AI in the clinic
Generative AI in healthcare: separating hype from the trillion-dollar reality
The sober, sourced view of where clinical generative AI actually creates value.
7 min read
For a while, remote care looked like an emergency measure. The evidence since suggests it was a preview of how a large share of routine medicine will simply be delivered.
From spike to structure
McKinsey's widely cited telehealth analysis estimated that a substantial portion of care could durably shift to virtual channels, a market it framed in the hundreds of billions. What began as a workaround became a permanent layer of the system.
What that asks of the software
If teleconsultation is infrastructure, secure patient chat can't be a bolt-on. It needs the same record, the same identity, and the same privacy guarantees as an in-person visit, a conversation that writes back to the chart, not a separate app.
The evidence
McKinsey's telehealth research established virtual care as a durable, large-scale shift rather than a temporary spike. Source: McKinsey & Company, “Telehealth: A quarter-trillion-dollar post-COVID-19 reality?”, 2021.
The question is no longer whether patients will message their doctor. It's whether your system treats that message as real clinical care.