As health plans and employers contend with a growing array of virtual care and AI-enabled tools, Amwell is positioning its digital health platform as the infrastructure layer for AI-enabled care.

Executives at Amwell, formerly known as American Well, touted the company's platform strategy, government contracts and higher-value clinical services as the main drivers of future growth during the company's third-quarter earnings call Tuesday.

Rising healthcare costs are pushing health plans and employers to adopt tech-enabled care solutions, but they are looking for measurable engagement and outcomes from digital health vendors, not just access, according to Ido Schoenberg, M.D., Amwell chairman and CEO.

The proliferation of point solutions, accelerated by AI, is creating more vendor sprawl and member confusion, Schoenberg told investors and analysts during the call.

There's also a lack of proof with many digital health tools, he noted. "It is hard to see which programs work and harder still to replace one without disrupting members. That sprawl is accelerating. AI has made it faster and cheaper to build a clinical program. Investors have backed hundreds of new digital health companies this year, many of them built on AI. Our customers feel pressure to offer these programs, but each one brings its own cost, its own integration, and its own front door. The opportunity is real. So is the complexity," he said.

More patients are turning to AI for health guidance but those interactions don’t necessarily lead them to appropriate, covered care, creating the risk of poor clinical decisions and unnecessary costs for health plans, Schoenberg said.

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