Ten Takeaways on Telehealth From the Perspective of a Pandemic

Few, if any, of our cohorts in healthcare IT could have foreseen the unveiling of a global outbreak in the early days of 2020. And while my health system had dabbled in telemedicine for well over a decade, we were woefully unprepared, as were many, when the first wave slapped our doors shut. By the second month into the public health emergency, our volume had increased by 2000% over pre-COVID days. We had moved the needle by years in a matter of months, even weeks.

The pandemic offered little hope to humanity, save one thing. The hope of innovation, out of necessity and desperation, in the form of a digital paradigm shift in healthcare. Seemingly overnight, all of the fears and skepticism of this emerging care model were swept away, and telehealth was embraced by the masses. Out of the most challenging and heartbreaking year for many of us, our families, friends, and colleagues, I offer these perspectives on what it taught us.