As the costs stemming from COVID-19 continue to climb, reinsurers are collaborating with healthcare executives on how to mitigate the impacts of the virus on the sector. Virtual healthcare options are becoming increasingly commonplace, and the growing use of telemedicine and capacity constraints within our healthcare system will potentially dull utilization increases.
Digital therapeutics are among healthcare’s most exciting developments, with the potential to alter how care is delivered, according to Oliver Wyman Health & Life Sciences colleagues Fritz Heese, Partner and Julian Offenhammer, Principal. Oliver Wyman is an affiliate of Guy Carpenter.
With patients hesitant to receive face-to-face care given COVID-19, telehealth is becoming “the new front door.” But digital therapeutics raise many questions in the meantime. Which therapeutic areas will be affected in time? What are the implications for healthcare stakeholders, including, of course, patients? Which business models are emerging? And what should incumbent healthcare companies do to prepare for what could become a genuine revolution in care?
Consumer-oriented wellness offerings have been around for a while. Yet, the past several years (as well the past several months with COVID-19) have seen the emergence of true digital therapeutics (DTx), which we define as digital treatments that produce measurable positive outcomes for patients.
Guy Carpenter has been developing a view of how COVID-19 may impact the medical (re)insurance market.