COVID-19 has irrevocably altered the way in which we provide and receive healthcare. In an interview with McKinsey’s David Knott, American venture capitalist Annie Lamont highlights the sudden – and sorely needed – shift from in-hospital care to the remote monitoring.
“One of the transformative events of the past several months is that doctors and consumers realised that so much of what they’re doing can be done virtually, and that home care can be far safer than institutional care,” says Lamont. “Vesta Healthcare [for example] provides care management in the home, with remote patient monitoring and a payer model that is an incentive for Vesta to keep patients out of the hospital and healthy.”
Transferring care from the hospital to the home has also accelerated the need for, and use of, technology-orientated models. “It is driven by the need to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right time, and at the right cost,” says Lamont. “The technology has been there, but the will to change has not — until today. Behaviour change is the biggest barrier to progress in any industry, and it has been particularly challenging in healthcare.”
When it comes to managing a chronic condition, or any number of CaReMe conditions, in-hospital care can play only a small role in the overall treatment plan.
“Eighty percent of healthcare costs are driven by chronic diseases that need a holistic model of care,” Lamont agrees. For optimal care, a patient’s health status must be monitored remotely and continuously – a Model of Care that is actively promoted and facilitated by the CaReMe Global Alliance.
