General Session – G9
Jason Gorevic Keynote
Many favorite cooking competitions have a familiar task: turn a basket of disparate mystery ingredients into a culinary masterpiece in under 30 minutes. The chefs who win such contests, including Forum 2023 guest speaker Marcus Samuelsson, achieve success through experience, innovation, and a passion for what they do.
Addressing clients at the close of Forum 2023, Jason Gorevic, CEO of Teladoc Health, shared how success in healthcare requires a similar approach. “Every year in this business, we get a basket of mystery ingredients — trends we must address and challenges to overcome. It is hard to make it all work, but the best companies find a balance and deliver an experience that is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Basket of Ingredients
So, what is in our industry’s basket of ingredients? Gorevic outlined six global trends affecting patients, payers, and providers today:
- Economic headwinds. Inflation has slowed but lingers. There is uncertainty in the market, and organizations of all sizes need to do more with less.
- Staffing shortages. Hospitals and health systems worldwide contend with staffing shortages, which have improved since the start of the pandemic, but continue to be a significant problem.
- Consumer diversity. There are four different generations of people in the workforce currently, all of whom are different in the ways they consume information and the expectations they have for healthcare providers.
- Equitable healthcare. Where we are born, where we work, and how we live influence our health. A tight housing market, plus higher food and fuel prices, means consumers make impossible tradeoffs with their health.
- Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The rise of generative AI – including tools like ChatGPT– could present a seismic shift in our society similar to the advent of the Internet. Its potential is particularly promising in healthcare, but comes with serious risks that we need to navigate.
- GLP-1s. Despite their promise, the cost of GLP-1s for diabetes and weight loss, combined with high demand for the medications, continues to be a leading concern for patients and payers, the latter of which may not have budgeted for this spend. How can we help people have responsible access to therapy in a way that ensures better health and contains costs?
Winning Combination
While there is no single recipe for success, healthcare and benefits leaders can choose partners who – like winning chefs – have the experience, innovation, and passion necessary to adapt to our ever-changing world and put quality healthcare within reach.
Here are three characteristics that Gorevic cited that make Teladoc Health stand out as the leading partner in virtual healthcare:
- Offers excellent point solutions and an even better unified experience.
Teladoc Health offers integrated, whole person care and best-in-class solutions for specific healthcare needs. Said Gorevic: “Our solutions are powerful alone, but together they can be life changing – keeping people healthier over time and actually lowering the cost of care.”
Earlier this year, Teladoc Health launched its unified app and is already seeing more patients engage with it for physical and mental health needs. Gorevic also cited that the company is seeing a three-fold increase in primary care visits as its whole-person care hub continues to scale.
- Solves the toughest challenges in new ways.
Teladoc Health is discovering new ways to apply AI, including a new partnership with Microsoft to help clinicians manage virtual and in-patient encounters more easily.
“This technology helps identify potential hazards for hospitalized patients and prevent injuries,” explained Gorevic. “None of this is replacing clinicians – it’s just helping them deliver better care more efficiently and helping to ease the burden of understaffed hospitals and health systems.”
Another new way Teladoc Health is helping hospitals and health systems with staffing concerns is through its virtual nursing solution, which helps nurses make rounds more efficiently and take care of more patients virtually.
Then there is the issue of GLP-1 drugs. The health benefits of these drugs are real, and patients want them. These therapies play an important role in managing diabetes and jumpstarting weight loss; however, the cost of these therapies if prescribed without proper management and support can be hugely burdensome. Comprehensive clinical care and behavior change should be at the core of any program to be behaviorally and financially sustainable.
“Our strategy is to follow the best medicine — understanding that the real solution is often a mix of lifestyle, behavioral, social, and therapeutic interventions unique to each person,” said Gorevic.
- Makes health care more equitable
True health equity ensures everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. It is more than just improving access – it is also about experiences, quality, and outcomes.
At Teladoc Health, equitable care begins with data that helps the company understand patients so they can customize care and experiences to deliver the best outcomes.
“I am passionate about this. And we know that helping our clients meet accreditation goals matters, whether that’s NCQA or the Joint Commission, and we will be helpful in that regard,” said Gorevic. “The good news is that the data makes it clear that at Teladoc Health, we are driving positive health outcomes for all of our members, no matter who they are.”
For example, Teladoc Health is seeing the impact of offering virtual care to Medicare and Medicaid populations, with 56 percent of its chronic care services delivered to members in underserved communities.
Concluded Gorevic: “In digital health, it is important to have a partner who can grow with you, and has the resources to drive steady innovation, year over year. It’s not just about scale – you also need a partner who is nimble enough to innovate and define new trends that are shaping our industry.”
Gorevic brought it all home with the story of Howie, a Teladoc Health member who is living a healthier life with the help of the company’s support.
