How Digital 'Front Doors' Are Changing Healthcare

In the wake of the pandemic, healthcare has seen dramatic shifts in how patients access and receive care. Technology has become a more critical enabler than before in ensuring patients can easily access care – a fundamental challenge for the primary care market, which is arguably the most contested competitive space in healthcare today.

In the past couple of years, the notion of the digital “front door,” which refers to digital access points for primary care services, has been slowly gaining traction.  In an earlier column on digital front doors, I referred to the competition between traditional healthcare providers and non-traditional firms such as CVS and Walgreens. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of virtual care models using telehealth and online self-service tools by specialized companies such as Teladoc and American Well. Both of them have seen their telehealth visit volumes go through the roof. Now big tech seems to be getting into the act.

In this article, I discuss the major themes related to digital front doors and how the big tech firms are playing into these themes.