Future of Telehealth

Angie Szumlinski
|
September 17, 2024
Telehealth visit between elderly man and his physician.

Remember telehealth during the pandemic in 2020? Sure, you do, we all do, right? Bring on telehealth—what a game changer for many Americans who were unable to get medical care! In 2020, 60% of mental health visits were conducted via telehealth, 30% for infectious disease, and 18% for pediatrics. Those are significant numbers!

Today, lawmakers are poised to discuss a temporary extension of pandemic-era eased Medicare rules but still have questions about cost and fraud and seek more data. In their view, telehealth during the pandemic hasn’t yet transformed healthcare as it seemed it would when virtual care took off. Usage has fallen, and it hasn’t expanded access the way some predicted it would. In rural areas, where many believed would benefit from virtual care expansion, usage has also been lower than in other areas.

Telehealth advocates argue that comparing early pandemic usage levels when in-person care was limited isn’t fair. In fact, telehealth appointments represented about 6% of visits in late 2023, up from 0.2% in mid-2019. With all of this said, Congress is working to extend telehealth flexibilities. “It hasn’t taken off like we thought, however, it is one of the best things, probably, since sliced bread,” former U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich said. Whatever your thoughts are about telehealth, I, for one, believe it is here to stay and is the “best thing since sliced bread”! Stay well and stay informed!


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