Telehealth Declines as AI and In-Person Visits Rise Post-Pandemic

During the pandemic, they were heroes. Now, they’re apparently expendable. In what is becoming a pattern in healthcare, on Tuesday (July 2), Oregon Health & Science University cut a telehealth nursing unit set up in March 2020 that was once featured on its website for its service to people across the state. It is a microcosm […]

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During the pandemic, they were heroes. Now, they’re apparently expendable.

In what is becoming a pattern in healthcare, on Tuesday (July 2), Oregon Health & Science University cut a telehealth nursing unit set up in March 2020 that was once featured on its website for its service to people across the state.

It is a microcosm of changes in how consumers access healthcare in the post-pandemic connected economy, as telehealth trends down and AI and other virtual technologies take its place alongside a comeback in in-person doctor visits.

“I think the simplest way to say what we’re seeing right now is we’re observing the shriveling of telehealth 1.0,” Robin Glass, president of virtual care and health navigation company Included Health told Fierce Healthcare.

“This original model that I think came out that was really premised on this highly transactional interaction between a patient and the clinician that didn’t have any elements of longitudinal care or treating that individual as a holistic person, I think we’re starting to see the end of the road for that model. It has not served the patient as well as it needs to,” Glass added. “I think it also doesn’t reflect the modern experience that consumers are getting used to in all facets of their life. And ultimately, it doesn’t deliver on the kind of value that purchasers need out of their healthcare dollar.”

This kind of sentiment has manifested itself in the marketplace, although not everyone would agree with Glass.

Telehealth as a business model has definitely taken a step back. Amazon’s pay-per-visit telehealth service and its One Medical program are now a single brand after it announced on Thursday (June 27) that it will be renamed Amazon One Medical Pay-per-visit.

While it didn’t specifically single out a decline in telehealth visits as the driving factor, Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, indicated that “impersonal care” made it difficult for patients to make the service profitable.

Similar reasons were given when Walmart shuttered its telehealth venture on April 30.

However, showing that not everyone has bailed on the business model and its future, Walmart sold the division to healthcare technology startup Fabric.

Fabric, which emerged from stealth in early 2023 after rebranding from Florence, has developed technology that automates clinical and administrative tasks in healthcare. The acquisition will greatly enhance Fabric’s presence in the employer market. Walmart’s MeMD division had been delivering virtual care services to 30,000 employers and 5 million employees, including large employers, brokers, third-party administrators and distributors.

Fabric offers a telemedicine platform for health systems, employers and payers, featuring a suite of products designed to streamline workflows for both in-person and virtual patient visits. These products range from patient intake to self-scheduling and provider documentation tools, leveraging conversational AI to enhance both provider and patient experiences while boosting operational efficiency, according to company executives.

Technology solutions like the ones Fabric is developing will most likely define the future of telehealth as it embraces AI and even virtual reality. Fabric has been described as a “care enablement system (that) uses AI-powered clinical intelligence and automation to triage and route patients to the most appropriate point of care based on time of day, availability, distance and disposition while streamlining treatment across virtual and in-person workflows.” That hybrid approach has room for consumer choice and technology innovation.

One of those innovations that is expected to gain traction is holograms. Crescent Regional Hospital, located near Dallas, has introduced an innovative technology called the “Holobox,” a 3D system projecting a life-sized hologram of a doctor for real-time consultations. Developed by Dutch firm Holoconnects, this 86-inch-tall device requires only electricity and an internet connection.

The Holobox features anti-glare glass, a transparent LCD screen, hi-fi speakers and a multi-touch operating system. It can display pre-recorded or live video of doctors, enhancing patient engagement.

In an interview with a local Dallas TV station, Steve Sterling, Holoconnects’ North American managing director, emphasized the system’s capability to revolutionize patient-doctor interactions by providing real-time access to specialists, saving valuable time for doctors.

Crescent Regional is the first U.S. hospital to adopt this technology, with plans to expand its use in rural and underserved areas. Holoconnects aims to deploy smaller, portable versions to broaden its impact.

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