An economic downturn will likely bring investors to take a more conservative approach to backing new ventures amid the pandemic — but Amwell's nearly $200 million in funding signals that the telehealth industry could be recession-resistant and will likely continue to retain investor interest as outbreaks continue.
And telehealth firms are seeing massive spikes in visitations as a result: In fact, Amwell CEO Ido Schoenberg reported that the company recently began to see a heightened in scheduled visits compared with urgent visits — signifying that patients are using telehealth as a replacement for traditional primary care. We expect that consumers will become accustomed to the convenience telehealth affords, and will continue opting for telehealth for nonessential visits once outbreaks quiet down.
Given the massive uptick in visits larger, more entrenched telehealth firms like Amwell and Teladoc are seeing, we think smaller telehealth entrants may face difficulty cementing their presence in the virtual care space. Amwell saw a 1,000% spike in visits since coronavirus outbreaks began, while its telehealth competitor Teladoc also noted a massive in volume of consumers.
But as these larger and more well-known telehealth firms quickly expand, this may pose a threat to smaller telehealth entrants — who may lack the funding and brand recognition — to effectively gain the same amount of traction within the virtual care space. As such, we think we'll see heightened M&A activity in the telehealth realm as smaller telehealth firms seek refuge in the arms of more established firms in the form of partnerships and acquisitions.
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