The world had to adapt quickly during the pandemic. Adopting new technologies to allow people access and convenience has now become the norm. Healthcare sits at the center of the acceleration of innovation, driven not only by the need for social distancing, but also the need to care for those in underserved communities who have limited access. At this year’s Most Innovative Companies Summit, Julianne Pepitone invited Dr. Kristi Henderson, the SVP of Innovation and Telehealth at Optum and Eric Rock, the CEO of Vivify to share their insights and lessons learned.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS PANEL:
JULIANNE PEPITONE:
Do you think with all the changes that we’ve seen, are we going to go back to the way we were before, after COVID has abated, or do you think that a more mainstream widespread tele-health and digital tools kind of system is here to stay?
ERIC ROCK:
I think it’s here to stay. As Kristi and I have said it, it is going to require some additional momentum and, if you will, acceleration of expansion driven by things like reimbursement and the confidence that’s needed here. But it is absolutely going to grow and grow quickly. And I want to call out that traditional telehealth as we’re used to it is typically a one-to-one relationship associated with an episodic event, as Kristi had mentioned. But if we bring in those digital tools that allow a continual relationship without burdening the provider with constant communications required, again, management by exception, that’s where the pairing of telehealth, remote monitoring, connected health, many terms really come together to accomplish the ability to scale the providers.