In a study of 2,000 adults from around the United States, two-thirds of respondents stated that COVID-19 increased their willingness to try telehealth in the future. This is in comparison to about 25 percent who expressed they hadn’t previously considered it an option.
In the United States, a large portion of healthcare spending is incurred by a small percentage of the population. That’s nothing new. Neither is the fact that the U.S. spends more money on healthcare - approximately $3.6 trillion and 18 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) – than any other developed nation.
In the 1920s, radios were used to communicate medical advice to clinics on ships. Thirty years later, two Pennsylvania physicians exchanged radiologic images through telephone lines. A little more than 20 years ago, the University of Alaska Anchorage and the Alaska Native Health Board created the Village Telemedicine Project to provide telemedicine equipment to four regional hospitals and 20 village clinics to benefit Alaska Native people.
By Mark Allara
Published: December 17, 2020, Physicians Practice
Due to COVID-19, many physicians are engaging with telehealth for the first time. For those unaccustomed to telehealth visits, establishing your virtual bedside manner or “webside manner” can be a challenge.
Probably one of the industries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is healthcare. Physicians and nurses are working endless hours to treat patients, and hospitals and health systems are trying to ramp up their testing capabilities for the influx of people who suspect they have the new coronavirus.
