We are in the Era of Digital-First: Cementing Digitally Enabled Care as a Core Pillar of Healthcare

Since the early days of digital health expansion in response to the 2020 public health emergency, healthcare organizations have worked tirelessly to move beyond stopgap solutions and establish digitally enabled care as a seamless, high-value component of clinical workflows. This transformation has required a fundamental rethinking of care delivery, integrating digital-first modalities into the broader care continuum in ways that are both clinically sound and operationally scalable.

Many organizations have demonstrated the potential of digital-first care through innovative programs. Mass General Brigham’s Home Hospital Program, for example, has treated over 4,000 patients since 2022, reducing hospital stays and saving over 20,000 acute care hospital bed days. The program incorporates advanced technologies, such as IoT-enabled patient monitoring and AI-driven anomaly detection, to enhance clinical outcomes and streamline care delivery.

OSF OnCall has made significant strides in expanding access to healthcare in underserved areas. By implementing virtual urgent care, remote patient monitoring, and predictive analytics, the program serves over 400 patients daily and has managed 38,000 encounters, with a 96% satisfaction rate. This approach has reduced emergency department visits and hospital readmissions, while also optimizing clinic capacity.

Northwell Health’s Center for Virtual Health addresses telehealth challenges for older adults and populations with limited digital literacy. Through user-centered design and hands-on training, the program has achieved a 25% reduction in no-show rates for virtual visits and a 20% decrease in emergency department visits for chronic conditions. Its focus on simplifying access to telehealth services is enhancing patient engagement and reducing hospital admissions.

Atrium Health is enhancing healthcare delivery through its 24/7 virtual primary care program, which has served over 4,000 patients since its launch. By leveraging telehealth, mobile health services, and integration with Epic systems, the program has reduced emergency department visits by 32% and saved 45,000 brick-and-mortar days. The expansion into schools and community sites ensures that care reaches diverse populations, further reducing barriers to access. Now merged with Advocate Aurora to form Advocate Health, it has become the largest provider of hospital-at-home care in the country, serving over 14,000 patients to date. Their daily census for hospital-at-home care has grown to nearly 100 patients per day, equivalent to the capacity of a mid-sized hospital.

MedStar Health’s Remote Patient Monitoring program has been pivotal in managing chronic conditions and improving patient adherence to care plans. Since its inception, the program has increased care plan adherence by 30%, reduced readmissions by 44%, and saved over 700 patient visits. By combining telehealth with in-person care, MedStar is driving improved outcomes and enabling patients to manage their health from home.

Mayo Clinic’s RPM program is another leader in digital health innovation, with a significant impact on reducing 30-day mortality rates. Engaged patients in the program have a mortality rate of just 0.5%, compared to 1.7% for non-engaged patients. This success is due to continuous remote monitoring, early intervention, and the use of AI-driven analytics to optimize care and improve health outcomes, particularly for high-risk patients.

Johns Hopkins ElderPlus has significantly improved elder care through the PACE program, reducing emergency department visits by 40% and hospital readmissions by 30%. With the integration of predictive analytics and telehealth, the program connects 90% of patients to Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) resources, improving access to critical services like transportation, housing, and food security.

Despite these advancements, policy uncertainties remain a challenge. ATA Action continues to lead advocacy efforts to solidify digitally enabled care as a permanent fixture in healthcare delivery, ensuring that the hard-won gains of the past few years are not undone by legislative inertia. The extension of digital health flexibilities until September 2025 provides critical runway, but sustained engagement is required to embed digital-first approaches as a long-term standard rather than a temporary convenience.

At the same time, the American Telemedicine Association and its affiliated initiatives—including the Center of Digital Excellence (CODE), Clinician Council, Insights Summits, and Special Interest Groups (SIGs)—are driving the development of best practices, clinical benchmarks, and operational frameworks that will define the future of digitally enabled care. Our focus is on translating policy into practice, ensuring that digital-first care is not only accessible but also optimally deployed to improve patient outcomes, clinician efficiency, and system-wide performance.

NEXUS 2025 in May will be a critical inflection point for this work. Healthcare leaders from top-performing health systems will convene to exchange insights, refine implementation strategies, and explore innovations that advance digital-first care beyond simple adoption into true clinical and financial sustainability. Through in-depth case studies, peer collaboration, and structured engagements with digital health pioneers, NEXUS will be a working forum for defining the next stage of digitally enabled care maturity.

Looking ahead, our focus extends beyond advocacy and implementation to the next frontier of digitally enabled care transformation:

• Economic Sustainability: Aligning digital-first care with value-based care models, demonstrating cost efficiency, and securing reimbursement pathways that incentivize quality and access.
• Optimized Digital Workflows: Embedding digital health solutions within care team operations to enhance efficiency, alleviate provider burden, and create a frictionless patient experience.
• Behavioral Insights & Patient Engagement: Leveraging data-driven strategies to drive sustained patient adoption and ensure digital-first care remains a preferred and effective modality.
• Organizational Change & Digital Readiness: Equipping health systems with the leadership frameworks and operational playbooks needed to scale digital-first models enterprise-wide.
• Clinical & Regulatory Alignment: Strengthening the evidence base for digital health’s impact on care quality and ensuring regulatory compliance aligns with clinical realities.

As we move forward, digital is no longer an ancillary service—it is an essential pillar of modern healthcare. The combined expertise of our members, industry leaders, and policymakers will be crucial in not just maintaining but accelerating the transformation of care across the spectrum of acute and ambulatory settings. Together, we are ensuring that our work—digital—is not an emergency measure but a strategic imperative that reshapes the healthcare landscape for the long term.