Telehealth transformation: COVID-19 and the rise of virtual care

Abstract

Abstract The novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has altered our economy, society, and healthcare system. While this crisis has presented the U.S. healthcare delivery system with unprecedented challenges, the pandemic has catalyzed rapid adoption of telehealth, or the entire spectrum of activities used to deliver care at a distance. Using examples reported by U.S. healthcare organizations, including ours, we describe the role that telehealth has played in transforming healthcare delivery during the 3 phases of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic: (1) stay-at-home outpatient care, (2) initial COVID-19 hospital surge, and (3) postpandemic recovery. Within each of these 3 phases, we examine how people, process, and technology work together to support a successful telehealth transformation. Whether healthcare enterprises are ready or not, the new reality is that virtual care has arrived.

Keywords

TelehealthPandemicHealth careCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)TelemedicineWork (physics)Healthcare deliveryBusinessHealthcare systemNursingMedical emergencyMedicinePolitical scienceDiseaseEngineering

MeSH Terms

Ambulatory CareBetacoronavirusCOVID-19Communicable Disease ControlCoronavirus InfectionsDelivery of Health CareHumansPandemicsPatient CarePneumoniaViralQuarantineSARS-CoV-2TelemedicineUnited States

Affiliated Institutions

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Publication Info

Year: 2020
Type: article
Volume: 27
Issue: 6
Pages: 957-962
Citations: 1525
Access: Closed

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APA Style

                            
                                
                                    Jedrek Wosik, 
                                
                                    Marat Fudim, 
                                
                                    Blake Cameron
                                
                                et al.
                            
                            (2020). 
                            Telehealth transformation: COVID-19 and the rise of virtual care. 
                            Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
                            , 27
                            (6)
                            , 957-962.
                            https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocaa067
                        

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa067
PMID: 32311034
PMCID: PMC7188147

Data Quality

Data completeness: 86%