The Time Is Now: A Guide to Sustainable Telemedicine During COVID-19 and Beyond

Telemedicine, defined as “the application of information and communication technologies for providing healthcare services at a distance without the need for direct contact with the patient,” was initially conceived as an opportunity for practices to reach more patients.

Since the COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, telemedicine has become a lifeline to practices seeking to maintain patient access to care and financial viability. Quite simply, telemedicine is “crossing the chasm” between being an interesting but rarely used technology to being essential.

Physicians have at least the following two important questions: Should I keep telemedicine long term in my practice? What issues should I consider?