Entrepreneurs in the New COVID Normal

By True North Advisory Research Department

Traditionally, entrepreneurs identify opportunities or problems in a market that need solving. Sometimes the problem is simply a disruption to the norm or an old routine way of performing tasks. The global pandemic is an excellent example of this kind of disruption and dislocation. We’ve seen our fair share of it over the last few months.

Different industries have adjusted to disruptions in multiple ways. Restaurants have pivoted to be more like grocery stores, offering fresh ingredients and grab & go meals. In-person business events have switched to virtual webinars, recorded presentations, and video conference calls. Retailers are prioritizing curbside pickup instead of in-store browsing. Elective procedures have paused at health systems, but physicians, therapists and other providers have embraced virtual care for routine checkups.

From a strictly business perspective, it’s been an impressive feat to see how businesses have morphed go-to-market initiatives and changed their operations. And while no organization looks to take advantage of today’s terrible situation (on the contrary, there have been some incredible organizations and individuals supporting those in need), it’s necessary to make difficult decisions to set your business up for future success.

Decisions and re-alignments like these can help set your organization up to survive and grow through our health and economic crisis. It’s the senior leadership team’s job to identify both the survival and growth initiatives that will help balance revenue from areas of the business hit the hardest.

At True North, we’ve been discussing the future of many different verticals. In fact, in his most recent blog, Jim Tholen shared several essential questions business leaders need to consider in a post-COVID world. Two items that stood out, in particular, were “How will the pandemic affect your company?” and “What about your industry?”

In our future blogs, we’re going to explore various industries, look at how they’ve changed, and share opportunities for businesses moving forward. We’ll start with healthcare.

Healthcare — Telehealth, Robotics and Supply Chains

A few months ago, doctors’ appointments required time off, commutes, and hours of waiting in offices. Today, things are drastically different.

Some reports show the telemedicine market is set to be valued at $175.5B by 2026. And patient perspectives and interests in remote appointments are changing too. In fact, one study shows that while 25% of respondents used telehealth before the pandemic, 59% reported they are more likely to use telehealth now than previously, and 33% would even leave their current doctor for a physician who offered telemedicine.

We believe we will see accelerated innovation from healthcare providers and entrepreneurs (often the same people!) across this whole area of doctor/patient interaction and evaluation.

For providers, what does this mean? It means they need to have the technology in place to schedule, contact and connect with patients remotely. For vendors, these are prime opportunities to provide integration services, security offerings, and video and messaging solutions that make it easier for doctors and patients to connect while physically apart. Even if elective procedures and office visits begin to ramp back up, telehealth can become a differentiator for health systems if performed well.

And that’s just one particular area of medicine. In other areas, will we start to see a change in healthcare policy? What about insurance?

Will we start to see increases in online medical interactions with healthcare providers other than doctors, like nurse practitioners and physicians assistants? Perhaps other means of interaction that decrease contact with contagious patients and allow medical professionals to perform higher-level tasks? Will we see the insurance and regulatory world actively try to catch up to these potential trends?

How will health systems and other businesses ensure they don’t see supply chain shortages for drugs and equipment?

Disruption and dislocation are the new normal for businesses during the global pandemic. For health systems and technology providers, this means areas of opportunity to improve the accessibility, cost, experience and quality of care for patients and providers.

It will be interesting to see where industries evolve, what new products come to market, and which businesses adapt. But for now, we’d like to share a special thanks and feeling of gratitude to all the first responders, healthcare employees and essential workers who have prioritized others’ health and safety over their own. Thank you for all you’ve done and stay safe.