The Digital Pathway to Widespread Precision Medicine

Digital health tools and technologies were thrust into the spotlight during the pandemic and were able to help many people get much needed medical advice and treatment when few other options were available. However, whether this boost to the industry will remain after a year of relative normalcy and a reduction in the COVID-19 threat is less clear. “We’re just scratching the surface,” University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) chief technology officer Christian Carmody told Inside Precision Medicine. “I think COVID helped change that mindset of where, when, and how we get our health care, when we were forced to stay away and stay in isolation, and I think that’s stuck. Things like telemedicine and telehealth visits really enabled us to continue delivering care in that very difficult time. Consumers were open to receiving care that way and engaging with clinicians much more quickly, and more conveniently than ever before.”