CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 11, 2026 — For a working parent who can't leave the office, a child in a rural school who needs a therapist or a patient recovering from a serious illness who would rather heal at home, getting the right care at the right time has always been complicated. Advocate Health is working to change that.
A sweeping new report published this week at AdvocateHealth.org/VirtualCare details how the nation's third-largest nonprofit health system has built virtual care into a core operating capability, offering 47 unique services at 258 sites across 10 states and logging 2.2 million virtual encounters in 2025, a 30% increase in a single year. Care Without Boundaries: Advocate Health's National Leadership in Virtual Care makes the case that the best outcomes in virtual care come when it is delivered as part of integrated, whole-person care within a full health system, not as a standalone app or single-issue service.
"The most meaningful medical innovations don't just advance care; they expand access to it," said Eugene A. Woods, CEO of Advocate Health. "This report demonstrates how virtual care is helping us reach more people, in more communities, with the same high-quality, compassionate care they would expect in our hospitals and clinics. By combining technology with the human touch, we're bringing care closer to home and making it easier for patients to get the care they need, when and where they need it."
Among the report's most striking examples is Advocate Health's Hospital at Home program, the largest in the country, which cares for about 150 patients daily and has served more than 30,000 patients to date. The program uses remote monitoring and a mix of virtual and in-person visits to deliver hospital-level care where patients are most comfortable: at home. Patients in the program see a more than 20% reduction in hospital readmissions. About half come from rural ZIP codes, effectively creating the equivalent of 75 acute care hospital beds in communities that have long gone without them, without building a single new facility.
"There's a false choice in the marketplace that says you can go to an established health system and get in-depth, comprehensive care, or get convenient niche healthcare online on one specific issue. Patients need both, and we do both," said Dr. Matt Anderson, senior vice president, Clinical Transformation for Advocate Health. "Virtual care gives us the ability to care for anyone, anytime, anywhere. We do it because our purpose is to redefine care, For All."
The reach of that care extends well beyond Hospital at Home. A school-based virtual therapy program now serves students in more than 300 schools across the Southeast. Pediatric urgent care visits grew 41% in two years. In 2025, 15,000 rural patients were seen via telehealth, up 48% from the year before. And the launch of Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital at Home made Advocate Health the only health system in the nation providing home-based, hospital-level care to both children and adults.
Advocate Health is also using technology to reach patients before a health crisis reaches them. In December 2025, a conversational AI tool contacted more than 15,000 patients with high blood pressure in just 12 days. Of those, 274 had abnormal readings and were connected with care. The health system evaluates every AI application against strict standards for safety, security and clinical impact, and as of 2025 had rejected about five out of every six AI use cases it reviewed.
Looking ahead, Advocate Health plans to launch the nation's largest hospital-based drone delivery network, with more than 100,000 annual deliveries of prescriptions, lab results and medical supplies across three markets.
The financial case for virtual care is also strengthening. A study by the American Telemedicine Association examining nine health systems, including Advocate Health, found that Medicare utilization remained essentially flat despite dramatic growth in virtual visits, and that one system saved more than $8 million by avoiding unnecessary referrals and transport costs.
Sustaining this progress will require action from Congress. Advocate Health joins health systems and industry groups in urging lawmakers to make current telehealth and Hospital at Home flexibilities permanent, policies that patients across the country now depend on.
Find the full report at AdvocateHealth.org/VirtualCare.
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