Amwell hits on consumers’ top UX pain points with telehealth tech stack

Telehealth giant Amwell unveiled its new platform, Converge, which lets users access all of its offerings, devices, and third-party applications in one location.

• The platform will support a streamlined virtual care experience for patients while giving Amwell’s partners a simpler way to integrate their services—like Google Cloud’s AI-powered transcription services—with Amwell's telehealth visits.

Amwell’s roster of remote patient monitoring (RPM) partners can now more easily integrate with its telehealth visits—which should help it facilitate the increasingly popular hybrid care model.

• Amwell already partners with RPM vendors like Biobeat and Tyto Care—which will be key in the transition to a care model that combines in-person and virtual elements. Vendors like Amwell have expressed that hybrid care is what the future of telehealth will look like, and RPM tools will likely be key during this transition since they allow providers to keep track of patients’ health between in-person or virtual visits. For example, Biobeat supplies Amwell patients with a wearable wrist-monitor or chest-monitor, which can let providers continuously monitor vital signs like blood pressure during and after a telehealth encounter.
• Creating a platform capable of hosting third-party applications means Amwell can integrate future RPM partners’ tech into its telehealth services more quickly. Once Amwell strikes new RPM partnerships, it won’t have to spend time or resources figuring out how to integrate its new partners’ tools into its tech stack since it’s already built the framework to do so.

Consolidation between digital health apps should also help improve the virtual care experience on both the provider and patient end.

• Most docs (86%) say the rise of telehealth amplified their interoperability and integration challenges, which compound an already heavy admin burden. Many providers still can’t access telehealth applications through their electronic health record (EHR) systems—and this sort of friction will have an effect on long-term provider telehealth adoption: Over 30% of docs cited lack of integration with the EHR as a reason they’d abandon telehealth post-pandemic, per an August 2020 Healthcare Coalition survey.
• Over 49% of consumers say they want a smoother and more intuitive healthcare experience—something that can be achieved by converging virtual care offerings into one location. And Amwell isn’t the only telehealth giant consolidating its tech to make it easier for patients to use: Teladoc boasts the fact that members can register for and access Livongo’s programs within the Teladoc app for a “seamless member experience.”