As the door closes on Telehealth 1.0, a window to modern healthcare opens

At first glance, it's been a rough week for telehealth. Two big players announced they were shutting down their virtual care businesses, and companies that were riding high during the pandemic have continued their slump.

It sure looks like a trend — but not the one many think. What we're witnessing is not a post-COVID pullback from virtual care, but the long-predicted demise of the phone-a-doc model. 

In fact, this week's headlines are a positive sign that healthcare is actually capable (for once!) of putting outmoded digital models and thinking into the proverbial woodchipper to create the conditions for richer growth and innovation to take root.

The shriveling of #telehealth 1.0 marks an important maturation moment, reflecting a consensus that there is limited value in one-off video visits occurring in a vacuum. Connecting MDs with someone suffering from the sniffles isn't transformational; it's transactional — a commodity that fails to serve the whole person, be it patient or clinician.

Telehealth 1.0 served its purpose as a stepping stone and had its well-deserved moment, but it hasn't unlocked enough value for consumers or purchasers of these services. What remains? Too many people have one app for urgent care, another for therapy, alongside a handful of point solution apps — all completely disconnected from a plethora of patient portals and medical records. This isn't progress; it's more logins.

As we close the door on telehealth 1.0, we create space for a more meaningful exploration of what the next chapter of digital health actually is. Despite reports to the contrary, virtual care is still very much in demand — especially for people and populations who have historically encountered access barriers in traditional care settings and/or are seeking a more convenient and effective way to manage chronic conditions. 

The next frontier (and battleground) is bringing together clinical quality, innovation, technology, and new business models to serve people’s holistic healthcare needs, not just provide a transactional connection to a doctor. What people need from healthcare is a modern experience, a single place to go to that is designed to meet ALL of their needs, one that connects ALL the dimensions of health and is fully connected to ALL of healthcare’s highest-quality resources and settings, both virtual and in person. 

When the mission and vision are bigger than telehealth, this week has been reaffirming.