JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated drivers for virtual health adoption, and triggered the US federal government to implement regulatory changes to reduce barriers to virtual health implementation. Consequently, virtual health solutions have been increasingly adopted and health systems in the United States have had to reorganize their entire care delivery process with unprecedented speed.

Objective:

To assess and make recommendations on the strategy, business model, implementation, and future considerations for scaling and sustaining virtual health solutions based on the views of executives from the largest health systems in the United States.

Methods:

In September and October of 2020, the Health Management Academy conducted 29 quantitative surveys and 23 qualitative interviews involving 58 executives from 41 of the largest health systems in the United States. Participating health systems were approximately equally distributed across size categories (small, medium, and large, defined as annual total operating revenue $2-3 billion, $3-6 billion, and >$6 billion, respectively) and US Census Bureau regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West).

Results:

Based on the Health Management Academy’s assessment of approaches to governance, financing, data infrastructure, and clinical integration of virtual health, most participating health systems (54%) were at a mid-stage level of maturity in virtual health implementation. Executives reported that the pandemic is forcing health systems to re-examine strategic priorities; the most commonly raised key impacts were increased access and flexibility, and lower costs of care delivery (71%, 48%, 43% of executives, respectively). Most executives (57%) reported their organization had a defined budget for virtual health, and many noted that virtual health is best supported through value-based payment models. Irrespective of health system maturity, reimbursement was consistently rated as a key challenge to virtual health scaling, along with patient access to and understanding of virtual health technology. The success of virtual health implementation was most commonly measured by patient satisfaction, health care provider engagement, and proportion of health care providers using virtual health solutions (reported by 88%, 75%, and 75% of information technology executives, respectively). Almost all health systems (93%) expect to continue growing their virtual health offerings for the foreseeable future, with user-friendliness and ease of integration into the electronic medical record as the key factors in making go-forward decisions on virtual health solutions (each selected by 90% executives).

Conclusions:

The increased demand for virtual health solutions seen during the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to continue post pandemic. Consequently, health systems are re-evaluating their current platforms, processes, and strategy to develop a sustainable, long-term approach to virtual health. To ensure future success, health system leaders need to proactively build on their virtual health solutions; advocate for payment, site flexibility, and reimbursement parity for virtual health; and demonstrate continued engagement and boldness to evolve care beyond established models.