Overview
During this session, Stephen Bernstein, partner and co-head of McDermott’s digital health practice, and Partner Jennifer Geetter moderated a panel that shared insights on current digital health sector trends and how to anticipate the future trajectories of said trends.
Session panelists included:
- Julian Harris, MD, Operating Partner, Deerfield Management
- Adam Kaye, Managing Director, Sixth Street
- Anna Lindow, CEO and Co-Founder, Brave Health
- Antoine Munfa, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
- Stephen Bernstein, Partner and Co-Head of the Digital Health Practice, McDermott Will & Emery
- Jennifer Geetter, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery
In Depth
Top takeaways included:
- Creating more value and reducing costs. There are many reasons why one should be optimistic about the trajectory of the digital health industry. Given the pressing demands of standing up a primary care system during a pandemic, the focus and growth of the use of digital health was generally on lower acuity conditions. With rapid adaption came the realization that digital health could be used to treat complex chronic conditions, such as those found in the fields of cardiology and oncology. These are expensive conditions that typically present multiple comorbidities for both doctors and payors. Digital health platforms can be used to make storing electronic medical records and remote patient monitoring more efficient, thereby reducing costs.
- The potential for more deal activity. During the rush to adopt digital health alternatives during the pandemic, many companies went public. Credit markets may normalize in the coming year, creating an opportunity for transactions taking some of these public companies private. Yet other companies have already taken steps to “rightsize” and most of them are working to hone their strategies to determine paths to profitability more quickly. Many digital health companies have also looked to partner with traditional healthcare providers who are in need of a strategy to provide better patient access that is more efficient and cost-effective.
- An opportunity to have patient-centric care. For certain patient populations, there is a reduced need to return to in-person visits. For example, patients seeking mental health care and counseling for whom the crux of an in-person visit would have been the opportunity to communicate with the physician may desire to continue treatment virtually—especially as there continues to be a shortage of providers servicing certain geographic areas and as providers and patients have gotten comfortable (and may even prefer) giving/receiving counseling in a home setting. As patients become more comfortable seeking mental and behavioral treatment, and as payors become more supportive of spending in this area, the opportunities to create value via virtual treatment are being actualized.
