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Digital-Health Startups Are Booming. Their Customers Are Overwhelmed

Digital-health startups have boomed during the pandemic, raising record amounts of capital for a range of services. The message from some of their customers: Enough, already.

Corporate-benefits executives, the main customers for these startups, say they are excited about technology that can lower costs and improve employees’ health. But the explosion of activity has spawned a glut of startups pitching redundant or overpriced services, they say.

Benefits executives are pushing digital health companies to add services, merge with complementary companies and cut deals on pricing, pressure that the companies are responding to in order to stand out in the crowded sector.

Numerous…

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Featured

 Amazon Care is a big deal - here's why

With its promise of virtual care in all 50 states, this is the first time a big tech firm will be directly in the healthcare services business. Will it be another failed experiment, or the breakthrough we've been waiting for? Healthcare is in the very early stages of a transformation to an entirely new model of care. If Amazon is the one to deliver the big breakthrough we have been waiting for, so be it. Someone has to do something.

 Amazon Has Signed Multiple Companies to Its Telehealth Service

The service is offered as an add-on service to employer healthcare plans, and Amazon plans to announce new companies that have signed up later in the summer, he said. Amazon’s healthcare ambitions have expanded in recent years as it has explored different ventures for employees and in the pharmacy business. The company also pursued a number of coronavirus-related initiatives to test employees and adjust its business in response to the pandemic.

 Silicon Valley pushes healthcare via text in pandemic virtual care boom

Millions have avoided in-person consultations in the past year and providers see ‘asynchronous’ care as the future of health.

 Why Healthcare Won’t Go Back to the Way It Was

By now, no matter where you are or how old you are, the global pandemic has undoubtedly changed your daily life. And, perhaps, one of the most significant changes you’ve experienced is related to your own healthcare.

Articles of Interest

‘Virtual’ Doctor Visits Are Enticing Employers. What if You’re the Patient?

Employees choosing workplace health benefits for next year will probably not see a major change in their premiums. But they are likely to encounter more options for “virtual” doctor visits.

Amazon to Offer Telehealth Service to Other U.S. Firms This Summer

Amazon Care operates on an app that facilitates video or chat appointments with medical professionals, as well as prescription delivery. Amazon said it intends to expand the in-person-care component to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and other cities in the coming months.

How Health Care In The U.S. May Change After COVID: An Optimist's Outlook

For example, the use of telemedicine skyrocketed, and many think it's an innovation that's here to stay. Patients like the convenience — and for many conditions, it's an effective alternative to an in-person visit.

Reality check: Amazon Care may not be that big of a deal

"The employer space is the closest thing to the wild, Wild West in the health sector," Davis said. Employers are more willing to shop around or bet on unestablished players than health insurers or providers, which are more directly culpable for quality of care.

What a Doctor Learns From Watching You on Video Chat

Patients and doctors are rediscovering the unexpected virtues and hidden pitfalls of homebound care.

Resources

Amazon Care

Fast, comprehensive, 24/7 primary and urgent care for your employees and their families.

Amwell

Connect your members to a new kind of primary care and deliver a concierge-like experience to your members with the benefits of a high-performance provider network.

Hinge Health

Learn how to control your healthcare costs by adding a Digital MSK Clinic to your benefits strategy

Kaia Health

A proven MSK solution that combines human care with superior technology to achieve better outcomes.

LiveHealth Online

LiveHealth Online offers doctor visits in minutes! See healthcare providers over video anytime 24/7 on your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Omada

Cut costs, see better ROI, and help your employees take small steps toward better health.

One Medical

Technology-powered, human-centered care — in person or 24/7 from anywhere with our app.

Teladoc Health

Teladoc Health delivers, enables, and empowers virtual care services that span every state in a person's health journey -- from wellness and prevention to acute care to complex healthcare needs. We use proprietary health signals and personalized interactions to drive better health outcomes across the full continuum of care.