How Covid-19 Could Advance Healthcare in America

While we’re all eager to reach a resolution to our nation’s battle with Covid-19, this crisis has also illustrated many of mankind’s greatest strengths, namely our flexibility, tenacity, and ingenuity. This virus hasn’t just changed the way we work, learn, and socialize; it has also had some significant—and potentially game changing—impacts on our healthcare system.

For our part, we’ve been heartened to see how this pandemic has led to the wider adoption of innovative healthtech solutions that society at large had previously been hesitant to embrace. As many of us made the necessary transition from in-office meetings to remote conferencing via Zoom and other video platforms, we also saw a sharp uptick in the number of patients taking advantage of telehealth options, like virtual doctors visits and wellness checks.

In recent weeks, we’ve seen a similar trend emerge in the pharmaceutical space. Grocery delivery services, like Amazon and Instacart, are booming, so it isn’t too surprising that we’ve seen a surge in the adoption of prescription home delivery. Even as the total number of prescriptions filled in has dropped in recent weeks, the number of patients switching to home delivery options has increased by an impressive 5.7% since this crisis began in mid-February. Larry Merlo, the CEO of CVS, reports that their company has seen up to a three times increase in their prescription delivery services, and a two times increase in telemedicine visits. And we believe this is only the start. Many people stocked up in March, so this trend should increase further as we start to see data for April and May.

As this pandemic facilitates wider adoption of tech-forward solutions, we’re eager to see the long-term impacts this time period will have on both the American healthcare system and patient behavior. And as an innovative healthtech company, we’re definitely excited not just to develop more of these tools, but also to make them accessible to as many patients as possible. One such tool is our member app, which gives members 24/7 access to our pharmacist-led team of Medication Guides. Using data and deep integrations into provider workflows, we’re enabled to guide members through every step in their medication journey. This includes everything from anticipating their needs before they arise (e.g. resolving prior authorizations) to providing personalized savings opportunities and adherence strategies tailored to their specific context and needs.