Will Telehealth Remain After COVID? Should It?

The fear of the coronavirus has driven patients to meet with their doctors, their child’s pediatrician, therapists, and counselors via computers, cellphones, and virtual reality. A Department of Health and Human Services statistical report found that in April, about 43% of primary care visits through Medicare were via telehealth. Before the pandemic, more than 99% of Medicare-funded visits were in-person appointments.

From March through early July, the agency says, more than 10 million Medicare beneficiaries used telehealth services. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, too, saw a massive spike in the number of patients seeing doctors online.  Between February and May, about 120,000 appointments a week were conducted via the VA’s Video Connect system. That compares to 10,000 a week during the same period in 2019.