2021 Outlook on Health: Forces That Will Shape our Future
SUMMARY
Our strategists identified seven trends that will shape our future and health in 2021.
From a shifted focus on where care will physically take place, to a divergence in roles and responsibilities for consumers and clinicians, 2021 will be a momentous year for innovation in all aspects of healthcare - from drug development to the grocery aisle.
If 2020 was the year health dominated the conversation, 2021 will be the year we experience innovation in healthcare at home, online, in-store and in a variety of traditional and non-traditional healthcare settings.
As unconventional companies enter the healthcare market, we’re seeing the boundaries of the role of healthcare providers and consumers begin to blur. These are the organizations that will define our health journey, dominate the global economy of the future, and be our trendsetters to shape the future of health.
With an eye on emergent companies with newly developed health strategies, and our deep rooted in-category experience, we’ve identified seven trends that will not only shape the long-term future of health, but will also shape our 2021 health and wellness experience.
Trend #1: Care around the Corner
The past eleven months have demanded consumers find new ways to access care. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of opportunities and retail pharmacies are leading the way. In this last mile of care, the pharmacist is the new front door to primary care. For many consumers, the pharmacist is becoming the provider of choice for many acute and chronic conditions.
At HLTH 2020, Rite-Aid unveiled their new brand and business model blurring the boundaries of what health — and even a pharmacy — should look like. Rite-Aid relaunched their entire brand experience, one includes a store redesign and an updated brand identity that embraces holistic care. They’re also re-imagining the role pharmacists play, from getting out behind the counter to make them more accessible to consumers. This pivot means that consumers can get more regular care all the time, not just episodic care when they need it. CVS and other major retail chains are also designing and planning for this moment shaping the future of health.
Companies & Brands to watch: Walgreens + Village MD, CVS HealthHub
Trend #2: Home = Health
Change your environment, change your health outcome.
In a post-COVID world, home is not only our work office — it’s our new doctor’s office, hospital, diagnostics lab and long-term care center too. This shift will require an omni-channel, integrated care delivery response and many companies are designing for this now. Home will be the primary way care is delivered, across many different patient types and needs. From at-home urgent care providers like Dispatch Health and consumer administered diagnostics such as Everlywell, the proof point of $14B in digital health invested in 2020 shows that this is the future. Clinical data also supports home as the healthcare hub. When our senior population is treated at home versus a hospital, they are more likely to have a healthier outcome.
Companies & Brands to watch: WHIT, Dispatch Health, Inhabitech
Trend #3: Transformative Health Requires Integration
While integration of care is nothing new, we’re seeing a shift toward integration as a solution for better care — and nearly any type of organization can contribute to this future.
Our ability to develop ecosystems to support new platforms will make integration more effective. Integrating research data with reference and patient data will ultimately help biopharma and providers make better decisions for therapeutic choice. One partnership that is driving change in this direction is the collaboration between Philips and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute with the Philips IntelliSpace Oncology Platform. This platform provides oncologists with clinical decision support based on data from patients across diagnostic modalities. The integrated diagnostics capabilities will change the way oncologists can treat their patients and will enable pharma to improve outcomes in clinical development.
Companies & Brands to watch: Livongo, Philips, Quil, Avia + the American Hospital Association
Trend #4: Hello, Dr. Consumer
With more data, accessibility to advanced diagnostics, newly available medical devices, and formerly Rx products now over-the-counter, the role patients are playing in healthcare is changing. At times, they are the doctors for themselves. With at-home COVID-19 resources like Picture, a test that claims to give consumers the ability to “understand the genetic risks for you and your family using the same tests your doctor would order”, or the new all-in-one remote monitoring devices from HD Medical, the patients’ role in their own healthcare has expanded.
We have the option to pursue more specific information about our health, and now we’re in charge of figuring out what exactly to do with this information. In most cases, we applaud the removal of access barriers of previously restricted options to patients. But this is a trend that comes with risks. What happens when we discover something that our doctor may not have the answer to? Will this unknown leave us in a state of anxiety or will we spiral into a web of more tests, diagnostics and other unknowns?
Additionally, as patients bring this data to their doctors, HCPs are faced with analyzing, commenting, and decoding data from at-home kits and tests. How will we support our consumers and providers to help both get and deliver the best care available?
Companies & Brands to Watch: Healthy U , Everlywell’s FIT test,Juno Diagnostics
Trend #5: A Divergence in Diagnostic Standards
Smart thermometers, pulse oximeters and other consumer grade medical devices have been sold out or on back order throughout the pandemic. Often, the fidelity of the data from these devices may not give physicians enough information to make a diagnosis or design a path to treatment.
We believe that there will be a divergence in diagnostics: those that are consumer-grade diagnostics and those that are clinical-grade diagnostics. Much like OTC medications and prescription drugs, the future of health will begin to pull apart and create categories for enhanced diagnostic standards.
It will be instrumental for clinicians and healthcare professionals to determine these distinctions so we can have access to the most accurate data that will improve diagnoses more quickly and lead to better, healthier outcomes.
Companies & Brands to watch: Medtronic, Panakeia, myLAB Box
Trend #6: Self-Care Super Charged
As consumers prepare to enter back into society, they’ll turn to ways they can ‘super charge’ their health and vitality. We’ll see a rise in total makeovers for every part of the body, including personal care kits that will make this return safe and comfortable, and tools that equip people with the resources they need to feel healthy. Consumer healthcare companies will play a big role in answering this call to ‘re-enter’ society. We believe skin care, oral care, weight loss, and at-home fitness providers will see the most opportunity in this trend.
Companies and Brands to watch: Noom, Burst Oral Care, Peloton, Herbivore
Trend #7: The New Fit
Being physically fit won’t be the only priority to re-enter society. In fact, the definition of “fit”, will go beyond “exercise fit.” Redefining what it means to be fit, and who is fit, will be a pivotal moment for health in 2021. A renewed focus on the importance of stressing less, meditation and being mentally healthy will be just as important as our physical wellness. Consumers will want access to data and information that tracks their health beyond their steps.
What’s the next big metric to track? Stress. Fitbit’s Sense or Apple Watch’s Series 6 includes a built-in health sensor that can measure electrodermal activity or blood oxygen monitor that can sense shallow breathing, and can anticipate oncoming anxiety and panic attacks. Cove, a device that wraps around the back of your head, uses vibration frequencies to regulate stress through nerve fibers. With just 20 minutes a day, Cove can improve resilience and help its users cope with stress.
Companies & Brands to watch:Parsley Health, Cove, Calm, Ginger, TalkSpace