The pandemic transformed many aspects of American life – none more than the healthcare experience. In 2020, virtual care became widely adopted to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 with virtual healthcare visits increasing by 50% (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Now, more than two years into the pandemic, many individuals are taking a greater role in their own healthcare by adopting more of a do-it-yourself approach to managing their health (Wall Street Journal).

Virtual care has become a powerful and convenient tool because it meets people where they are these days: on their phones and online. And it wasn’t just used for low-acuity or urgent care needs. For many people managing chronic conditions that were risk factors for poor outcomes with COVID-19 infections, such as diabetes, virtual options became a necessary way of managing their health while avoiding in-person visits.

The surge in virtual care accelerated two trends that transformed the healthcare landscape: distributed healthcare and digitally enabled healthcare. Distributed healthcare is the notion that care should begin where health happens -- at home and in the community. Digitally enabled healthcare is the concept that healthcare and the relationships that are central to care are strengthened by data and technology.   

Distributed and digitally enabled care can drive enormous value. For instance, in connecting rural patients with specialists to help quickly diagnose and treat complex conditions, or in hospital-at-home settings that help patients recover more comfortably through remote monitoring and nurse visits. 

But the biggest possible impact for distributed and digitally enabled care lies in one distinct area: addressing America’s chronic disease epidemic.

The state of chronic disease in the U.S.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 60% of adults have a chronic disease like heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or diabetes, while 40% have two or more. Beyond the human cost, the total economic burden of chronic illnesses in the U.S. is over $3.7 trillion (Milken Institute). And chronic disease numbers continue to rise.

Here’s a stark example: the average person with type 2 diabetes makes around 300 diabetes-related decisions a day—that’s 109k+ decisions each year (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health). Compare that to the standard two to four doctor’s visits a year, and it’s nearly impossible to prescribe any treatment outside of the standard course of action: medication, eat less and exercise more. In this system, diabetes almost always gets worse.

Where distributed and digitally enabled care come in

When it comes to virtual care, distributed and digitally enabled care foster continuity of care and support behavior change, which is key to managing a chronic condition. Both distributed and digitally enabled care fill the gap between bi-annual appointments and the day-to-day challenges of living with a chronic illness. These trends facilitate the behavior change proven to drive better patient outcomes, like disease reversal and remission, at scale (Frontiers in Endocrinology). Without it, we cannot reach patients at the critical decision points that determine whether their condition will get better or worse. 

Virtual care does not rely on simply re-creating the office visit. Turning episodic in-person visits into episodic remote visits is useful for patients trying to get quick treatment for an infection or minor injury, but it’s not enough to make lasting changes to behavior for managing chronic conditions. To impact both individual patients and population-level outcomes, we must recognize that consumer preferences trend towards local access, virtual check-ins with providers and care teams and extended support through healthcare apps.  

For an example of distributed and digitally enabled care in practice, take into consideration my mother, who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes prior to the pandemic. After reading several reports that people with diabetes were at higher risk of complications from COVID-19, she signed up for a virtual diabetes reversal program through Virta Health. A few days later, she received a recipe book and multiple connected devices to automatically transmit her weight and blood sugar readings to her care team. 

The Virta Health app gave her 24/7 access to a health coach and doctors via text messaging and video visits. It also let her connect with peers, like a fellow Indian American based in Chicago. He, like my mother, also followed a strict vegetarian diet and shared several recipes with her early on. This extra support empowered her to make dramatic changes to her lifestyle. Within weeks, she decreased her sugar intake and lost enough weight to safely get off insulin, effectively putting her type 2 diabetes into remission. This shift to virtual, home-based and community care is an example of doctors and care teams beginning to fulfill the promise of meeting patients where they are.

What distributed and digitally enabled care mean for employers

So, what does the future look like as we continue to navigate a healthcare landscape that has been forever altered by COVID-19? The rise of chronic conditions – and the human and financial toll caused by these illnesses – will never abate if we do not prioritize adopting the distributed and digitally enabled care trends to meet consumers where they are.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, employers are spending an estimated $327 billion on costs related to diabetes. As employers build out their employee healthcare benefits options and sort through the multitude of vendors offering chronic disease management, it is imperative to consider virtual primary care, advocacy and chronic care partners that offer a superb virtual experience and are interconnected with a broader healthcare ecosystem.

Since companies provide healthcare benefits for almost 50% of Americans (Kaiser Family Foundation), employers should take heart in the accelerated use of virtual care and the distributed and digitally enabled healthcare trends. Adopting these trends can reduce the indirect costs associated with employees showing up to work ill or taking time off due to complications with a chronic disease and ultimately help curb the healthcare spend associated with chronic long-term illnesses. Most importantly, adopting these trends will help your employees experience better health outcomes.