Global Health Care Outlook1525

2021 global health care
outlook
Accelerating industry change
Contents
Overview and outlook 2
Global healthcare sector issues in 2021 5
Consumers and the human experience 5
Care model innovation 7
Digital transformation and interoperable data 10
Socioeconomic shifts 18
Collaboration22
Future of work and talent 25
Questions/actions health care leaders should consider for 2021 27
Endnotes32
2021 global health care outlook
Overview and outlook
T
HE COVID-19 PANDEMIC is placing
enormous strain on the global health care
sector’s workforce, infrastructure, and supply
chain, and exposing social inequities in health and
care. COVID-19 is also accelerating change across
the ecosystem and forcing public and private
health systems to adapt and innovate in a
short period.
A number of foundational shifts are arising from

and being exacerbated by COVID-19’s spread.
Examples include consumers’ increasing
involvement in health care decision-making; the
rapid adoption of virtual health and other digital
innovations; the push for interoperable data and
data analytics use; and unprecedented public-
private collaborations in vaccine and therapeutics
development. Amid these dynamics, governments,
health care providers, payers, and other
stakeholders around the globe are being challenged
to quickly pivot, adapt, and innovate.
We expect industry leaders to use the momentum

ignited by organizational and ecosystem responses
to COVID-19 to address six pressing sector issues
in 2021 (figure 1).
How health care stakeholders analyze, understand,

and respond to these issues will shape their ability
to navigate from recovering to thriving in the
postpandemic “new normal” and advance their
journey along the path to the Future of Health™.
2
FIGURE 1
Global health care sector issues in 2021

Digital transformation and interoperable data Work and talent
• Transitioning from standardized clinical protocols • Introduction of new business models,
to personalized medicine exponential technology, and agile ways of
• Leveraging AI to provide real-time care, working
interventions, and nudges to change consumer • Capacity and demand analysis to match the
behavior and patterns pandemic’s needs
• Utilization of remote staff (clinical and
nonclinical)
Socioeconomic shifts Consumers and the

• Programs to support a human experience
person’s holistic well-being • Consumers’ increased
• Recognition of the need to ownership of their health
focus on underserved and data
populations and work with • Provision of clear and
governments to modify concise information on
policies and programs treatment care and cost
• Balance between virtual
visits and a trusted
physician’s relationship
Care model innovation Collaborations

• Changing focus from acute care to prevention • Ecosystems that enable real-time data and
and well-being analytics and serve as centers for education,
• Transitioning from standardized clinical prevention, and treatment
protocols to personalized medicine • Ecosystems that connect consumers to virtual,
• Evolving payment models: value-based/ home, in-person, and auxiliary care providers
outcome-focused; universal coverage
• Making financial operation and performance
improvements
Source: Deloitte analysis.

Deloitte Insights | deloitte.com/insights
3
GLOBAL HEALTH CARE BY THE NUMBERS

• Combined public and private health care spending is expected to fall globally by 2.6% in 2020, due
in large measure to the detrimental effects of COVID-19–related lockdowns and social distancing
measures on the provision of nonemergent care and care restrictions. In most countries,
nonessential surgeries and screenings were postponed for months, although outpatient care was
far more affected than inpatient care or pharmaceuticals.1
• Fallout from the pandemic’s associated global economic recession also appears to have muted
health care spending in 2020. Patients reduced visits to physician offices, clinics, and emergency
departments; delayed refilling drug prescriptions; and cut back on discretionary health care
purchases. In some countries, job losses ate into contribution levels for employment-based health
insurance, despite extensive government support.2
• COVID-19’s global grip is likely to extend well into 2021; however, health care spending should
begin to recover as governments invest heavily both to control the pandemic and to roll out
COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. A recommencement of deferred surgical and diagnostic
procedures and an improving economy should also boost spending.3
• Between 2020 and 2024, global health spending is expected to rise at a 3.9% compound annual
growth rate (CAGR), considerably faster than the 2.8% recorded in 2015–2019.4 The fastest growth
will be in Asia and Australasia (5.3%) and the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe
(5.2%), and the slowest in Latin America (0.7%).5
• Global health care spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to rise to
10.4% in 2020, up from 10.2% the previous three years. The sector’s GDP share should average
10.3% in 2021 and 2022.6
• Drivers for continued health care spending growth include population aging, increasing demand
for care, countries’ gradual economic recovery, clinical and technology advances, and the
expansion of public health care systems. In addition, the growing international competition for
health care workers may push up labor costs.7
• On a per-capita basis, spending will likely continue to be unevenly spread, ranging from US$12,703
in the United States to just US$37 in Pakistan in 2024. Efforts to close this gap will be hampered by
higher population growth in many developing economies.8
• Population growth and aging’s impacts on public health care systems will likely vary by region. The
global population of 7.8 billion (as of November 2020) is expected to increase an average of 81
million per year, to 8 billion by 2023.9 Asia and Africa are the fastest-growing regions. Meanwhile,
life expectancy at birth continues to rise, reaching an estimated 74.1 years in 2020 and a projected
74.9 by 2024. Nigeria and Pakistan are among the countries expected to see both larger and
younger populations (41% and 35%, respectively, of their populations will be 14 years or younger
in 2024). Meanwhile, the populations of Japan, Venezuela, and much of Europe will be shrinking
and aging.10
• As the pandemic has proven, communicable diseases continue to pose a threat, especially
in emerging economies. Also notable is the steady increase in noncommunicable diseases
(NCDs) such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. NCDs account for 41 million deaths a
year, or 71% of the global total—and this share rises to more than 80% in the most developed
markets.11 Increasing life expectancy and lifestyle-related factors (rapid urbanization, lack of
exercise, changing diets, and rising obesity levels) are primarily responsible for NCDs’ increasing
morbidity rates.12
4
Global health care

sector issues in 2021
Consumers and the • Many consumers show greater activity

human experience and engagement. Consumers are increasingly
willing to tell their doctors when they disagree
Consumers are driving—and accelerating—the pace with them, are using tools to get information on
of change in health care. Their needs and goals are costs and health issues, are tracking their health
driving innovation in health-related products, conditions and using that data to make care-
services, and tools. Their preferences are driving related decisions, and are accessing and using
the development of digitally enabled, on-demand, their medical record data.
and seamlessly connected clinician-patient
interactions. Their demands are driving the • Consumers are using virtual visits more
transition to patient-centric care delivery across than ever before and plan to continue
geographies and socioeconomic groups. And their using them. Since the onset of the pandemic,
expectations are driving industry stakeholders to consumers using virtual visits rose from 15% to
elevate a transactional patient/customer health 19% from 2019 to early 2020; this jumped to
care encounter into a holistic human 28% in April 2020. Even before COVID-19,
health experience. consumer adoption of virtual visits has been
increasing since 2018. On average, 80% are
COVID-19 has challenged consumers’ sense of likely to have another virtual visit,
well-being and accelerated their desire and even post COVID-19.
determination to become more active, engaged,
and empowered in managing their health. • More consumers are using technology
Consumers are learning about their health risks, for health monitoring. Growing numbers of
communicating with their doctors in new and consumers are using technology to monitor
different ways, and changing their attitudes about their health, measure fitness, and order
data privacy. They want convenience, access, and prescription drug refills. More than three-
transparency around treatment care and cost. Each quarters of those who track their health say it
of these factors has a significant influence on how changes their behavior at least moderately.
consumers are feeling and interacting with their
health system,13 as seen in findings from Deloitte’s • A trusted clinician relationship remains
recent global and US health care surveys and a paramount. The top factors for “an ideal health
consumer survey during the peak of the care experience” include doctors who listen to/
COVID-19 crisis:14 care about them, who don’t rush, and provide
clear communication. As health systems,
technology companies, and others roll out virtual
5
services, it is imperative to provide the same strategies to build trust to make consumers feel
personal experience as during an in-person visit. comfortable sharing their personal health data. One
This is particularly true for organizations that strategy is to make clear that consumers own their
are developing tools or services for those with data. It was found that a large majority of
chronic conditions, as they are most likely to consumers (65%) think that they should own their
value a sustained relationship. own health data versus those (30%) who think their
doctor should own it, and even fewer who think that
the government
Focus is shifting from health care to health should own it.16 In a

recent Deloitte survey
and well-being. More resources (time, on human experience,
money, and attention) are being allocated consumers ranked

empathy and
from the end of the health care value chain reliability as the top
(treatment and aftercare) to the beginning.

two factors when
seeking out a health
There will be a greater focus on promoting care experience.17
healthy lifestyles, vitality, and wellness; on Every person’s health
primary and secondary prevention; and on journey is different.

Organizations along
early diagnosis.15 the entire health care
value chain should
Health care organizations need to consider another recommit themselves to understanding consumers
trust-related issue: Although more consumers are and creating a multifaceted strategy that speaks to
sharing data because of COVID-19, as the public where consumers are and what they need right now.
health crisis calms down, it’s unknown if they will be
willing to continue to do so. Organizations will need
6
Care model innovation Health care delivery models today are oriented
around the provider, primarily focused on physical
Health delivery organizations (HDOs) around the health, and prioritize location and payment model
world are struggling to solve long-present over consumer needs. Experiences are fragmented,
challenges of health care affordability, access, transactional, and analog, with redundancies,
quality, and efficiency. However, existing care misalignment, and disconnected interactions
models can impede their efforts to adapt and evolve common among functions and stakeholders. These
for the future, even as COVID-19 accelerates the characteristics can intensify existing operational
imperative to transform (see sidebar, “COVID-19’s and organizational headwinds pushing against
impact on care delivery model transformation”). efficient and effective health care delivery.
COVID-19’S IMPACT ON CARE DELIVERY MODEL TRANSFORMATION18

The health care delivery landscape and the behaviors of consumers it serves have pivoted
dramatically amid COVID-19–driven public health and social needs. New preferences and practices
are likely to remain in place postpandemic, accelerating the imperative for HDOs to transform care
models to remain relevant:
• Site of service and care transformation. Consumers expect providers to meet them where
they are and deliver care on their terms to ensure the utmost safety, security, and seamless
engagement experience.
• Ubiquitous adoption of virtual care. Increased adoption of provider-to-patient and provider-to-

provider interactions in virtual settings is making it more convenient and cost-efficient to monitor,
sense, diagnose, intervene, and treat acute and chronic conditions.
• Workforce reimagined. Workplace dynamics and practices are changing to address capacity
and demand challenges; examples include remote working and virtual delivery, multidisciplinary
teaming, and increased automation to reduce administrative burdens.
• New partnerships and markets. Competitors are creating nontraditional and public-private
partnerships to better serve the community; struggling small or boutique health organizations are
merging with/being acquired by larger ones that have withstood the pandemic’s economic impacts.
• Emerging disruptors. Giants from other industries are aggressively making moves to enter or
expand in the health care space (e.g., targeting rural areas and pharmacy delivery, pursuing market
dominance in remote monitoring).
• Health equity. Public and private health systems are addressing the remediable disparities
in health between race and socioeconomic status by offering more affordable, accessible, and
equitable health services.
7
FIGURE 2
Future-state health care delivery models
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Care model innovation can help HDOs reduce or and harmonize around meeting the holistic
eliminate many of the challenges arising from consumer’s needs and goals.
today’s delivery models. In our view, future-state
models (figure 2) will: • Place increased emphasis on the social
determinants, or drivers, of health.
• Orient around the consumer (who is better
educated and empowered to manage • Change focus from acute care to prevention
their own health). and well-being.
• Broaden the definition of “health” to include its • Transition from standardized clinical protocols
spiritual, mental, and emotional components to personalized medicine.
8
• Evolve payment models from volume-based to • Seventy-two percent of consumers understand

value-based/outcome-focused and make financial, their personal health and well-being needs and
operational, and performance improvements. goals; 60% of physicians are prioritizing a shift
to prevention and well-being.
• Expand the health care ecosystem to include
both incumbents and nontraditional health • Seventy-five percent of consumers want to work
care players. in partnership with providers on care and
health goals.
• Enable seamless physician-patient and
physician-physician interactions; automate, • Sixty percent of consumers feel comfortable
align, and integrate connections among all sharing their personal health data over virtual
functions and stakeholders. 19
health technology; 85% of physicians believe
that radical interoperability and data-sharing
In addition to helping deliver a more effective and will become standard practice.
satisfying patient and clinician experience, care
model innovation can assist in bending the HDO Care model transformation is neither quick nor
cost curve by decreasing fixed costs (property, easy. It typically requires a multiyear, multistep
equipment, and liability expense) by ~93–97% and approach in which organization leaders define the
variable costs (expenses for nonclinical labor, future-state delivery model; assess the gap between
overtime, supplies per admission/visit, drugs per the enterprise’s current state and desired future
admission/visit, medical claims, purchased state; prioritize and sequence initiatives to invest
services) by 45–60%. It can also open the door to in; and develop, implement, monitor, and measure
new and diversified revenue streams via targeted each initiative. Also, cost may be an impediment to
consumer growth and retention strategies and transformation: Providers, feeling the pressure to
investments in nonacute and sustainable move to new care models, may be financially
capabilities to compete in the “next normal.” strained by the postponement/cancellation of
nonessential surgeries and procedures during the
Consumer and provider responses to recent Deloitte pandemic. Despite the potential hurdles, the
surveys20 indicate their support for a transition to necessity for providers to adopt new care delivery
new care models and supporting technologies: models is growing if they want to thrive on the
other side of the pandemic.
9
Digital transformation frequently used technologies across the EU were

and interoperable data electronic health records (EHRs) and e-prescribing.24
Survey respondents identified their top three
COVID-19 has been a driver and accelerator of challenges to digital transformation as bureaucracy in
health care digital innovation in 2020. The health care, the cost of technologies, and finding the
pandemic concurrently has exposed a growing gap right technologies.25 A lack of staff training in using
between the demand for health care and the supply digital technologies also is a barrier to progress.26
of staff and other resources, and it has crystallized
stakeholder awareness that widespread adoption of Three technologies are playing increasingly pivotal
digital technologies is critical to help close that roles in health care digital transformation around
gap.21 As a result, many digital initiatives that have the globe—cloud computing, AI, and virtual
been in the works for years are coming to fruition care delivery.
in mere weeks or months.
Health care organizations today are transitioning

TECH GIANTS’ INVOLVEMENT ACCELERATES
HEALTH CARE DIGITALIZATION IN CHINA
to health IT systems powered by cloud computing
and data and analytics tools to enable real-time, China’s government is fostering the use of
telehealth, mobile technologies, and other
smart digital health. They are using interoperable
digital advances to make primary health care
data and platforms supported by deep learning
more convenient, accessible, and helpful to
capabilities, “always on” biosensors, and behavioral
the general population. Application scenarios
research to shape consumer beliefs and actions.
include digital medical platforms, online
They are also applying virtual care, artificial medical consultations, smart hospitals,
intelligence (AI), and other technologies to health management, big data, and analytics.
personalize medicine, enable real-time care In addition, Chinese technology giants are
interventions, and provide behavioral nudges. accelerating health care digitalization in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020:
How dramatically has COVID-19 accelerated digital
• Alibaba launched an online clinic service, a
adoption and transformation across the health care
drug delivery service for chronic diseases,
ecosystem? Deloitte recently surveyed 1,800
and an AI algorithm that can identify the
doctors and nurses and interviewed key health care image of coronavirus-infected pneumonia
stakeholders in several European Union (EU) in 20 seconds, with an accuracy rate of
countries to assess their adoption of digital 96%.27
technologies, both in general and in response to
• WeChat launched a national epidemic
the pandemic.22 Overall, nearly 65% of survey
dynamic page with functions such as
respondents said their organization had increased
medical popularization, real-time epidemic
its adoption of digital technologies to support
statistics, and fever outpatient mapping.28
clinicians’ ways of working. A similar number
(64.3%) reported that their organization had • Tencent launched an AI-powered symptom
increased its adoption of digital technologies to self-screening tool that helps users with
provide virtual support and ways of engaging with suspected symptoms to obtain medical
guidance. Tencent is also making its cloud
patients.23
computing, AI, and big data capabilities
available as free technical support for
In other survey and interview findings, there is wide
virus mutation prediction, antiviral drug
variation among countries in their adoption of
screening, and vaccine research.29
different types of digital technologies. The most
10
CLOUD COMPUTING Now, it’s time for hospitals and health systems to
Many health care organizations will be exiting the put their cloud strategies into action. Initial efforts
pandemic under massive cost pressures: are likely to focus on migrating EHRs, enabling
Unanticipated pandemic-related operating remote care and remote work, and producing a
expenses (e.g., personal protective equipment scalable virtual desktop. We expect more
[PPE], ventilators, therapeutics) and substantial transformation work to follow, such as enabling
revenue losses from deferred/cancelled surgical remote call centers, integrating videoconferencing/
and diagnostic procedures have hospital and health remote care with EHRs, and configuring the
system leaders looking for ways to concurrently appropriate tools, software, and technology to
increase efficiency and reduce costs. A major deliver and manage an IT infrastructure to power
opportunity area is modernizing their business/ the future of health.32
technology infrastructure by accelerating the
transition of computing operations from brick and Cybersecurity, always an important
mortar data centers to the cloud. consideration for health care organizations—which
have endured repeated attacks from cyber-
Cloud computing technology is increasingly seen as criminals—will continue to be a front-burner issue
a solution to improve health systems’ IT for cloud providers and their customers. With the
infrastructure and reduce costs, due to its ability to pandemic shifting many workers to remote
process and deliver data in an efficient, locations and increasing clinician and patient use
collaborative manner and analyze data into of telehealth and other virtual technologies,
meaningful information. Cloud enables health care organizations will likely need to change the way
organizations to move from a highly centralized they approach security across a more distributed
approach in which each organization acquires and network.33 Fortunately, leading cloud providers are
maintains the requisite hardware, software, and extremely large and have sophisticated cyber
staff, regardless of whether the resources are used safeguards in place and typically share the
at full capacity, to a decentralized approach in responsibility of protecting their customers’ data
which they have real-time, easy-to-use, remote and operations, with security in the cloud being
access to data, paying cloud service providers only the customer’s responsibility and security of the
for what they use—storage, applications (software- cloud the cloud provider’s responsibility.
as-a-service), or infrastructure services.30
Security isn’t the only concern in managing a newly
We are already seeing evidence of accelerated cloud distributed workforce and workplace.Organizations
adoption. Cloud spending increased by 11% in the that migrate to the cloud will need to find new
second quarter of 2020 compared to the same ways of working—especially in terms of core
period the previous year.31 Most medium-to-large infrastructure and application development—to
organizations have at least a nascent cloud strategy, remove development bottlenecks and get new
and some are already well on their way to releases out faster.34 As is typically the case with
implementing it. They’ve selected their cloud any new technology, the ability to execute at scale
providers, determined which data and workloads and speed may be initially challenging.
to migrate, and started to identify and understand
interoperability issues.
11
However, hospitals and health systems that move reducing alert fatigue and false positives—one of
to cloud computing could see significant benefits, the reasons for physician burnout.
such as elimination of operational redundancies,
improved insights into their data, and enhanced The ability of AI to examine large amounts of
ability to govern that data. They could also build information quickly can help hospital and health
more flexible IT resource consumption models and plan administrators optimize performance,
more effectively manage costs.35 increase productivity, and improve resource
utilization, resulting in time and cost efficiencies.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Additionally, AI-enabled solutions can speed up
AI is gaining traction in health care. Early use and strengthen the insight-generation process by
centered on automating manual processes, but the allowing an organization to gain the holistic picture
pandemic has opened doors for AI and other it needs to make data-driven decisions. Finally, AI
digital technologies to solve complex clinical and can also deliver personalized experiences by
nonclinical problems.36 facilitating conversations with patients through
virtual assistants.
AI uses algorithms and machine learning (ML) to
analyze and interpret data, deliver personalized Health care AI applications vary by type of
experiences, and automate repetitive and operation (figure 3).
expensive health care operations. These functions
have the potential to augment the work of both In Chile, which has close to 5 million people with
operational and clinical staff in decision-making, chronic conditions,39 health management company
reduce the time spent on administrative tasks, and AccuHealth is using AI-powered, real-time remote
allow humans to focus on more challenging and monitoring to identify high-risk individuals and
impactful management and clinical work. For37
those in immediate need of intervention. This
example, AI-based solutions can effectively enables health coaches to concentrate on those for
streamline diagnostic and treatment processes by whom the impact of monitoring is likely greatest,
using large amounts of structured and decreasing the cost and effort involved in
unstructured medical data across hospitals and managing populations.40
health systems. This can aid physicians in clinical
decision-making by providing them with real-time, At the Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s largest
data-driven insights that they can alter and hospital campus, efficiencies created by AI support
implement based on their personal expertise. 38
quality improvement by prioritizing critical cases
in radiologists’ workflow, reducing time to
AI-powered solutions can also assist in accurately treatment and improving diagnostic accuracy.41
scheduling and planning clinical staff rotation—a Working with Aidoc, a technology startup, the
major challenge for health systems since the onset hospital team focused on time-sensitive and
of the pandemic—by factoring in operational potentially life-threatening conditions that can
constraints such as the number of staff, availability, benefit from a quicker diagnosis, including brain,
skills, and specific equipment required. AI can also neck, chest and abdomen imaging.42 With 96%
minimize patient risk by identifying medication accuracy, Aidoc’s solution has been shown to
errors that traditional, rule-based clinical decision reduce turnaround time by 32% for critical cases.43
support systems are unable to detect, while also
12
FIGURE 3
AI applications in health care by type of operation
Clinical Nonclinical
EFFICIENCY EFFICIENCY
Symptom analysis for COVID-19 Automating administrative tasks

Accelerating scientific discovery Accelerating and amplifying insights
processes generation
Smart workforce management: Fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA)
- Planning and scheduling detection and prevention
- Talent crowdsourcing
RISK MANAGEMENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Medication-related error detection Conversational AI
Source: Kumar Chebrolu, Dan Ressler, and Hemnabh Varia, Smart use of artificial intelligence in health care:
Seizing opportunities in patient care and business activities, Deloitte Insights, October 22, 2020.
US-based health insurer Anthem launched a digital effective care and operations. Enterprises that lean
application called Sydney Care that includes an into AI adoption are likely to gain immediate
AI-powered symptom checker, personalized returns through cost reduction and have a
engagement features, and access to personalized competitive advantage.46
health information as well as virtual health services.
The app connects consumers with virtual primary VIRTUAL HEALTH
care providers and lets users take a COVID-19 Prior to COVID-19, Deloitte estimated that broader
assessment.44 adoption of virtual care was still three or four years
away. According to our surveys, consumers were
Many countries are exploring AI’s potential in receptive to the idea of virtual care, but physicians
diagnostic imaging. Gangnam Severance Hospital in were more skeptical. However, as the virus spread
Seoul, South Korea, tested Samsung’s S-Detect for and safety concerns grew, virtual interactions
Breast (which analyzes ultrasound images for breast became a necessity. Seemingly overnight, virtual
lesions and provides standardized reports and health technologies became an essential
classifications) to determine whether AI could component in care delivery, enabling clinicians and
improve diagnostic accuracy. For doctors with patients to stay connected via video chats, phone
experience of four years or less, the software calls, texts, and emails when COVID-19 lockdowns
increased the accuracy of diagnosis from 83–87%.45 and quarantines precluded in-person
appointments. Similarly, telehealth, telepharmacy,
AI is already delivering on making aspects of health and virtual-hospital-at-home programs—aided by
care more efficient. Over time it will likely be regulatory and payer policy changes—are extending
essential to supporting clinical and other and enhancing the care continuum.
applications that result in more insightful and
13
According to Deloitte survey respondents, most future-focused role as a digital enabler in the
consumers are satisfied with their virtual visits and broader movement to rethink, reimagine, and
say they will use this type of care again. In addition, redesign care delivery models. Still, there are
virtual visits can also help reduce care delivery questions around virtual health’s staying power
costs for providers and consumers. Now that (figure 4).
consumers and health systems have experienced
the convenience and effectiveness of virtual care, it A small reversal in virtual care use is likely to occur
may be difficult to turn back the clock. We expect it as the pandemic eases, vaccines become widely
will be the norm for numerous types of clinical available, and patients again feel comfortable
interactions after the pandemic passes. 47
engaging with their caregivers in person.
The recent spurt in virtual health’s growth is A virtual consultation is not always a good
prompting industry stakeholders to reassess its alternative to a physical appointment; for example,
current role as a substitute for/supplement to if an explanation of a complicated diagnosis or
in-person triage, screening, monitoring, and treatment is needed.48 However, signals indicate
e-visits both in and out of the hospital to its that virtual health will be the norm for numerous
FIGURE 4
The staying power of virtual health

Many speculate whether virtual health adoption will endure after COVID-19 subsides.
Continued virtual health usage in the new reality will land somewhere on the spectrum
between pre–COVID-19 and outbreak levels.
Physical
Increasing care complexity and acuity

Increasing care complexity and acuity
Physical care as a last line of defense

Funnel consumers to physical care
Physical COVID-19 factor

• COVID-19 has created an urgent need
for virtual and digital capabilities
Tele
• Primary and nonemergent care has
moved to virtual modalities at
an unprecedented pace
Tele • There is an opportunity to maintain
momentum and design for Virtual
a digital future
Virtual
Digital
Digital
Health delivery Health delivery

pre–COVID-19 during COVID-19
Some organizations will maintain their momentum and vigorously pursue self-disruption
while others will be followers. Organizations should determine where they want to play
within this spectrum and then craft a strategy articulating how to win in that space.

14
types of clinical interactions after the exchange, integrate, and cooperatively use data in
pandemic passes. 49
a coordinated, standardized manner, within and
across organizational, regional, and national
COVID-19 has helped break down regulatory, boundaries.51 It is an essential building block for a
financial, and behavioral barriers to allow virtual health system without walls—one that provides
care to be widely integrated into our health care timely and seamless portability of information,
system and meet patients’ needs.50 Organizations leverages advanced analytics to generate novel
should develop specific use cases that show how insights, and optimizes the health of individuals
health may be managed and delivered using virtual and populations globally.52
tools in the postpandemic environment.
Radical data interoperability is a required
foundational capability to enable health care
JAPAN FINALLY HITS “GO” ON E-VISITS providers, insurers, and other stakeholders to
Although e-visits have been available to deliver patient-facing programs and associated
health care providers (HCPs) and patients technologies. When implemented correctly, it can
in Japan since 2018, the technology help greatly improve care delivery and patient
has remained underutilized because empowerment53 and provide a solid return on
regulations restricted e-visits to second
investment (ROI) by:
and further appointments for designated
diseases. Pandemic-related HCP resource
• Reducing administrative costs as manual
shortages have prompted the government
processes such as quality reporting or obtaining
to temporarily ease the restriction, allowing
e-visits beginning with the initial consultation. prior authorizations are replaced or optimized
With the current administration trying to by technology;
make the change permanent, companies
providing platform services are gaining • Increasing efficiency of care delivery as
greater attention from providers and providers can leverage technology to more
the public. efficiently treat patients through an integrated
care delivery model that includes virtual settings;
PAIRING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION • Reducing the total cost of care through

AND RADICALLY INTEROPERABLE DATA more effective and efficient population health
Digital transformation can help generate management techniques that use technology to
significant benefits for patients, clinicians, and lower unit costs and utilization rates; and
health systems (figure 5), especially when paired
with radically interoperable data and insights. • Increasing revenue and growth through an
improved patient experience, more effective
Data interoperability allows different information patient steerage, and enhanced ability to meet
systems, devices, and applications to access, quality and cost performance targets.54
15
FIGURE 5
The benefits of digital transformation
Benefits for patients

• Empowers patients to monitor and self-manage their health
• Increases access to more timely and convenient care
• Improves medication management
• Enhances the patient experience
• Enables more predictive, preventative, personalized,
and participatory care
Digital transformation
is a change management
process to close the gap
between demand
and supply
Benefits for health care systems Benefits for clinicians

• Enables integration through greater • Supports clinical decision-making
interoperability and coordination • Frees up capacity by automating
of care pathways repetitive tasks and improving triage
• Improves the economy, efficiency, • Improves job satisfaction by enabling
and effectiveness of systems clinicians to practice at the
and processes top of their license
• Enables new models of care such as • Identifies and supports staff
value-based care and population well-being needs
health management
Source: Deloitte, Shaping the future of European healthcare, September 2020.

Finland’s Kanta Services is an example of radical have control over the flow of their data, can view
data interoperability in action. Launched in 2010 their full health records, and can request repeat
as the national health infrastructure and archive, prescriptions via an online service. A patient data
Kanta Services includes electronic patient records, repository allows centralized archiving of
e-prescriptions, imaging and other test data, electronic patient data, as well as active data use
electronic social care documents, and personal and storage, and plays a key role in sharing
health and well-being records. The records are information between health care providers.55 Kanta
always up to date and available to clinicians Services provides robust data security and
nationwide to add real-time information. Patients protection and complies with relevant legislation.56
16
Government involvement and support—through provide patients with more choices in their
legislation, funding, and/or partnering health care
arrangements—are crucial to scaling data
interoperability across nations, regions, and the • Calls on the health care industry to adopt
world. National health information technology standardized application programming
(HIT) platforms in Estonia, the Netherlands, and interfaces (APIs), allowing individuals to
Australia have laid the foundation for patient securely and easily access structured electronic
control over their health information and for health information (EHI) using
interoperable and secure data exchange among smartphone applications
providers.57 To support interoperability, all three
countries have implemented a system of unique • Includes a provision requiring that patients be
IDs for patients, providers, and organizations, as allowed electronic access to all of their
well as strict authentication rules.58In addition, structured and/or unstructured EHI at
these countries have incorporated legal and no cost.60
technological safeguards for data privacy and
security. Before connecting to a national network, Responding to public health threats posed by the
providers must demonstrate that their IT systems pandemic, the ONC in October released an interim
meet technical and security requirements. final rule with a comment period that extends the
Consumers can authorize and restrict access for compliance dates and timeframes necessary to
certain providers, restrict access to portions of the meet certain requirements related to information
record, and close the record altogether. The blocking and conditions and maintenance of the
systems generate access logs, so consumers know certification requirements.61
who viewed or contributed to their record.59
Individuals’ willingness to share data is important
In the United States, the 21st Century Cures Act for developing the interoperable data platforms
and follow-on final rules are facilitating health care necessary to drive innovation and discovery. The
stakeholders’ sharing of radically interoperable increasing inclination of Canada’s citizens to share
data. In early 2020, the US Department of Health personal health data, along with growing adoption
and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National of digital solutions within Canada’s health sector, is
Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) released the creating a significant opportunity for an
Cures Act Final Rule, which established exceptions interoperable, data-driven approach to monitoring
to the 21st Century Cures Act’s information and improving population health. While
blocking provision. Specifically, the final rule: foundational data collection capabilities are
continuing to advance in silos, the next stage of
• Gives patients and their health care providers maturity involves the integration of clinical and
secure access to health information nonclinical data sets to make them interoperable
and able to “talk to each other,” with the goal of
• Aims to increase innovation and competition by improving health outcomes and promoting
fostering an ecosystem of new applications to proactive health and well-being management.62
17
A new value chain is With COVID-19 as an accelerator, the confluence of
emerging around health governments, health care organizations, and

consumers interested in and willing to share
data. Individuals are information is tipping the balance in favor of
experiencing a data
increased health data interoperability. Yet to be
settled is the thorny issue of data ownership; in the
explosion through United States, data is patient-owned; in other

countries, it’s government- or health system-
wearables and growing owned. The intersession of standards bodies to set
numbers of “always on” global parameters around privacy and data security
should help to mitigate concerns.
sensors in the home, at
work, and in the medical Socioeconomic shifts
environment. This data
will increasingly be used
Only part of an individual’s health status depends
on his or her behavior and choice.64 Some studies
for personalized insights say that up to 80% of health outcomes are affected
by social, economic, and environmental factors:65
and interventions, and social determinants of health that include physical
primarily aimed at vitality, environment, food, infrastructure, economy,

wealth, employment, education, social connections,
prevention and early and safety.66 An increasing demographic of
diagnosis. This will create underserved consumers and communities is

leading to health inequities—systematic
a new data value chain, disparities in the opportunities groups have to
offering opportunities for

achieve optimal health, leading to unfair and
avoidable differences in health outcomes.67
existing players and new

We already see strong disparities based on race and
entrants in data collection, income for most diseases—from diabetes to heart
data analysis, translating disease to mental health issues. Now COVID-19

has thrust health equity into the spotlight and is
analyses to personalized magnifying the profound impact that systemic
insights and interventions racism has on the health and well-being of

individuals and their communities. Numerous
for patients, and accessing studies have shown that COVID-19
these insights through

disproportionately impacts low-income
populations and communities of color.68
a user-friendly visual In the United States:
interface.63
18
• Among racial and ethnic groups, Blacks have across 45 countries.75 Also, the World Bank’s
had the highest COVID-19–related Global Economic Prospects Report 2020 estimates
hospitalization rate, with 465 per 100,000, that COVID-19 will push another 71 million people
which is nearly four times the rate of white into extreme poverty under its baseline scenario
Americans (123/100,000).69 and 100 million in its downside scenario. The
worst-affected countries will be those in South Asia
• Black residents of a community are three times and Sub-Saharan Africa, where rates of poverty are
as likely as their white neighbors to become already high.76
infected with COVID-19 and are more than
twice as likely to die from it.70 Black Americans What can health care stakeholders do to make
are more likely to be employed in front-line, health more equitable? A growing number of
essential jobs—and are more likely burdened professional associations, health care organizations,
with chronic disease—because of the drivers of and community-focused ecosystems of clinical and
health. If infected, the mortality rate from non-clinical stakeholders have used social media
COVID-19 is higher for Black people because of and their public platforms to decry the impact of
delays in or limited access to testing racism on health status.77 Another approach
and treatment.71 involves quantifying the impacts of racial and
economic disparities and then designing proactive
• More than 60% of US Hispanic and 44% of organizational strategies to alter the trajectory.
Black households have experienced a job or This process starts by placing equity at the center
wage loss due to COVID-19, compared to 38% and expanding from there. Deloitte’s health equity
of white households. 72
framework (figure 6) outlines the foundation for
this work, giving specificity to the issues and
The higher mortality rate for COVID-19 among opportunities that should be addressed to achieve
nonwhite racial groups in the United States and this broader goal.78
the pandemic’s health and economic impacts on
other countries’ lower-income populations Some populations suffer from far greater disparities
illustrate the pervasive and systemic health care in health than others. Policies that foster inequities
access issues inherent in many markets.73 For at all levels (from organization to community to
example, COVID-19 has exposed capacity and county, state, and nation) are critical drivers of
capability issues in China’s tiered health care structural inequities;79 however, such inequities can
system, including limited inpatient capacity of be mitigated by social policies that can shape health
Class III hospitals; insufficient diagnosis and in powerful ways.80 Case in point: The Chinese
treatment capabilities and infrastructure in Class II government’s upcoming 14th 5-Year Plan, expected
and below hospitals.74 In addition, the pandemic to be finalized by mid-March, 2021, is likely to
has undermined vaccination programs in fragile highlight the central government’s areas of
health systems in Africa and other underdeveloped particular attention to remedy the uneven
regions. The United Nations warns that this could distribution of resources in the public service sector
put 80 million children at risk from preventable and the ill-prepared emergency response
diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and measles mechanism, especially in the field of public health.81
19
FIGURE 6
Health equity framework
ing
Hous nnectivity Econom
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co ty Job opp growth
rnet nd mobili
Inte rtation a ortun
ities
o
nsp
Tra
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ructu Econ
omy
rast
Inf
We Bas
alth ic ne
acc ity
Food secur
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acc eds
umu
Food
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Foo
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TA Empathy
E
CO TURES
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ain well-bei
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ng
CU
ENVIRON
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L
CHN
eople, commu
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TE
environment
th
niti
Heal
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Clima al health
EQUITY
Employment be ent
Meaningful w efits
te change
Employme
Secure employ
borhoods
ets
A nti-
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in d s
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ty d u c a ti t h , d i l li
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fi
Com m
u n it y re l atio n s h i p s

THE MENTAL WELL-BEING AND to physical health as well as mental and emotional
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH IMPERATIVE well-being.82 Isolation can have significant impacts
The pandemic, with its companion economic and on health outcomes, with the long-term effects of
social justice crises and uncertainty around vaccine loneliness similar to those caused by smoking or
production and distribution, has produced spikes obesity.83 Studies show that people who do not feel
in anxiety, depression, and other mental and connected to others are more likely to catch a cold,
behavioral health challenges. Prolonged isolation experience depression, develop heart disease, have
and physical distancing measures are lower cognitive function, and live a shorter life.84
demonstrating how social connection contributes
20
These pandemic-related spikes are extensions of There is an enormous need for governments and
long-simmering issues in global behavioral health: organizations across the world to address mental
and behavioral health issues. For insurers, acute
• One in four people will be affected by a mental behavioral health issues are among the greatest
or neurological disorder at some point drivers of need for medical care and associated
during their lifetime.85 costs. Public and private health system providers
have clinical and business imperatives to address
• Approximately 10% of the world’s population is their patients’ needs. For employers, behavioral
affected by mental, neurological and/or health issues limit employees’ ability to work at
substance use disorders (MNS), making
86
their highest level and, in extreme cases, drive
mental health a leading cause of ill health absenteeism.95
and disability.
Unfortunately, industry stakeholders face
• Globally, it is estimated 264 million people considerable challenges in addressing the large
suffer from depression.87 scope of the behavioral health crisis, among them:
• Dementia affects upwards of 50 million people • Gaps in clinical and scientific knowledge.
globally. With the rise in global geriatric Research into understanding behavioral health
population and lack of treatments available, the disorders is still in an emerging phase. Even
number of people suffering with dementia is set well-defined disorders can be difficult to
to grow significantly in the future.88 categorize, diagnose, and treat. For example,
research suggests that 70% of people with
The burden of mental health conditions is bipolar disorder are initially misdiagnosed.96
increasing for countries and regions due to
unhealthy lifestyle practices, socioeconomic factors, • Stigma and drivers of health. In many
and genetic predispositions. One study estimated a parts of the world, individuals with mental and
US$210.5 billion cost to the global economy each behavioral health problems face stigma, which
year from major depression alone. The direct and
89
is less common for physical health problems.97
indirect costs of behavioral illness are estimated to This can make them less willing to seek
total up to 4% of global gross domestic product treatment or to share their personal
(GDP),90 exceeding the burden of cancer, diabetes, information with others, including clinicians.
and respiratory disease combined. Mental health
91
Meanwhile, social drivers of health, such as
disorders could cost the global economy up to access to nourishing food, a steady income, and
US$16 trillion between 2010 and 2030 if a a place to live, can contribute to the illness,
collective failure to respond is not addressed.92 Yet make it harder to provide effective care, and
countries currently spend less than 1% of their total undermine overall health.98
health expenditure on mental health services93 and
only 1% of the global health workforce is working • Inadequate, inaccessible, and
in mental health.94 Meanwhile, public and private unaffordable care systems. The general
care providers and social care services are challenge of providing mental and behavioral
experiencing new levels of utilization and pressure health services is made more difficult, in part,
amid burgeoning demand for mental and by a shortage of behavioral health specialists:
behavioral health support. The number of behavioral health workers in
21
low-income countries can be as low as two per Several health technology companies are already
100,000 people. The challenge is also a
99
developing analytics platforms to aggregate
problem in high-income countries: In the information from diverse data sets and generating
United States, over 100 million people live in actionable insights, which can be used to improve
communities designated as “health professional patient care, provider management, and overall
shortage areas” for behavioral health mental and behavioral health outcomes.
professionals.100 Although telehealth and app- Companies such as Innovacer, VirtualHealth, and
based access to behavioral health support is NowPoW are supplying interoperable,
expanding, diagnosis and care need to be more multipurpose care platforms to provide population
readily accessible, affordable, and integrated health-based solutions for behavioral health.103
with other medical and social services. Cerner’s integrated EHR combines patient health
data with behavioral health data to provide real-
• Siloed health care data management. The time insights; Arcadia provides behavioral health
sources for behavioral health information solutions that are compatible with a wider range of
frequently are not interoperable to support EHR vendors; and Optum Performance Analytics
clinical decision-making and other insights. integrates clinical and claims data with social
And even when there is data-sharing, it is not determinants of health indices and behavioral and
necessarily usable by everyone because data is patient-reported data.104
not interoperable across users and systems.
Finally, because of the associated stigma,
behavioral health challenges may be Collaboration
underreported even when data is available. 101
One legacy of the pandemic is likely to be a

We see six disruptive factors driving meaningful, renewed focus on collaboration across the health
global change in mental and behavioral health. ecosystem. Already, we have seen new relationship
First, cultural and behavioral transformation, paradigms to drive clinical innovation and
boosted by increased government investment and widespread knowledge and resource-sharing even
employer emphasis, will reduce the stigma among traditional competitors, as well as
associated with behavioral health issues. Second, heightened levels of trust. Traditional boundaries
advances in genetics, neuroscience, endocrinology, have become more porous or even erased, creating
and associated fields will lead to a more thorough opportunities for new health care behaviors, new
knowledge of behavioral health and effective business and funding models, and more effective
treatments. Third, widespread adoption of virtual stakeholder collaborations, leading to novel
care and use of AI to deliver more customized combinations of products and services from
solutions will increase consumer access to care. incumbents and new entrants.105
Fourth, data-sharing at scale across health systems
will facilitate proactive identification of behavioral
health issues. Fifth, interoperable data will support
sharing of diverse data types to better tailor
treatments. Sixth, empowered and informed
consumers will have greater choice of behavioral
health providers and treatments, and a higher-
quality care experience.102
22
COLLABORATION CAN STRENGTHEN THE HEALTH CARE SUPPLY CHAIN

The health care supply chain’s brittleness, global interdependencies, and vulnerability to shock
became painfully apparent during the early stages of the pandemic. It wasn’t just about whether
or not hospitals and health systems had access to ventilators and durable medical equipment;
supply shortages across personal protective equipment (PPE), medical devices, and pharmaceuticals
resulted in a volatile marketplace further complicated by price gouging, fraud, and low-quality
suppliers.106 Providers are likely to continue to struggle with supply chain issues in 2021 as COVID-19
outbreaks possibly surge, recede, and surge again. Fortunately, providers, along with manufacturers
and other suppliers tested by COVID-19, have learned first-hand how collaboration can strengthen
the health care supply chain.
Health care supply chains for many years have been optimized for cost; in the process, the system
has lost a significant amount of resilience, which became apparent when manufacturers and their
customers could not flex capacity at the rate necessary to respond to escalating COVID-19 cases and
hospitalizations. The pandemic has also highlighted some challenges in the way hospitals and health
systems manage their inventory. Over the past decade, most facilities have been using a just-in-time
(JIT) system to manage their supplies, which means medical inventory is intentionally limited. While
JIT is effective most of the time, this experience has taught us that health facilities should have a
system to respond to unexpected surges in demand.107
A “control tower” approach can help health company leaders to proactively manage their end-to-end
supply chains in real time, offering them a way to recognize the extraordinary cases and identify the
right triage and solutions. However, effectively managing both the short- and long-term implications
of an evolving health care supply chain will require new skills, business processes, relationships, and
advanced technologies.108
Enhanced manufacturer-distributor-customer collaboration can help strengthen the health care

supply chain by enabling the right level of resilience and redundancy in the system and boosting
providers’ ability to overcome challenges similar to those encountered earlier—and throughout—the
pandemic. Providers must evaluate their current critical supply stock, determine what is necessary
for scheduled care, and plan for any existing supply gaps by engaging with the vendors directly and/
or sourcing from alternate suppliers. And they must step up conservation, security, and preservation
efforts, including storage facilities and sterilization methods.109
Today’s supply chain challenges pale in comparison to the huge task ahead in getting lifesaving
COVID-19 vaccines to people around the world, in record time, to halt the virus’s spread. Importantly,
this will have to be done while maintaining production, distribution, and administration of other
therapies, including the seasonal flu shots, and other essential medicinal products. Lessons learned
about the importance of collaboration will be crucial to help governments as well as pharma and
logistics companies prepare manufacturing and worldwide distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.110
Provider-manufacturer-supplier collaboration was care supply chain”) and is at the center of COVID-
key to shoring up a vulnerable health care supply 19 vaccine development and distribution. Other
chain during the onset of the pandemic (see examples of health care collaboration include:
sidebar, “Collaboration can strengthen the health
23
• Building data platforms and exchanges that unstructured clinical patient data into outcome-
integrate real-time health, social, and based structured information, thus scaling up
environmental data traditional scientific discovery processes. The
hospitals are working in collaboration to
• Leveraging data analytics to improve health improve medical outcomes for lung cancer
education, prevention, and treatment patients by analyzing treatments and results
for consumers with the EVIDENS platform.112
• Forging alliances between health care • Building resiliency into NYC’s health
incumbents and disruptive entrants (companies system. Partnership for New York City, a
in the food industry, retail, financial services, business group representing some of New York
and technology) to generate insights and City’s largest private-sector employers, in
develop solutions for the improvement of collaboration with Deloitte, recently published
wellness, vitality, and prevention, with health Toward a resilient system of health, a report
data being an important binding factor111 that proposes updates in health care planning,
finance and delivery, and cross-sector
• Establishing new or expanding public-private approaches that will contribute to the city’s
partnerships to ensure health and health care recovery from COVID-19 and to achieving a
are available to all more equitable and resilient society.113 The
report concludes that just as the different
• Establishing ecosystems that enable real-time challenges of COVID-19 are interconnected so
data and analytics; serve as centers for are the solutions: an effective and resilient
education, prevention, and treatment; and health care ecosystem will require a
connect consumers to virtual, home, in-person, collaborative, multisector approach that deals
and auxiliary care providers with all the factors that make populations more
vulnerable to disease.114
• Using “health systems as a platform” to
transform the delivery of care and leveraging • Assessing COVID-19’s impact on patients’
their presence in the community to address lungs in Italy. Collaboration between
issues of health inequity Vimercate Hospital and Fujifilm on an
AI-enabled platform called REiLI supported
Novel collaborations are being employed in health hospital radiologists in assessing the impact of
systems around the globe: COVID-19 on patients’ lungs. During its first
five days of operation, the platform worked on
• Accelerating scientific discovery in the more than 600 images. From February 23 to
United States and Canada. US and May 15, 2020, more than 900 people were
Canadian hospitals are collaborating with AI found to be COVID-19 positive, with an average
health care company Imagia to accelerate of 80 chest X-rays per day. REiLI was also used
health care discoveries through the company’s to automatically process over 8,000 chest
EVIDENS platform. The platform empowers X-rays executed from January 1 to March 31 to
clinicians to structure data from live hospital analyze the evolution of the pandemic and to
systems by enabling automated data start a retrospective study of the lung disease.115
segmenting and labeling. It transforms
24
Do these and similar partnerships portend the Sourcing medical staff. Waves of COVID-19
transition to a new era in health care collaboration? patients are exacerbating hospitals’ and health
Certainly, the urgency to respond to COVID-19 has systems’ need for clinical and nonclinical staff.
opened the door to various partnering With travel bans making it more difficult to recruit
arrangements. What remains unknown is whether foreign health care workers, governments have
or not organizations will revert to a traditional “go tried to fill gaps by encouraging retired doctors and
it alone” mindset once the pandemic is in their nurses to assist with COVID-19 care and
rearview mirror. Also, efforts to establish or accelerating medical trainees’ placement in
expand collaborations—especially cross-border hospitals. While these moves are expected to
arrangements—can present a host of challenges, increase the ratio of doctors per 1,000 population
including different government pricing from 1.9 in 2019 to over 2.0 in 2024,117 countries’
mechanisms, drug approval and procurement reliance on foreign medical workers is likely to
processes, and data-sharing and ownership continue. Italy passed an emergency decree in
regulations. Ultimately, the pursuit of game- 2020 to award licenses to migrant medical workers
changing solutions to persistent and emerging as it struggled to contain the pandemic. Several US
health threats should overcome any lingering states, France, the United Kingdom, and the
reservations to collaboration. United Arab Emirates enacted similar legislation.118
Meanwhile, developing countries that supply
health care workers are stepping up efforts to limit
Future of work and talent the “brain drain.” In the Philippines, the 2018
Universal Healthcare Law requires students who
COVID-19 has become the catalyst to a future of received state scholarships to serve in the country
work and talent in health care that might otherwise for three years. In other countries, governments
have taken years to attain. The pandemic has have approved large pay rises for medical workers
overwhelmed many countries’ hospitals and health to persuade them not to emigrate.119
systems and highlighted gaps in the health care
workforce. It has also changed workplace dynamics, Adapting to the virtual workplace. Few
introducing digitally enabled agile ways of people will return to the workplace they knew pre–
working—such as using remote clinical and COVID-19. Even front-line clinicians—who never
nonclinical staff—to address capacity and demand left their physical workplaces—have watched their
challenges, and new robotic processes to help jobs change in countless ways. With people unable
support service delivery. Providers are increasingly or unwilling to leave their homes for health or
using data analytics and automated dashboards to safety reasons, health care organizations and their
ensure staff can work more efficiently and workforces have had to adapt to accommodate
effectively. Crucial enablers include the expansive their customers/patients. For instance, nearly
use of connected care solutions, such as telehealth double the number of consumers used telehealth or
and remote patient monitoring, and technology- virtual health in the past year, now at 28%,
enabled ways of diagnosing, monitoring, and according to a recent Deloitte survey of more than
treating patients.116 Several trending developments 1,500 consumers. As more physician-patient
hold both short- and long-term implications for the interactions happen virtually, this percentage
health care workforce: will likely rise.120
25
When considering a transition to a hybrid/virtual machines may one day replace human workers. Far
workplace, leaders should consider the potential from being substitutes for each other, however,
impacts on recruiting and identifying talent, human and machine intelligence are fundamentally
funding technology infrastructure improvements, complementary in nature. Bringing together teams
updating organization and operating models to of humans and technology can generate new, more
accommodate onsite and remote workers, and productive ways to solve problems, gain insights,
building inter- and intra-organizational and create greater clinical and business value.123
relationships and a cohesive corporate culture.121 We are beginning to see signs that health care
organizations are expanding their view of human-
Reskilling and upskilling. Health care technology combinations to identify new roles and
organizations’ urgency to upgrade workforce skills synergies and move toward points of augmentation
and capabilities—and provide clinicians with the and collaboration. Changing workforce roles and
training and tools they need to practice at the top functions are likely to require specialist education
of their license—is increasing. Seventy-four percent and training in genomics, AI/ML, and natural
of respondents to Deloitte’s 2020 Global Human language processing; enhanced diagnostic, data
Capital Trends survey said that reskilling the analysis, and critical judgment skills; and
workforce is important or very important for their proficiency in interpreting reports and risk scores.
success over the next 12–18 months; however, only
10% said they are very ready to address this Diversity and inclusion. Concurrent with the
trend.122
Identifying future skills needs and training need to reskill/upskill the existing workforce for a
requirements is another organizational imperative; transformed future is the growing imperative to
one made more difficult by clinicians’ rapidly promote workplace diversity and inclusion. We are
evolving roles in a dynamic health care ecosystem; seeing organizations experiment with different
for example, physicians providing care in virtual teaming strategies—leveraging team member
settings may need training to polish their “webside” diversity and trialing new people-technology roles—
manner. Scenario planning and projections can to solve specific business problems. Diversity of
provide some clarity by identifying the “theme” of a identity gives a team the ability to tap into different
future need within a broad view of where the viewpoints and experiences—tacit knowledge that
organization is heading. Such insights can help can greatly enhance effectiveness in working with a
leaders engage in strategic workforce planning to diverse set of internal and external stakeholders.124
balance individual and team skills needs and
provide workers with adequate time to participate The health care workforce has been significantly
in learning opportunities. and uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
How health care organizations respond and recover
Blending human-technology capabilities. to support their employeeswho in turn serve
Advances in clinical process automation, care their patients and memberswill rely in no small
virtualization, genomics, and behavioral science part on rethinking the strategies for rapidly
have reduced demand for some present-day health rewired workforces.
care jobs and skill sets and raised concerns that
26
Questions/actions
health care leaders
should consider for 2021
How can our organization • Explore ways to benefit consumers

tune our services to meet through data interoperability. While
consumers are more willing to share their data,
consumers’ immediate health
organizations should ensure that the data
care needs and goals and serves consumer needs through adequate
support their journey to the interoperability. Younger consumers are most
Future of Health? likely to say they will use digital tools for their
health but are also the most frustrated with the
The health care consumer of the future is arriving inconvenience of their data spread across
faster than anticipated, fueled by the COVID-19 various channels. Today, some organizations
pandemic. Yet every person’s health journey and developers are working together to give
is different. Health care organizations should consumers one-stop access to their medical
acknowledge this fact and tune their services information and control over how the data is
to elevate each encounter into a personalized shared. But this will likely require
health experience. Among potential actions: interoperability between the various
organizations that currently own or
• Deploy new tools and services. New digital store the data.126
tools can play an important role in the future of
care—from monitoring a person’s health, to • Earn consumer trust through empathy
helping individuals get access to more and reliability. To maintain or even re-earn
convenient care, to giving caregivers peace of the trust of consumers, health care
mind, and helping older adults remain in their organizations should demonstrate reliability,
homes rather than move to institutional care. transparency, and most importantly, a sense of
When organizations deploy them optimally, empathy in how they operate. As consumers
these tools have the potential to increase consider their current and future care options,
consumer satisfaction, improve medication health organizations could instill in them a
adherence, and help consumers track and sense of control that helps reduce uncertainty
monitor their health.125 and enables the right connections to help
consumers get the resources they need.127
27
How can pandemic-related • Evaluate new service and financial

disruptions inform and guide models. What COVID-19–related disruptions
lay bare is that it’s time for the health care
our care model innovation
industry to put the consumer at the center of all
efforts? business decisions and commit to elevating the
human experience in health. Defining products
The global health care sector’s problems of and market offerings and building care models
escalating demand, budget pressures, and caregiver
that serve consumers’ needs and goals will
shortages existed long before COVID-19. However,
require seamless connectivity and
the current crisis has disrupted both the nature
personalization. It will demand unconventional
and the timeline of industry transformation. As
and unexpected partnerships across
organizations rethink the types of services provided
and the locations where they are performed, they competitors, niche players, and nontraditional
must also rethink the current parameters of care competitors. Even at this challenging time,
delivery models and be ready to transform at the organizations must be willing to invest in
enterprise levelnot just optimize select pieces optimizing or replacing foundational structures,
of the ecosystem within existing constructs.128 technologies, and workforce processes, and
consider emerging financial models such as
• Redefine types of services. The current value-based care, health care services, and
situation is a catalyst for redefining what health capitated payments that put patient needs and
services are. It’s shifting the long-held cost-management concerns front and center.131
assumption that health care is “sick care” for
the physical body and expanding it to include
consumers’ mind, spirit, and body. Providers What actions can help our
should focus on integrating goals and consumer organization accelerate digital
preferences into the design of services they
transformation and enable
provide and the channels/locations through
which they provide services.129
radically interoperable data?
• Expand the definition of location. It’s Digital transformation can help individual health
care organizations and the wider public and private
unlikely that health care will revert to a time
health ecosystem improve ways of working, expand
when virtual or automated care was not part of
access to services, and deliver a more effective
normal operating procedure. More than ever,
patient and clinician experience. The following are
consumers will expect care to be available when
among supportive actions to bridge capabilities
and how it’s most convenient and safe for them gaps and deliver digital health care at scale:
via their phones, fitness trackers, or computers,
at their home or in their frequented retail • Create a robust health IT infrastructure.
settings. This includes virtual care (virtual visits, Consider a cloud-based solution that includes
remote monitoring), at-home prescription reliable connectivity, safe and sufficient data
delivery (mail order or even drones), remote storage, consented access to health data, and
monitoring, digital diagnostics and decision data-sharing. Also, implement accessible and
support, and self-service applications for integrated EHR systems and basic digital
education, behavior modification, and social technologies that accelerate digitalization.132
support, among other options.130
28
• Invest in virtual health technology and How can we better address

train clinicians in its use. Improve the socioeconomic, mental
telehealth capabilities and design a process
well-being, and behavioral
whereby consumers can access their own
physicians instead of third-party services; this
health issues that impact
could help organizations streamline and health access and equity?
maximize the benefits of virtual health. Our
surveys show that while consumers are keen on Today’s socioeconomic, mental, and behavioral
future virtual visits, it is not only access that health crises have made it clear that players
matters: They are still not completely satisfied across the health care landscape—including but
with their interactions with the doctor or not limited to both private and public insurers,
care providers, employers, and government
clinician. Training personnel in building virtual
policymakers—need to innovate to better serve
interpersonal relationships can be a major step
the whole-health needs of people across the
toward improving consumers’ virtual visit
world. The following suggested steps can help
experience. Organizations should also support
improve health and wellness, create business
physicians in sustaining their use of virtual value, and build stronger, more resilient societies:
health, instead of returning to traditional
in-person visits.133 • Intervene earlier. Low-income families and
people of color tend to be less healthy than
• Address the challenge of data other members of the population and are more
interoperability. Underpin data-sharing with likely to have more than one chronic condition.
interoperable health data built on universal This impacts life expectancy, quality of life,
standards and carried on a personal, even earning potential. Earlier prevention
longitudinal life record. Standardize health (including addressing underlying factors)
platforms and EHRs to enable the aggregation should be the goal for supporting and
of data lakes to which organizations can apply sustaining well-being.137
AI and predict, for example, early onset of
behavioral disorders, and recommend • Create more access points to help
interventions to improve behavioral health improve drivers of health. Consider
outcomes. The more data sources that come creating more access points deep into
together because of interoperability, communities that address the drivers of health,
the better. 134
enabling better access to traditional care as well
as access to food, educational resources,
• Establish a robust governance connections to other social services agencies,
framework to support change management and information.138
and a culture of digital transformation,
including clarity over data ownership, • Combine the power of disruptive
cybersecurity, patient consent, and technologies with ecosystems to create
patient education.135 change. Use digital technologies and social
media platforms to grow social consciousness
• Develop digital leadership skills and and awareness and increase empathy. Adopt an
improve the digital literacy of both clinical and ecosystem approach to create change by
nonclinical staff; provide learning opportunities encouraging national and local governments,
for staff and patients. 136
community-based organizations, and private
29
industry to use data to meaningfully improve health care value chain will the alliance
health outcomes, empower individuals to operate? Who pays for the value-added solution
proactively manage their health and well-being, that the alliance will offer? Many of the tech-
and foster a sense of community health care alliances described above are based
and belonging.139 on creating value by combining and analyzing
data sets and converting these into
• Develop a framework of actions and interventions that save costs or improve quality
commitments. Analyze existing policies and and the user experience.142
practices that either contribute to or enable
movement within each dimension of the social,
environmental, and economic factors that How can we address the
contribute to inequities. Develop a framework health care workforce impacts
of specific actions and commitments that can
of COVID-19 and build future
enable everyone to attain their best health and
reach their fullest potential.140
adaptability and resilience?
Addressing near-term workforce challenges arising

How can we collaborate for from COVID-19—in particular, safeguarding
front-line staff’s safety and well-being—while
new solutions and improved also building future workforce adaptability and
outcomes? resilience will require data-driven, human-centric
solutions that allow organizations to move quickly
COVID-19 ignited unprecedented collaboration to support evolving employee needs.143 Companies
across organizations, industries, academia, and can consider implementing the following strategies:
governments and irrefutably demonstrated the
value of partnering to deliver new solutions and • Identify and adopt the technology that
improved outcomes. As health care stakeholders enables the work of each team and
contemplate how to build and/or expand function. Cloud technologies, remote-work
ecosystem and nontraditional alliances for future platforms, shared services, and AI can enable
value creation, they should consider the following: organizations to extend remote work
arrangements they established during the
• Leverage each partner’s strengths. pandemic well into the future. In preparation,
Interesting alliances are expected to arise organizations should prioritize spending on cloud
between health care incumbents and security and governance tools, virtual-desktop
technology giants, with each bringing distinct infrastructure, and other key instances that can
strengths to the arrangement. Tech companies securely support their remote workforce.144
typically provide digital expertise, data
analytics and customer experience insights, and • Reimagine physical and remote spaces
large investment budgets. Health care entities using analytics and smart-building
bring clinical expertise, market knowledge, and technology. Some health organizations are
consumer trust. 141
examining how employees may use office
spaces in the future. With more people working
• Identify ambitions. Consider how, why, and virtually, can they reduce their real estate
where a potential partner will add value. Where footprint? Should facilities have fewer
do the synergies lie? In which areas of the dedicated individual workstations and offices
30
and more meeting rooms? Organizations organization needs what to feel included, be
should consider using analytics and smart- productive, and grow in their role.147
building technologies to think through real
estate needs and reimagine their long-term • Develop enduring human skills that
plan to optimize the workplace.145 make for a more resilient organization.
Nurturing human capabilities is different from
• Use data science and predictive analytics skills training. Employees should still acquire
to explore and improve networks and basic knowledge and tactical, context-specific
collaboration. Data on how individuals and skills, but they should also hone enduring
teams interact and collaborate can help capabilities, such as creative problem-solving,
organizations look beyond the traditional collaboration, and critical thinking, which can
organizational chart to strengthen and expand be best developed through real-life application
networks and collaborations, nurture new ideas, and practice. This shift can require
and help foster a culture of inclusion and organizations to revisit traditional notions
belonging. This data is especially powerful of training.148
when paired with performance and productivity
metrics, as well as pulse surveys or assessments Global health care sector stakeholders are likely to
that allow organizations to hear directly face considerable challenges in 2021; first and
from employees.146 foremost, ramping up production and coordinating
the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Yet, even as
• Prioritize DE&I as a core enabler of they join forces against the pandemic’s immediate
culture and organizational performance. crises, organizations also need to understand,
Organizations should be deliberate about analyze, and respond to the trends that are
fostering diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), propelling them toward the future of health. For
engaging employees in their work and in the 2021, these include consumers and the human
mission of the organization, and offering experience, care model innovation, digital
opportunities for training, development, and transformation and interoperable data,
growth. Specifically, organizations should socioeconomic shifts, collaboration, and the future
conduct assessments to find out who in the of work and talent.
31
Endnotes
1. The Economist Intelligence Unit, “World Industry Outlook: Healthcare and pharmaceuticals,” October 2020.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Worldometer, “World population,” accessed January 27, 2021. The world population counter displayed
on Worldometer takes into consideration data from two major sources: The United Nations and the US
Census Bureau.
10. The Economist Intelligence Unit, “World Industry Outlook.”
11. World Health Organization website, accessed January 27, 2021.
13. David Betts, Leslie Korenda, and Shane Giuliani, Are consumers already living the future of health?, Deloitte
Insights, August 13, 2020.
14. David Betts and Leslie Korenda, A consumer-centered future of health, Deloitte Insights, 2019; Deloitte Insights,
Meeting consumers’ changing needs: Moving towards the future of health, accessed January 24, 2021.
15. John Luijs, Mathieu van Bergen, and Lucien Engelen, The health(care) future of the Netherlands, Deloitte, 2020.
16. Betts, Korenda, and Giuliani, Are consumers already living the future of health?
17. Ibid.
18. Steve Burrill et al., Implications of the COVID-19 crisis for the health care ecosystem: Gearing up for the next
normal, Deloitte, 2020.
19. Deloitte Canada, Connecting Canadians: How COVID-19 has accelerated a holistic approach to health and well-being,
2020.
20. Healthcare Consumer Response to COVID-19, April 2020; Future of Health Physician Survey, January 2020.
21. Deloitte, Digital transformation: Shaping the future of European healthcare, September 2020.
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
32
27. Arjun Kharpal, “China’s giants from Alibaba to Tencent ramp up health tech efforts to battle coronavirus,”
CNBC, March 3, 2020.
28. https://www.sohu.com/a/369098592_220182
29. Tencent, “Tencent open sources COVID-19 self-triage assistant,” accessed January 27, 2021.
30. Karen Taylor and Francesca Properzi, Closing the digital gap: Shaping the future of UK healthcare, Deloitte, June
2019; Nick Ismail, “How cloud technology is transforming the healthcare industry,” Information Age, June 18,
2018.
31. Angus Loten, “Cloud spending hits record amid economic fallout from COVID-19,” Wall Street Journal, August 3,
2020.
32. Diana Kearns-Manolatos, “Building a cloud-enabled work infrastructure,” Deloitte on Cloud Blog, October 8,
2020.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. Ibid.
36. Kumar Chebrolu, Dan Ressler, and Hemnabh Varia, Smart use of artificial intelligence in health care: Seizing
opportunities in patient care and business activities, Deloitte Insights, October 22, 2020.
37. Ibid.
38. Ibid.
39. Deloitte Center for Health Solutions interview with AccuHealth executive, April 29, 2019.
40. Stephanie Allen, Marc Perlman, and Natasha Elsner, Digital health technology: Global case studies of health care
transformation, Deloitte Insights, October 31, 2019.
41. Ibid.
42. Deloitte Center for Health Solutions interviews with executives at Sheba Medical Center, Israel, March 23, 2019
and May 21, 2019.
43. Steven Loeb, “Aidoc CEO on the advantages a healthcare AI startup has over Google and IBM,” Vator, April 18,
2019.
44. Anthem, Inc., “Anthem, Inc. leads collaboration to develop tools to help public officials and businesses make
informed decisions related to COVID-19,” press release, June 11, 2020.
45. Cho Mu-Hyun, “Samsung applies AI to medical imaging,” ZDNet, November 26, 2018.
46. Chebrolu, Ressler, and Varia, Smart use of artificial intelligence in health care.
47. Steve Burrill, “Will COVID-19 bring us to the Future of Health sooner than we expected?,” Deloitte Health
Forward blog, May 28, 2020.
48. Luijs, van Bergen, and Engelen, The health(care) future of the Netherlands.
49. Ibid.
50. Deloitte Canada, Connecting Canadians.
51. HIMSS, “Interoperability in healthcare,” accessed January 24, 2021.
52. Ibid.
33
53. Deloitte, Radical interoperability in health care: Measuring the impacts on care, cost, and growth, 2020.
54. Ibid.
55. Kanta, “Kanta is for everyone,” accessed November 24, 2020.
56. Deloitte, Digital transformation: Shaping the future of European healthcare.
57. Allen, Perlman, and Elsner, Digital health technology.
58. Ibid.
59. Ibid.
60. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, “About ONC’s Cures Act final rule,”
2020.
61. HHS, “HHS extends compliance dates for information blocking and health it certification requirements in 21st
Century Cures Act final rule,” October 29, 2020.
64. James N. Weinstein et al., Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity (The National Academies Press, 2017).
65. Asif Dhar and Kulleni Gebreyes, “Racism is a public health crisis,” Deloitte Health Forward blog, Deloitte, 8
September 8, 2020.
66. Elizabeth Baca, “No one should be surprised that low-income populations are being hit harder by COVID-19:
How do we achieve health equity?,” Deloitte Health Forward blog, October 15, 2020.
67. Weinstein et al., Communities in Action.
68. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “COVID-19 hospitalization and death by race/ethnicity,” August 18,
2020; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Health equity considerations and racial and ethnic minority
groups,” July 24, 2020.
69. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “Trump Administration issues call to action based on new data
detailing COVID-19 impacts on Medicare beneficiaries,” June 22, 2020.
70. Richard A. Oppel Jr. et al., “The fullest look yet at the racial inequity of coronavirus,” New York Times, July 5, 2020.
71. Blake Farmer, “The coronavirus doesn’t discriminate, but US health care showing familiar biases,” NPR, April 2,
2020.
72. Inequality.org., “Racial economic inequality data,” accessed January 24, 2021.
73. Baca, “No one should be surprised that low-income populations are being hit harder by COVID-19.”
74. Sidney Leng, “China’s fragmented health care system under increasing pressure as nation rapidly ages,” South
China Morning Post, June 11, 2019.
76. Ibid.
77. American Medical Association, “AMA Board of Trustees pledges action against racism,” June 7, 2020; Josh
Serchen et al., “Racism and health in the United States: A policy statement from the American College of
Physicians,” Annals of Internal Medicine, October 6, 2020.
34
79. Weinstein et al., Communities in Action.
80. Ibid.
81. CGTN, “CPC’s proposals for 14th Five-Year Plan released,” November 3, 2020.
82. Kate Kelland, “UN warns of global mental health crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic,” World Economic Forum,
May 14, 2020.
83. Kalsey Killam, “How to prevent loneliness in a time of social distancing,” Scientific American, March 12, 2020.
85. World Health Organization, “Mental disorders,” November 28, 2019.
86. The World Bank, “Mental health,” April 2, 2020.
87. World Health Organization, “Depression,” January 30, 2020.
88. World Health Organization, “Dementia,” September 21, 2020.
89. Paul E. Greenberg et al., “The economic burden of adults with a major depressive disorder in the United States
(2005 and 2010),” J Clin Psychiatry, February 2015.
90. Emily Hewlett and Valerie Moran, Making Mental Health Count (OECD Publishing, 2016).
91. Thomas Insel, “Post by former NIMH Director Thomas Insel: The global cost of mental illness,” National Institute
of Mental Health, September 28, 2011.
92. Kate Kelland, “Mental health crisis could cost the world $16 trillion by 2030,” Reuters, October 9, 2018.
93. World Health Organization, “Mental health: Massive scale-up of resources needed if global targets are to be
met,” June 6, 2018.
94. American Psychiatric Association, “Global Mental Health.”
95. Ralph Judah et al., The future of behavioral health, Deloitte Insights, January 7, 2021.
96. Silvana Galderisi et al., “Toward a new definition of mental health,” World Psychiatry 14, no. 2 (2015).
97. Adrian Furnham and Viren Swami, “Mental health literacy: A review of what it is and why it matters,”
International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation 7, no. 4 (2018): pp 240–57.
98. Judah et al., The future of behavioral health.
99. World Health Organization, “WHO’s Mental Health Atlas 2017 highlights global shortage of health workers
trained in mental health,” accessed January 25, 2021.
100. KFF, “Mental Health Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs),” September 30, 2020.
101. Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Learning Network, “Prevalence of mental illness might be underreported,”
January 15, 2014.
103. Bill Siwicki, “A guide to pop health IT vendors and SDOH tools,” HealthcareIT News, June 12, 2020.
104. Ibid.
105. Deloitte, The future unmasked: Life sciences and health care predictions 2025, October 2020.
106. Burrill et al., Implications of the COVID-19 crisis for the health care ecosystem.
35
107. Burrill, “Will COVID-19 bring us to the Future of Health sooner than we expected?”
109. Ibid.
110. Maria Joao Cruz, “Vaccines like it (very) cold - how to build a resilient COVID-19 vaccinne supply chain,” Deloitte,
October 30, 2020.
112. Imagia, “Imagia partners with top US and Canadian hospitals to facilitate AI accelerated healthcare discoveries,”
Business Wire, December 17, 2019.
113. Melanie Grayce West, “Business group urges changes to New York City’s health system,” Wall Street Journal,
October 19, 2020.
114. Partnership for New York City, “Partnership releases ‘Toward a resilient system of health,’” October 19, 2020.
115. Deloitte, Digital transformation.
116. Karen Taylor, Samrina Bhatti, and Krissie Ferris, “The future unmasked: How healthcare professionals will work
differently in 2025,” Deloitte, November 20, 2020.
118. Ibid.
119. Ibid.
120. Rahul Mehendale and Jennifer Radin, “Welcome to the virtual age: Industrial 5.0 is changing the future of work,”
Deloitte Health Forward blog, June 11, 2020.
121. Ibid.
122. Erica Volini et al., 2021 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends, Deloitte Insights, December 9, 2020.
123. Ibid.
124. Volini et al., 2021 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends.
125. Betts, Korenda, and Giuliani, Are consumers already living the future of health?
126. Ibid.
127. Ibid.
129. Ibid.
130. Ibid.
131. Ibid.
133. Betts, Korenda, and Giuliani, Are consumers already living the future of health?.
36
136. Ibid.
138. Betts, Korenda, and Giuliani, Are consumers already living the future of health?.
140. Ibid.
142. Ibid.
144. Chris DeRamus, “The cloud is the backbone of remote work,” Forbes, June 16, 2020.
145. Ibid.
146. Jennifer Radin and Casey Korba, From COVID-19 as Catalyst: The future of work and the workplace in health care,
Deloitte Insights, November 12, 2020.
147. Ibid.
148. Volini et al., 2021 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Terry Koch of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, Sarah Thomas of
Deloitte Services LP, Karen Thomas of Deloitte LLP, and Rebecca Schultz for their contributions to
this report.
37
About the author

Stephanie Allen | [email protected]
Dr. Stephanie Allen is the Deloitte Global Health Care sector leader. In addition, Allen leads the Health
& Human Services practice for Deloitte Australia. She has more than 25 years of experience in health
and social care having worked extensively in both the United Kingdom and Australia. Allen specializes
in leading large-scale transformation programs across health and social care payers and providers.
38
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SHORT TAKE
2021 global
health care
outlook
Accelerating industry
change
2021 global health care outlook: Accelerating industry change
T
HE COVID-19 PANDEMIC is placing impede their efforts to adapt and evolve for the
enormous strain on the global health care future, even as COVID-19 accelerates the
sector’s workforce, infrastructure, and supply imperative to transform. Care model innovation
chain, and exposing social inequities in health and can help health delivery organizations to reduce or
care. COVID-19 is also accelerating change across eliminate many of the challenges arising from
the ecosystem and forcing public and private today’s delivery models.
health systems to adapt and innovate in a
short period.
Digital transformation and
How health care stakeholders analyze, understand, interoperable data
and respond to the issues arising in 2021 will shape
their ability to navigate from recovering to thriving Digital transformation can help individual health
in the postpandemic “new normal” and advance care organizations and the wider health ecosystem
their journey along the path to the Future of improve ways of working, expand access to services,
Health™. Some of the areas that are likely to stand and deliver a more effective patient and clinician
out in the near future are: experience. Three technologies are playing
increasingly pivotal roles around the globe—cloud
computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual
Consumers and the human care delivery.
experience
Consumers are driving—and accelerating—the pace Socioeconomic shifts
of change in health care. Their needs and goals are
driving innovation in health-related products, Some studies say that up to 80% of health
services, and tools. Their preferences are driving outcomes are affected by social, economic, and
the development of digitally enabled, on-demand, environmental factors:1 social determinants of
and seamlessly connected clinician-patient health that include physical environment, food,
interactions. Their demands are driving the infrastructure, economy, wealth, employment,
transition to patient-centric care delivery across education, social connections, and safety.2 An
geographies and socioeconomic groups. And their increasing demographic of underserved consumers
expectations are driving industry stakeholders to and communities is leading to health inequities—
elevate a transactional patient/customer health systematic disparities in the opportunities groups
care encounter into a holistic human health have to achieve optimal health, leading to unfair
experience. and avoidable differences in health outcomes.3
What can health care stakeholders do to make

Care model innovation health more equitable? Today’s socioeconomic,
mental, and behavioral health crises have made it
Health delivery organizations around the world are clear that players across the health care landscape
struggling to solve the long-present challenges of need to innovate to better serve the whole-health
health care affordability, access, quality, and needs of people across the world.
efficiency. However, existing care models can
2
Collaboration systems and highlighted gaps in the health care

workforce. It has also changed workplace dynamics,
One legacy of the pandemic is likely to be a introducing digitally enabled agile ways of
renewed focus on collaboration across the health working—such as using remote clinical and
ecosystem. Already, we have seen new relationship nonclinical staff—to address capacity and demand
paradigms to drive clinical innovation and challenges, and new robotic processes to help
widespread knowledge and resource-sharing even support service delivery. Providers are increasingly
among traditional competitors, as well as using data analytics and automated dashboards to
heightened levels of trust. Traditional boundaries ensure staff can work more efficiently and
have become more porous or even erased, creating effectively. Crucial enablers include the expansive
opportunities for new health care behaviors, new use of connected care solutions, such as telehealth
business and funding models, and more effective and remote patient monitoring, and technology-
stakeholder collaborations, leading to novel enabled ways of diagnosing, monitoring, and
combinations of products and services from treating patients.
incumbents and new entrants.4
Global health care sector stakeholders are likely to
face considerable challenges in 2021; first and
Future of work and talent foremost, ramping up production and coordinating
the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Yet even as
COVID-19 has become the catalyst to a future of they join forces against the pandemic’s immediate
work and talent in health care that might otherwise crises, organizations also need to understand,
have taken years to attain. The pandemic has analyze, and respond to the trends that are
overwhelmed many countries’ hospitals and health propelling them toward the Future of Health.
To read the full report, visit:

https://documents.deloitte.com/insights/Globalhealthcareoutlook
3
Endnotes
1. Asif Dhar, “Racism is a public health crisis,” Health Forward blog, Deloitte, September 8, 2020.
2. Elizabeth Baca, “No one should be surprised that low-income populations are being hit harder by COVID-19:
How do we achieve health equity?,” Health Forward blog, Deloitte, October 15, 2020.
3. James N. Weinstein et al., Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity (Washington, DC: The National
Academies Press, 2017).
4. Deloitte, The future unmasked: Predicting the future of healthcare and life sciences in 2025, October 2020.
4
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Global Health Care Outlook1525

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What are the six pressing sector issues in 2021 that health care stakeholders need to analyze, understand, and respond to?

What are the six pressing sector issues in 2021 that health care stakeholders need to analyze, understand, and respond to?

What are some examples of foundational shifts arising from and being exacerbated by COVID-19's spread?

What are some examples of foundational shifts arising from and being exacerbated by COVID-19's spread?

2021 global health care

Overview and outlook 2

Global healthcare sector issues in 2021 5

Consumers and the human experience 5

Care model innovation 7

Digital transformation and interoperable data 10

Future of work and talent 25

Questions/actions health care leaders should consider for 2021 27

Overview and outlook

A number of foundational shifts are arising from

We expect industry leaders to use the momentum

How health care stakeholders analyze, understand,

Global health care sector issues in 2021

Socioeconomic shifts Consumers and the

Care model innovation Collaborations

Source: Deloitte analysis.

GLOBAL HEALTH CARE BY THE NUMBERS

Global health care

Consumers and the • Many consumers show greater activity

Focus is shifting from health care to health should own it.16 In a

money, and attention) are being allocated consumers ranked

(treatment and aftercare) to the beginning.

healthy lifestyles, vitality, and wellness; on Every person’s health

primary and secondary prevention; and on journey is different.

COVID-19’S IMPACT ON CARE DELIVERY MODEL TRANSFORMATION18

• Ubiquitous adoption of virtual care. Increased adoption of provider-to-patient and provider-to-

Future-state health care delivery models

Source: Deloitte analysis.

• Evolve payment models from volume-based to • Seventy-two percent of consumers understand

Digital transformation frequently used technologies across the EU were

Health care organizations today are transitioning

AI applications in health care by type of operation

Symptom analysis for COVID-19 Automating administrative tasks

RISK MANAGEMENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Medication-related error detection Conversational AI

The staying power of virtual health

Increasing care complexity and acuity

Physical care as a last line of defense

Physical COVID-19 factor

Health delivery Health delivery

Source: Deloitte analysis.

PAIRING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION • Reducing the total cost of care through

The beneﬁts of digital transformation

Beneﬁts for patients

Beneﬁts for health care systems Beneﬁts for clinicians

Source: Deloitte, Shaping the future of European healthcare, September 2020.

A new value chain is With COVID-19 as an accelerator, the confluence of

emerging around health governments, health care organizations, and

explosion through United States, data is patient-owned; in other

primarily aimed at vitality, environment, food, infrastructure, economy,

diagnosis. This will create underserved consumers and communities is

offering opportunities for

existing players and new

data analysis, translating disease to mental health issues. Now COVID-19

insights and interventions racism has on the health and well-being of

Overview and outlook 2

Global healthcare sector issues in 2021 5

Consumers and the human experience 5

Care model innovation 7

Digital transformation and interoperable data 10

Future of work and talent 25

Questions/actions health care leaders should consider for 2021 27