Maintaining Health Information Exchange Competitiveness in a New Health Care Market

The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed digital transformation in all aspects of our society, from politics and economics to education and health care systems. Unsurprisingly, the pandemic contributed to the skyrocketing adoption of information technologies, especially in the health care system. While only 43% of health centers were capable of providing telemedicine prior to the pandemic, this number increased to 95% over 2020. Insurance claims for telemedicine services also grew from roughly 529,000 in February 2020 to 12 million in April 2020.

The digital transformation of the health care industry is not merely restricted to increased use of telemedicine and telehealth, but also the creation of new care-delivery systems unexpectedly driven by agents external to the health care system, including new medical technology startups and retail companies. This also may be the very first time that agents outside of the market are leading changes inside the health care market, with new entrants to the market challenging the role that traditional health care providers have played.