According to statistics compiled by Dell EMC, there were nearly 8.41 petabytes (PB) of healthcare data in 2018. A lot has changed since, but the rate at which healthcare data is generated has been on an incline. Thanks to technologies and compliance measures that have shaped the healthcare industry in the past couple of years, healthcare data has been put to work.

Telemedicine has become imperative to promote safe interactions for healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both patients and providers are more willing to use technology for virtual medical visits. According to a Sermo survey of about 1,300 providers, 85% of physicians are now utilizing video or phone appointments. But what we’re hearing from providers is that a telemedicine solution alone is not enough. We need an end-to-end virtual care delivery system that allows all members of the healthcare team to care for their patients remotely. After much brainstorming and implementing feedback from various providers and staff, we built our Virtual Care Network (VCN) solution.

Closing the gaps in care is one of the best ways to minimize skyrocketing healthcare costs, especially for health insurance companies. High-risk members with chronic or multiple comorbid conditions not only have poorer health outcomes, but they can also drive a substantial amount of healthcare spending within a network.

Although virtual care had been around for quite some time, it was only after the COVID-19 pandemic struck with such an impact that it gained widespread acceptance. However, care is not truly virtual until it can take place on the go with speed and efficiency.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced healthcare organizations to enhance care delivery. The very nature of employee benefits is changing dramatically, and group plans are becoming more complex. There is a growing need for healthcare institutions to demonstrate better organizational health, greater productivity, and favorable financial outcomes.

In 2014, IDC estimated that if all digital data in healthcare were loaded onto the memory in a stack of tablets, it would reach 82,000 miles high, or one-third of the way to the moon by 2020.

Digitization in healthcare is gaining momentum through the use of data aggregation, advanced data analytics, and increased access to big data. Life sciences organizations are digitally transforming their processes by using these tools to accelerate the development of new drugs, devices, and digital medicine solutions.

As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health crisis continues to re-shape health care delivery—largely through increased utilization of telehealth services—payers and providers are grappling with how best to navigate dramatic shifts in the system.

The three priorities of healthcare delivery — cost, quality, and access — need not be at odds with each other. Employers today are increasingly engaged in a range of innovative approaches to improve healthcare quality and control costs that directly address some of the underlying flaws in the system.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has stated that healthcare spending is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.4% between 2019 and 2028, reaching over $6 trillion in total spend by 2028.