The Evolution of Virtual Care in the U.S.

It’s undeniable that virtual care has moved from experimental to essential. In the early 2010s, Telehealth adoption was limited and restricted largely to rural originating sites under CMS policy.

Fast forward….The true inflection came during the pandemic.. 

Here are a few major milestones we have observed from since the height of the global pandemic in 2019:

• Medicare Telehealth visits increased from ~840,000 in 2019 to 52.7Million in 2020 (CMS Report)

• CMS expanded telehealth to improve access and modernize care delivery, including allowing care in the home and expanding provider eligibility (KFF Overview)

• Telehealth remains nearly two times higher than it was pre-pandemic.  (KFF Analysis)

The business side of the marketplace also had a notable shift in adoption since 2020. The evolution of a Telehealth workforce in healthcare is well underway! 

For Medicare Advantage health plans, a virtual care team extension has become a critical lever for cost reduction and improved quality. scores. At CareTalk Health our virtual providers practice in all 50 states and to year to date have addressed over 45,000 Gaps in Care and closed over 14,000, improving members healthcare experience and outcomes.  

Medicare Advantage plans value our National capacity and reach to support their unengaged member’s healthcare needs! 

Over the next 5+ years, CareTalkHealth leaders see these potential activities setting the stage for the next chapter of virtual care:

• Leading quality health plans will integrate these virtual experiences into continuous care journeys, and begin measuring value on longitudinal care, not short-term outcomes.

• Virtual care services will go beyond preventative or episodic one- time visits, and are tied into infrastructure

• Remote patient monitoring policy adopts wearables as a standard connection for clinical decision making

• AI-driven triage, and continuous care models for aging populations emerge as the next innovation leap

The next decade will be defined by how effectively plans integrate these tools into continuous care journeys for the members they serve.