The rise of contextual care and telehealth

For the first time, clinicians have been able to get a “behind the scenes look” into their patient’s environment during telehealth visits. The explosive increase in the use of telehealth resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has been a paradigm shift in changing how we think about the future of health care. During the first quarter of 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, the number of telehealth visits increased by 50% compared with the same period in 2019. This steep rise in the availability of virtual visits has likely helped prevent the spread of disease by keeping people out of crowded hospitals, and also enabled patients to connect with their doctors when most offices were closed. Yet there is another benefit that is often overlooked. For the first time, clinicians have been able to get a “behind the scenes look” into their patient’s environment during telehealth visits.