Over the past year, the relentless COVID-19 pandemic forced a major shift in the way healthcare is managed and delivered. While we’ve seen tremendous achievements of science and medicine in the way of accelerated vaccine development, the care delivery side of healthcare is still bogged down with siloed technology and systems that lack interoperability and fail to streamline case management.
Prior to COVID-19, telemedicine and virtual care tools had been in the background of some care models, however, challenges with reimbursement and patient adoption prevented widespread use. As the pandemic took hold in the United States last spring, demand for medical care started to skyrocket, but in-person visits became difficult—if not impossible—due to exposure risks, limited clinical staff, shutdowns and travel restrictions. As emergency-use legislation passed to address reimbursement issues and patients had little choice but to adopt alternative options, telemedicine and virtual care emerged as a primary way to deliver and receive essential care.