Early on, the FDA announced that digital health developers could release “computerized behavioral therapy devices and other digital health therapeutic devices for psychiatric disorders” without needing to comply with the agency’s standard medical device requirements. This temporary guidance—currently set to expire on April 16—has enhanced the availability of digital mental health solutions.

Most (61%) patients are willing to switch providers for something as simple as a better patient portal, per Experian Health’s 2022 Digital Health Report. A bright spot: Beyond individual consumers, hybrid primary care vendors are in a prime spot to woo nationwide employers that are interested in offering on-site clinics for employees.

Trendspotting: We’ve entered the stage of digital health transformation where if you’re a digital health company, RPM is more of a need-to-have. Insider Intelligence forecasts that by 2025, more than a quarter of the US population is expected to regularly use RPM. We forecast that by 2025, there will be 70.6 million RPM users in the US.

The news: Top patient pain points when dealing with different aspects of their care process include difficulty acquiring and paying cost estimates, per a new Experian Health Digital Health survey of 2,333 consumers. Nearly 16% of patients said viewing invoices, setting up payment plans, and making payments were “important” or the “most important” difficulties they experienced during a visit.

The news: Digital health marketplace Solera Health is partnering with Oshi Health and Vivante Health to expand its digital chronic disease management programs to incorporate individually tailored digestive health solutions for patients. More on Solera: Solera is a health benefits network that connects patients, payers, and providers with digital health and SDOH-focused offerings.

But at the same time, many employers are feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of digital health options in the market. On the flipside, there’s confusion on the employee end, too:. Most (76%) employees don’t understand their health benefits, and a minority (10%) of employees actually use their benefits, per Castlight Health data.

Zooming out on the telehealth and RPM markets: The pandemic-induced digital health boom drove a higher need for hospital-at-home solutions—now, they’re primed to have a permanent seat in the future of healthcare.

In H1’ 2021, over one-quarter (27%) of funded digital health companies operated on a D2C model. That’s up from 22% last year, per Rock Health. Many employers are turning to virtual care to clamp down on rising healthcare costs without sacrificing quality of care. Walmart is entering the game from a very powerful seat.

We could see it double down on its retail presence (in places like CVS and Target) to attract more customers to its other digital health services.

Stanford Center for Digital Health. UnitedHealth Group. Wiley Online Library.

Investors have been eyeing the fragmented healthcare system as an opportunity to fund digital health companies offering solutions that can drive innovation in the antiquated industry. Digital health venture funding exploded in 2021, topping all previous years: $29.1 billion was poured into US-based digital health companies across 729 deals, according to Rock Health.

The news: Three kidney care companies—physician network Interwell Health, value-based care firm Fresenius Health Partners, and digital health startup Cricket Health—will band together to form a new value-based care (VBC) company valued at $2.3 billion operating under the Interwell Health brand.

Most physicians are burdened with heavy admin work within their EHRs, so it’s highly valuable to have a new digital health platform that’s already integrated within their EHR system.

The bigger picture: More and more insurers have been tapping digital health solutions to make the shift to VBC easier. It wouldn’t be surprising to see more of them team up with Clarify Health after its Embedded Health acquisition since its physician-centered design would probably make it easier to get providers on board with VBC contracts.

Why AI + RCM make a power duo: Automating traditional RCM processes with AI can help health systems free up more time and money to focus on other strategic healthcare initiatives (like digital health transformation). 56% of healthcare execs said they’re accelerating their AI plans because of the pandemic, per Optum’s AI in Health Care survey.

In H1’ 2021, over one-quarter (27%) of all funded digital health companies were operating solely on a D2C model, up from 22% of cash recipients last year, per Rock Health. The appeal of D2C healthcare: For consumers, subscription-based healthcare can be a more affordable option than the traditional care funnel.

Digital health solutions like virtual care and RPM can help power preventative healthcare and allow providers to deliver better health outcomes. For example, digital health startups like Oak Street Health and Cityblock Health are implementing community-based, preventive care models that also primarily operate within value-based environments.