2019: The Year of Virtual Care Realized?

As 2018 comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about how digital health will change, and change lives, in the year ahead. I’m optimistic that 2019 will be the year we’ll see the broad adoption of technologies that empower consumers and meet them where it’s most convenient.

There are a variety of virtual care technologies that have the potential to address many of the current challenges in our healthcare system, adding convenience to the patient experience, increasing the efficiency of healthcare workers, saving costs, and reducing the growing health and economic burden of chronic disease.

For example, a recent study from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) looking at data from one large insurer showed that the number of patients using telemedicine grew an average of   52% per year between 2005 and 2017. Although the use of telehealth is growing steadily, it is not ubiquitous quite yet. However, when that time comes it could save about $4 billion of the country’s healthcare bill each year. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is behind this movement too with plans for Medicare to reimburse virtual check-ins in 2019.

Many telehealth users are millennials, who are among the biggest advocates for the idea that technology can help make care more convenient. This generation of digital natives are the largest segment of the workforce and they are looking for their interactions with the healthcare system to catch up to the other parts of their lives that offer engaging, digital experiences.

Part of the reason why virtual care will take hold in 2019 is the widespread use of devices like Fitbit trackers and smartwatches that collect health data outside the doctor’s office. Having information like physical activity levels, heart rate and sleep quality easily accessible is already helping consumers make educated choices about their health, such as their exercise, diet and sleep routines. When people proactively take care of their health it leads to better health outcomes in the long-term. The natural progression is for health plans to further build virtual care offerings into their programs and for healthcare providers to use this information to inform personalized care plans.

Virtual care can also help reduce the burden of chronic diseases by providing the convenience and engagement that when absent, are significant barriers to getting help or sticking with a care plan. With the tools available on our phones, tablets and computers, patients can interact with healthcare providers wherever they are.

Chronic diseases continue to rise, and a quarter of the U.S. population have more than one. Often these diseases are interrelated, such as being overweight and having hypertension or poor sleep quality and depression. Rather than treating each condition as a one-off problem, we need to offer people holistic solutions that look at all the underlying factors causing these conditions to co-exist. That is where digital health can help connect the pieces by giving care teams a more complete view of each patient’s overall health so they can create a personalized plan for their specific health needs.

In September, we announced Fitbit Care to deliver a comprehensive approach to wellness, prevention and disease management. This connected health platform brings together Fitbit’s innovative technology and human guidance, a powerful combination that can be the key to removing some of the most difficult barriers to behavior change, such as a lack of knowledge about health, the absence of social support, or motivation. Bringing together virtual care, health coaching and wearables, this clinically proven, integrated approach can make a real difference, especially for people trying to manage chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Fitbit Health Solutions currently works with more than 1,700 enterprise customers and 100 health plans, so we’ve seen that scale is possible.

For 2019 to be the year of virtual care, healthcare providers, insurers, government, employers and digital health will all need to work together to integrate technologies into the current healthcare system. If we continue to make progress, we will produce better outcomes for patients far more efficiently and fit health seamlessly into people’s everyday lives.