics such as lab testing, pharmacy, and diagnostic imaging. 

It is the fourth in a white paper series by Ziegler’s Corporate Finance Healthcare Practice. Ziegler is a LeadingAge Gold Partner with CAST Focus.

The white paper series helps health care providers, executives, investors, employers, legislators, payors, and consumers understand the virtual care industry’s full potential. The 2023 update highlights the key tailwinds supporting digital health solutions and the remaining industry headwinds. It doubles down on prior areas of emphasis, including biopsychosocial and social determinants of health toolsets, behavioral health solutions, and smart aging solutions.

In addition to themes driving the virtual care market, the white paper addresses areas where Ziegler expects capital to flow in the sector in the coming years to support innovative companies. It also provides a snapshot of the seminal M&A and capital markets transactions that influenced the sector’s advancement.

Industry Tailwinds and Headwinds

Since the pandemic began three years ago, virtual care gained more awareness, acceptance, and continued engagement than in the last 30 years. The authors note that “this genie will never be put back in its bottle.” 

The white paper outlines several tailwinds that are pushing virtual care forward:

• Increased adoption and results.
• Diversifying interest, including investments in virtual care and consumer brands becoming health care brands. (See “Best Buy Health and Atrium Health Team on Hospital at Home” in this month’s Tech Time for a current example.)
• Legislative support, including increased clarity on reimbursement for virtual care from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and commercial plans, plus bipartisan support from legislators.
• Cross-state licensing compacts that have significantly eased providers’ ability to be licensed once and to practice healthcare across multiple states. 
• Improving technology, including new digital technologies and improved artificial intelligence that expand the application and uses of digital health, lower costs, as well as expanded Wi-Fi/broadband access, especially in rural areas.

 Remaining headwinds include lack of awareness of virtual care, proving tangible return on investment and downstream care and cost impacts, reimbursement uncertainty and complexity, clinician shortages, varying usability and interfaces that limit interoperability, misconceptions and bad actors, regulatory uncertainty, state licensing and payor credentialing administrative burdens, and turbulence in capital markets.

 Download the white paper.