“Build It and They Will Come”—Or Will They?
Over the last few years, as the COVID-19 pandemic ran its course, we’ve all watched as telemedicine players Teladoc and Amwell acquired smaller entities in their bids to build all-in-one telehealth provider solutions addressing acute care, mental health, and chronic condition management—practically everything, it seems. In contrast, swyMed has focused on working closely with clients to customize technology to meet their specific needs and integrate with their existing systems, such as telestroke and emergency transport. Now, as we sift through the data, it is becoming clear that giant “one-size-fits-all” programs are not the panacea they claimed to be; instead, with increasing emphasis on patient engagement, healthcare organizations want personalized technology platforms that mesh with their current structure for ease-of-use among both patients and providers.
In 2020, as the pandemic forced widespread adoption of telemedicine technologies, Amwell (formerly American Well) and InTouch (now owned by Teladoc) were well-positioned to capitalize on the rapid paradigm shift. These companies built a large presence with broad capabilities; InTouch, in particular, was cited by KLAS Research as a strong, intuitive platform for telespecialty visits. Although both companies showed indications of strained customer support, researchers attributed this to rapid growth, and both Amwell and InTouch maintained overall performance scores (78.0 and 86.7, respectively) comparable to the industry average (83.1). In the same report, swyMed received the highest overall score (94.4), earning praise for its high value, high customer satisfaction, innovation, and strong support.
The KLAS reports for 2022 and 2023 revealed a continuation of this trend: swyMed maintained its strong score with its focused solutions and high customer satisfaction while Amwell and Teladoc, two of the more popular telehealth vendors, strained to beat the industry average performance level. During this time, both Amwell and Teledoc failed to reach profitability, leading to plummeting stock prices in 2024—but they’re not the only ones facing trouble.
In early 2024, UnitedHealth Group shut down Optum Virtual Care, which was launched in 2021 to provide round-the-clock online urgent and primary care visits, as well as prescription medicines. Walmart sold MeMD, its online, on-demand behavioral and medical health services provider, just three years after acquiring the original enterprise.
As shown by these companies’ struggles, the frantic growth of the “all-in-one” provider model spurred by the pandemic has proven unsustainable due to growing competition, rising expenses, the return of in-office visits, and the ongoing challenges of reimbursement that all health care services face.
Instead, a growing focus on patient engagement aims to build strong patient-provider relationships in a hybrid environment of healthcare delivery involving both in-person and virtual care. Patients, already familiar with consumer technologies, want convenient and easy access to health care services and data. Healthcare organizations want to offer digital health services but prefer technologies that integrate seamlessly with their current systems such as EHRs and PACS.
Rather than switch to an “all-in-one” setup that requires both patients and providers to adapt to new interfaces, it makes sense to look for a nimble telehealth solution such as swyMed that can be customized for the needs of both the organization and patient population, and that fits neatly into pre-existing infrastructures. By doing so, we can maintain continuity and enhance the level of services offered while preserving the connection between patient and provider. For examples, click here to view swyMed case studies.
