Demand for Virtual Healthcare Grew 120% Amid Pandemic, ISG Analysis Finds

By AIT News Desk On Jun 11, 2021

ISG TechXchange event to explore shifts in healthcare and life sciences demand and delivery with speakers from Nuance, Mathematica, Bayer, Takeda, PPD, Hims & Hers and more

The number of healthcare services contracts with virtual healthcare delivery components increased 120 percent between 2019 and 2020, signaling a long-term shift in consumer demand that is attracting new entrants from outside the industry ecosystem, according to new market analysis from Information Services Group, a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

“Virtual care exploded during the pandemic and it is here to stay, delivering significant benefits to providers and patients”

These and other insights into the changing dynamics of the healthcare and life sciences industries will be discussed during the virtual ISG TechXchange: Health Sciences event, June 22–23. Leaders from Nuance, Mathematica, Bayer, Takeda, PPD, Hims & Hers and more will explore shifting provider ecosystems and user expectations, new patient-centric approaches, interoperability and connected care, and pandemic-induced innovation.

“Virtual care exploded during the pandemic and it is here to stay, delivering significant benefits to providers and patients,” said Bob Krohn, partner and lead of the ISG Healthcare unit and co-host of the ISG TechXchange. “Demand for digital capabilities such as connected healthcare monitoring devices and telehealth will continue to accelerate. Healthcare payers must rethink traditional assumptions, build solid data management and integration capabilities, stay abreast of laws and regulations and make permanent changes in their business models.”

The changing landscape of digital healthcare services is also attracting notable entrants from outside the traditional healthcare ecosystem, Krohn noted. The April announcement that Microsoft intends to acquire Nuance Communications is part of an ongoing race among major technology companies to build and buy machine learning-based software and services to stay at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution.

Peter Durlach, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Nuance Communications, will participate in a fireside chat, “Building Healthcare’s Digital Front Door,” describing the vision, technologies and tools behind Nuance’s AI-powered patient engagement platform that will transform access and delivery of care in the age of digital medicine.

Among other speakers, Matt Gillingham, vice president and chief technology officer of Mathematica, will deliver a keynote presentation on the value of clinical content expertise in healthcare data science, and Dr. Patrick Carroll, chief medical officer of Hims & Hers, which connects consumers with licensed medical professionals, will deliver a keynote presentation on direct-to-consumer health. The role of technology in the future of healthcare will be the topic of a keynote presentation by Dr. Robert Pearl, former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group and author of Mistreated: Why We think We’re Getting Good Healthcare—And Why We’re Usually Wrong.

Jenn Stein, partner and leader of the ISG Life Sciences unit and co-host of the event, will host fireside chats with Melissa Saw, director of marketing procurement for Bayer, on how the pharmaceutical industry achieved the seemingly impossible over the past year, and with Nik Morton, senior vice president of digital services for global contract research organization PPD, on adopting automation technologies.

“Just as enterprises across the health sciences ecosystem are seeking to leverage technology, regulatory authorities now recognize digital transformation as a mechanism to modernize drug and device development processes,” Stein said. “Automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing and data analytics can empower health sciences regulatory authorities to achieve their primary objectives of ensuring patient health, safety and manufacturer compliance in increasingly powerful ways.”

Additional speakers will include Joel Tucker and Pat Fuller of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, who will share Takeda’s work to create a consolidated, harmonized IT infrastructure that simplifies user experience while streamlining IT operations and reducing costs.