In 2014, IDC estimated that if all digital data in healthcare were loaded onto the memory in a stack of tablets, it would reach 82,000 miles high, or one-third of the way to the moon by 2020.

Digitization in healthcare is gaining momentum through the use of data aggregation, advanced data analytics, and increased access to big data. Life sciences organizations are digitally transforming their processes by using these tools to accelerate the development of new drugs, devices, and digital medicine solutions.

As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health crisis continues to re-shape health care delivery—largely through increased utilization of telehealth services—payers and providers are grappling with how best to navigate dramatic shifts in the system.

The three priorities of healthcare delivery — cost, quality, and access — need not be at odds with each other. Employers today are increasingly engaged in a range of innovative approaches to improve healthcare quality and control costs that directly address some of the underlying flaws in the system.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has stated that healthcare spending is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.4% between 2019 and 2028, reaching over $6 trillion in total spend by 2028.

Social determinants of health (SDoH) have a major impact on individual and population outcomes. Health plans are constantly striving to improve these outcomes and member experiences. By assessing social factors and addressing the challenges pertinent to those factors, payers can positively impact member-population health. A deeper understanding of factors that affect members' health can significantly reduce utilization and costs, thereby improving the overall plan performance.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telemedicine for all consumers, forcing healthcare providers to move care beyond the clinical setting. This means that stakeholders across the continuum of care have to ensure improved access to critical services and reduce cost constraints.

Healthcare organizations today are faced with a complex set of demographic, technological and economic changes, forcing employers to reconsider and revamp their approach to ensure comprehensive healthcare delivery. These changes are taking place due to increased access to big data and advanced data analytics, which in turn compel organizations to redefine the employee benefits experience. This means empowering employees to access and optimize this data to actualize a personalized, preventive and predictive vision of healthcare.

Navigating U.S. healthcare can be overwhelming. Even in the best of times, simple tasks like scheduling appointments and managing proper medications seem like obstacles to accessing quality care. With COVID-19, the situation has become much more challenging. Millions of people have been infected with the virus. Though we see many people recover, the pandemic has definitely added a lot of confusion and anxiety in already complicated care journeys for patients.

Healthcare in the U.S. is an expensive affair. A survey revealed that hospitalizations in America that involve operating room procedures constitute 29% of the total 38.6 million hospital stays, including 48% of the total $387 billion in hospital costs. Operating Rooms create a massive amount of revenue for the facility. However, identifying the characteristics and costs of OR procedures and equipment can result in high surgical turnover, along with reduced postoperative complications, enhanced patient-centered outcomes, and higher patient satisfaction.