Session #GS2
Global Health Trends: Creating a World Where Great Healthcare is Always Within Reach
Ann Mond Johnson, CEO, American Telemedicine Association
Judd Hollander, MD, Senior Vice President, Healthcare Delivery Innovation, Jefferson Health
Monte Masten, MD, MBA, MPH, FACOG, Chief Medical Officer, MarshMcLennan Agency
Solome Tibebu, Founder & CEO, Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech
Erica Kraus, SVP, US Health Strategy Lead, RAPP
Moderator: Stephany Verstraete, Chief Marketing & Engagement Officer, Teladoc Health
Healthcare doesn’t stand still. Forum 2023 convened a distinguished panel of guests to explore some key healthcare trends and the opportunity to address them through innovation, collaboration, and maybe even a dash of hope.
Advancing health equity
Stephany Verstraete, Chief Marketing & Engagement Officer at Teladoc Health, opened the conversation with a hot-off-the-press finding: among their many priorities, U.S. employers say their number one success measure is whether a virtual care program helps equitably meet the needs of an entire population.
Solome Tibebu, Founder & CEO of Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech, demonstrated how virtual care can be “the great equalizer” with an insight from her experience offering virtual therapy to LGBTQ teens who preferred a text-based solution. “It’s just one of many examples where we need to meet the consumer where they are if we’re going to help them with their mental health and healthcare overall,” she said.
Erica Kraus, SVP and US Health Strategy Lead at RAPP, explained how the demands of health equity will only get louder—including issues of affordability, access to broadband and digital literacy.
Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association, underscored the need for public policy to help with these challenges, as well as what she called “perhaps the most difficult one to solve for, which is trust.”
Addressing business challenges
Many panelists pointed to the growing importance of whole-person care. Dr. Monte Masten, Chief Medical Officer at MarshMcLennan Agency, shared that for the typical employer client, about 40% of behavioral health costs are from the dependent population. “We have to look at a holistic model because the employee may be fine, but we don’t know what kind of environment he or she is going home to at night,” he said. And while GLP-1 claims have shot up, about a third of people who start the medication are off them after a year. “You really have to address the mental health issue with this as well.”
Kraus echoed this need to address obesity and chronic conditions within the context of a person’s whole health—and make it clear that GLP-1s are not a magic pill. “Better outcomes will only be achieved through a really comprehensive approach to care,” she said.
Of course, business pressures can accelerate innovation, as Dr. Judd Hollander, Senior Vice President of Healthcare Delivery Innovation at Thomas Jefferson University noted. Virtual nursing is a great example.
Innovations in virtual care
No conversation about innovation would be complete without mention of artificial intelligence. Dr. Masten explained how it may enhance employers’ benefit design strategy. “If you were able to say … that in the next three or five years your risk of becoming a diabetic will increase 5x, maybe you’re going to contribute more to your HSA plan.”
Tibebu sees it as an opportunity to improve outcomes in areas like maternal mental health—especially among women of color. “Tailoring solutions even more using virtual care for specific populations like that is very exciting for me.”
Innovation resonates with Mond Johnson, too. “What we’re going to see driving virtual care forward is the employers who are going to say, ‘bring it on’.”
Indeed.
