Telehealth hard knocks

Let’s face it, it’s been a tough quarter for telehealth. Weeks after Amwell and Teladoc respectively announced layoffs and a CEO departure, Optum set plans in motion to shut down its telehealth offering and Walmart reported it was shuttering health clinics and virtual care services nationwide. Based on these headlines, it’s easy to wonder—is telehealth over?

Real talk: telehealth isn’t going anywhere. According to our 2023 Consumer Adoption Survey, 76% of respondents have used virtual care, 83% of whom have done so in the past 12 months. Plus, 66% of all respondents expect to use virtual care as much as they currently do, if not more, in the future. That said, telehealth has become a commodity, especially within primary care and urgent care—and companies will need to adjust their business models to differentiate and achieve scale. Some approaches playing out include vertically integrating telehealth with other care services like lab testing, or collaborating as channel partners for new direct-to-consumer platforms. Stay tuned for even more telehealth market pivots, consolidations, and exits to come.

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