The global pandemic thrust technology to the forefront and pushed healthcare providers and consumers to evolve whether they were ready or not. Digital innovators’ ability to improve healthcare is highly dependent on the providers, but also on the patients’ willingness to receive care in this different way.

In this episode of the Deloitte podcast, That Makes Cents, host Bobby Stephens, a leader in Deloitte Digital’s Retail & Consumer Products practice, talks with Jeff Wells, MD, CEO and co-founder of Marathon Health, about the latest trends around modernizing healthcare, virtual care and changing consumer attitudes towards their wellness journeys. Stephens and Wells, also joined by Leslie Read, leader of Deloitte’s Health Plans Customer Transformation Solutions, discuss recent events resulting in the rapid adaption of technology.

Listen to this episode of That Makes Cents to hear about changing expectations for healthcare.

How Has Consumer Healthcare Changed?

According to Wells, the consumer adoption of telemedicine or telehealth went from 11% to 46%, and 75% of consumers surveyed said they were both aware and willing to use telehealth. There is no longer one way to provide healthcare. Delivery and access are omnichannel including face-to-face and virtual care. With society evolving and modernizing, as well as the pandemic forcing changes in the way we complete everyday activities, we must transition the way we think about healthcare.

More than 156 million Americans get their healthcare through their employer. Shifting from volume to value, while aligning incentives across the ecosystem, is a critical step in evolving healthcare because provider systems, health plans, urgent care clinics, etc., all have different economic models. Progressing healthcare must include creating healthier populations, devoting quality time to patients, while also decreasing costs. Stephens, Wells and Read raise challenging questions on how to create a system that’s balanced, value-based, and works for the future.

Virtualizing Consumer Healthcare Data

Healthcare data, behavioral data and financial data can be connected and used in new ways. Convenient access to data brings down walls across the healthcare ecosystem. Healthcare providers securely use organized and interoperable data due to its increasing availability. As the data collection gets more complex, the information collected becomes more targeted toward serious health concerns within population health. This provides healthcare experts with more information on how to help build a healthier community.

Overall, Stephens, Wells and Read agree that making healthcare more human and personal will work better for the patient across the journey. If the patient has a good experience and improves their health, the industry and the way we deliver care will improve as well.

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Bobby Stephens – Partner / Principal at Deloitte

Bobby has nearly 20 years of retail and e-commerce operations, consulting, and start-up experience in the United States and abroad. He focuses on working with clients to drive revenue growth through digital transformation and customer engagement. To stay on top of trends, he also leads research and eminence for Deloitte’s Retail & Consumer Products practice. Prior to joining Deloitte, Stephens co-founded and led Bucketfeet, a VC-backed global omnichannel retail start-up that is still in operation today.

Connect with Bobby on LinkedIn and Twitter

Leslie Read – Principal at Deloitte

Leslie is a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP, and leader of our Health Plans Customer Transformation Solutions. Her client work has focused on helping chief marketing officers, chief strategy officers, chief customer officers, and other health plan and provider sector leaders to develop innovative programs to transform their organizations to be more consumer centric and drive consumer engagement in health, and to deliver profitable organic growth through enhanced strategies and new capabilities focused on the emerging healthcare consumer.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Leslie was a partner at management consultancy The Monitor Group, which was acquired by Deloitte in 2013. She previously worked at Korn/Ferry International, a large, multi-national executive search firm. Leslie holds an AB from Princeton University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She also sits on the Boston Board for Peer Health Exchange.

Connect with Leslie on LinkedIn

Jeff Wells – CEO of Marathon Health

Jeff Wells, MD, the CEO and co-founder of Marathon, a modern health company that specializes in delivering advanced independent primary care for employers throughout its network of onsite, Network and virtual health centers. The company has delivered more than $1 billion in healthcare savings to date for its clients, which includes Cargill, Tyson Foods, The City of Indianapolis and OneAmerica. Wells, who earned his MD in internal medicine from Indiana University, was president and co-founder of OurHealth, which merged with Marathon Health in January 2020. He is the former director of Indiana’s Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning.

Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn and Twitter

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