The Evolution of Healthcare in a Post-Pandemic World

By Josh Thompson, Founder & CEO

Impact Health USA

. https://impacthealthusa.com/

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The Evolution of Healthcare in a Post-Pandemic World

Telehealth went mainstream during the COVID-19 pandemic. It emerged as the only viable option for patients trapped at home by shelter-in-place orders or afraid of contracting the virus at their doctor’s office. With no other means for accessing care, patients and providers pushed through the challenges that had previously kept telehealth on the sidelines of the healthcare industry.

By the time Covid receded and medical offices were opened once again, telehealth had gained a foothold within healthcare. Rather than retreating to the sidelines, it has become a major player in the evolution of healthcare in a post-pandemic world.

Early challenges to widespread telehealth adoption

Healthcare accessibility has always been a challenge for certain segments of society. Patients in remote locations or those with conditions that limit their mobility regularly face hurdles that make it difficult to connect with healthcare professionals. Telemedicine emerged as an option to assist those patients, but it remained underutilized due to a variety of technical and administrative challenges.

For example, telehealth requires reliable and robust hardware and software with video conferencing capabilities, with the minimum required tools consisting of a webcam, a microphone, and a video conferencing platform. Surveys involving Medicare patients conducted during the pandemic showed that over 41 percent were locked out of telehealthcare because they lacked access to a home computer with high-speed internet service.

To facilitate optimal doctor-patient meetings, telehealth platforms must also integrate with medical systems to provide access to electronic health records. In the days prior to Covid, few healthcare providers were utilizing systems that allowed for integration that was secure and convenient. 

Attitudes about telehealth in the days prior to Covid added to the challenge of widespread acceptance. Both doctors and patients alike had little experience with telehealth and, consequently, little appreciation for it. Even once Covid made it a necessity, the majority of doctors did not feel telehealth was more convenient or that it improved the patient experience.

Finally, prior to the pandemic, the regulatory environment had not evolved to a place where telehealth was easy to implement. Providers exploring the potential of telehealth had few policies or guidelines to assist them in structuring services to ensure regulatory compliance, and both providers and patients faced uncertainty regarding the coverage insurance companies would provide for telehealth.

The catalytic impact of Covid on telehealth

When the pandemic erupted in early 2020, accessibility issues became a top healthcare concern. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 57 percent of patients skipped in-office care during the early phases of the pandemic because they were afraid of being exposed to the highly contagious COVID-19 virus.

As patients sought safe and convenient ways to connect with healthcare providers in the midst of Covid, the conditions needed to better facilitate telehealth emerged. Technology that could support secure and reliable video conferencing arose as the business world sought ways to enable remote work, with tools like Zoom rapidly evolving to a point where they could effectively support connections between patients and providers.

Covid also triggered rapid changes in the regulatory framework, moving it in a direction that better supported the spread of telehealth. In tandem with their shelter-in-place orders, policymakers around the world relaxed controls that had challenged telehealth. Insurance providers followed suit, quickly adapting their coverage to include telehealth services.

Suddenly, a service that had existed only on the fringes of healthcare became a key component. The full potential of telehealth was realized during the pandemic, accelerating a revolution in healthcare accessibility and delivery.

The growth of telehealth in the aftermath of Covid

The pandemic allowed a huge number of patients and healthcare providers to experience telehealth services and understand their value firsthand, prompting a variety of new use cases. For example, telehealth has come to be a valuable tool in the field of mental health by facilitating access in a way that removes the stigma associated with receiving mental health care and makes participating in ongoing treatment more convenient.

Developments in telehealth have also contributed to the expansion of healthcare in areas where infrastructure is lacking. By empowering remote consultations, telehealth gives those in underserved communities better access to patient education, health monitoring, and medical specialists.

The ongoing evolution of telehealth is shaping a new era in healthcare by making critical services more accessible, efficient, and attentive to individual patient needs. With each new development, telehealth empowers a more resilient and innovative healthcare system.