COVID-19 propels healthcare providers to accelerate shift to telehealth and digital-first models--Everest Group

DALLAS, March 27, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Healthcare providers, historically slow to pursue digital transformation, are being forced to jump on the digital bandwagon. According to Everest Group, the surge in telehealth to meet the demands being placed on the healthcare ecosystem by COVID-19 will accelerate healthcare providers' investment in digital technologies.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Everest Group predicted that healthcare providers would increase spending on digital IT services by more than 15% by 2025. The firm now expects higher investment and a shorter timeline.

"The digital adoption levels in the healthcare provider market had been relatively low, but healthcare response to COVID-19 will accelerate digital adoption," said Chunky Satija, practice director at Everest Group. "The pandemic is a forcing function, necessitating that healthcare providers future-proof their technology estate—led by investment in analytics, automation, IoT, and cloud infrastructure—to enable distributed and scalable care models such as telehealth and telemedicine."

Healthcare providers historically have been mired down by their legacy and disintegrated IT systems and by regulations that have had the unfortunate consequence of incentivizing them to maintain the status quo. But that's not an option anymore, particularly as healthcare providers scramble to meet the unprecedented needs of a world disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today's new models of healthcare delivery, including telemedicine and telehealth, offer great potential for enabling remote healthcare management and better access to care, both during the current crisis and henceforth. However, these new models of care delivery require more widespread digital adoption. Automation, analytics and IoT are the biggest areas of opportunity.

Other opportunities likely to emerge in the healthcare provider space in 2020 include the following:

• Data monetization. The emergence of a data exchange platform is likely to spur revenue generation for companies holding data assets.
• Cloud adoption to improve clinical data handling. The use of cloud-based platforms for management of disparate data sources allows for seamless collaboration across multiple stakeholders.
• Rising stringency of healthcare policies. Due to regulatory changes (such as CMS hospital price transparency requirements recently announced and effective January 1, 2021), providers must establish efficient channels and methods to disclose cost and price-sharing information to patients.

Everest Group shares these findings in its recently published report, Healthcare Provider State of the Market – Trends, Service Provider Performance in 2019, and Outlook for 2020. This report examines existing trends in the healthcare provider space and how they are impacting providers' decisions. It also provides a snapshot of the PEAK Matrix® healthcare assessments that Everest Group carried out in 2019.

The report includes an overview of the marketplace pressures impacting the strategic decisions of healthcare providers, such as:
1.    BigTech claiming space in healthcare. BigTechs such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are invading the healthcare market, bringing technologically advanced solutions that aim to drastically improve overall physician and patient experience.
2.    Providers adopting value-based care (VBC). The shift to align healthcare provider incentives with quality of care and health outcomes of patients requires an unprecedented level of data sharing and usage.
3.    The advent of business models of coexistence. To improve patient outcomes and reduce costs, hospitals and health systems are joining forces, providers are partnering with payers, and accountable care organizations (ACOs) are on the rise. These new business models require integration of infrastructure, data and IT management and spur uptake of technologies such as IoT for remote healthcare, analytics to guide interventions, and mobility for intuitive patient portals and information exchange.
4.    Rise in consumerism. Patients increasingly expect healthcare to be delivered as a digital service, but also expect their healthcare information be secure and protected.

***Download a complimentary abstract of the report***

About Everest Group
Everest Group is a consulting and research firm focused on strategic IT, business services, engineering services, and sourcing. Our clients include leading global enterprises, service providers, and investors. Through our research-informed insights and deep experience, we guide clients in their journeys to achieve heightened operational and financial performance, accelerated value delivery, and high-impact business outcomes. Details and in-depth content are available at http://www.everestgrp.com.

# # #

SOURCE Everest Group

Related Links

http://www.everestgrp.com