Telehealth use skyrocketed in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving healthcare organizations to forge new vendor partnerships and rapidly expand virtual care offerings.

Nationwide, telehealth claim lines skyrocketed 3,060 percent from October 2019 to October 2020, according to private healthcare claims data released Jan. 6 by the healthcare research organization Fair Health.

Rennova Health recently completed an agreement with InnovaQor, a subsidiary of TPT Global Tech, to merge Rennova's software and genetic testing divisions and form a company  providing telehealth. 

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health in Lebanon, N.H., will provide telemedicine services and geriatric emergency department training, education and other resources to four rural hospitals in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a comprehensive bill Jan. 1 that requires insurers to  permanently cover telehealth  after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. 

UPMC unveiled a new telehealth model Jan. 4 that lets patients schedule appointments with the Pittsburgh-based health system's virtual primary care service for chronic and acute care conditions, according to ABC affiliate WHTM.

UCLA Health is creating telehealth-specific triage protocols to help providers determine when it is appropriate to deliver care to patients via a virtual approach, according to a Dec. 30 NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery report.

Baxter Regional Medical Center in Mountain Home, Ark., will discontinue its mobile urgent care app Dec. 31, but will still offer alternative telehealth options. 

Here are the five most popular telehealth stories published by Becker's Hospital Review in 2020:

From social distancing requirements to expanded insurance coverage, telehealth usage became widespread this year thanks to several components of the healthcare industry's response to COVID-19.