How Healthcare Changed

And have been in the middle of it.   Innovation is growing.   Good overview piece:

How Healthcare Changed in 2020

By Katherine Boyarsky | January 7, 2021 Owl Labs

In 2020, the way the world functioned changed. With stay-at-home orders leading to an explosion in telecommuting, telehealth, and virtual collaboration, healthcare had a major consideration during this transition: security. How do you keep patient data secure in a virtual world? Additionally, how do you connect Covid patients in isolation rooms with both care teams and their families? Luckily, technology found its way into every aspect of healthcare, bringing innovation into a historically traditional industry. 

One thing’s for sure, 2020 fundamentally changed the way that we offer healthcare around the world, for the better

Telehealth Protected Providers and Expanded Access

The growth in telehealth during 2020 was staggering. An already existing option in some areas with small pockets of users prior to 2020, telehealth is the ability to meet with providers for appointments using video conferencing. In March of 2020, telehealth visits were up 154% from the previous year due to COVID-19. The CDC mentions the benefits of telehealth, including “expanding access to care, reducing disease exposure for staff and patients, preserving scarce supplies of personal protective equipment, and reducing patient demand on facilities.” 

With secure apps like Teladoc, patients can meet with doctors for check ups, therapy sessions, regular visits, and more. Patients can message with providers using apps like MyChart and access their records, have a virtual visit, schedule appointments, and more. 

Telehealth provides the exciting opportunity for people to see specialists and meet with doctors in areas where they otherwise would not have access to these specialty teams and services. ... "