Report: Virtual GI Solutions Show Promise

A recent report by the Peterson Health Technology Institute (PHTI) found that virtual gastrointestinal (GI) solutions can improve symptoms while lowering total costs. 

These solutions improve symptoms and quality of life for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and those that integrate gastroenterologists can also improve clinical outcomes for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). All solutions can help lower net healthcare spending by reducing avoidable hospitalizations and other high-cost healthcare services.
 
IBS and IBD cause chronic symptoms that negatively impact patients' physical health, mental health, quality of life, and productivity. Despite affecting so many Americans, these conditions often go undiagnosed or undertreated, with many patients facing months-long diagnostic processes and fragmented care. Gastroenterology has the third-longest wait times of any specialty, and multidisciplinary GI programs are largely limited to academic medical centers, leaving many regions with limited access to coordinated GI care. 
 
PHTI evaluated five virtual GI solutions: Ayble Health, Cylinder Health, Digbi Health, Oshi Health, and Salvo Health. While these solutions are designed to address a wide range of GI conditions, this assessment focuses on outcomes for IBS and IBD, which are the most common and costliest GI conditions, respectively. PHTI reviewed more than 1,700 articles and other evidence, including information submitted by companies with solutions included in the report. 
 
The assessment examined two distinct categories of virtual GI solutions: 
• Wraparound solutions that complement patients’ existing GI care with nutrition counseling, gut-brain behavioral health support, and symptom tracking. For patients with IBS, wraparound solutions deliver clinically meaningful improvements in symptoms and quality of life. However, there is no evidence that wraparound solutions deliver clinical benefits for people with IBD compared with usual care. These solutions also substantially decrease net healthcare spending by approximately $1,900 per year for each patient with IBS that uses the solution in the commercial market.  
• Clinician-led solutions integrate gastroenterologists with other clinicians and support services to deliver virtual multidisciplinary care. For patients with IBD, virtual multidisciplinary care can deliver outcomes comparable to in-person specialty care. Similar to wraparound solutions, these companies also offer support services that improve symptoms and quality of life for patients with IBS. Despite having a higher price than wraparound solutions, clinician-led solutions lower net healthcare spending for patients with both IBS and IBD. They are especially economically beneficial when targeted to patients with moderate-to-severe IBD, as well as patients with IBS—saving an estimated $2,900 per patient per year.

PHTI noted that while the findings support broader adoption of virtual GI care, additional evidence is needed to assess long-term durability of outcomes, effectiveness across diverse populations, and optimal pricing and contracting models. The report calls for more focused deployment of virtual GI solutions, stronger evidence generation, and better-aligned payment models to realize substantial economic and patient benefits. 
 
In a blog post related to the study, Caroline Pearson, executive director of PHTI, noted that among PHTI’s six assessments to date, the GI solutions stand out for delivering higher net savings—thousands of dollars per engaged member, compared to a few hundred for other digital health categories. "That savings potential, combined with demonstrated health improvements, should give purchasers a compelling reason to act. Yet our savings estimates are a fraction of company claims, underscoring the need for more robust, sober economic evidence to inform purchasing decisions.”

Pearson wrote that the report also highlights a tension in the digital health market: whether to choose targeted, disease-specific solutions or broader chronic condition platforms. “The GI conditions in this report require distinct treatment approaches. Effective IBS care, including gut-brain behavioral therapy, nutritional counseling, and always-on support, can be delivered directly to patients through lower-cost 'wraparound solutions’ that complement but may not directly integrate with care from a patient’s doctor. For the large population of people with IBS, wraparound solutions deliver strong clinical benefit and the highest per-user savings.”