Telehealth

The shift to a greater use of telemedicine during the pandemic presents a new opportunity to reduce reliance on, and subsequent overcrowding in, emergency rooms, according to Austin Frakt, PhD.

While telehealth adoption has allowed clinical care to safely continue during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual visits have presented some unintended consequences for patients and clinicians, according to Lisa Rotenstein, MD, and Lawrence Friedman, MD.

Telehealth use among Anthem's Medicare Advantage members grew exponentially during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report the insurer published Nov. 17.

Cleveland Clinic and Amwell appointed new leadership to their year-old joint venture focused on scaling digital care and telehealth.

The lack of access to technology and broadband internet are the most frequently cited barriers that physicians perceive as preventing their patients from participating in telehealth, according to the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition.

Amwell posted $62.6 million in revenue for the third quarter of 2020, up 80 percent from $34.7 million during the same time last year. 

Amwell unveiled new telehealth connectivity, device and cart offerings Nov. 12 to help simplify  patient onboarding for providers using virtual care. 

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, trends showed increased interest in the use of telehealth services by healthcare professionals and patients.

Amazon Alexa launched a new feature Nov. 11 to help caregivers better monitor seniors who opt to age in place rather than move into nursing homes or assisted care facilities, according to CNBC.

Ignis Health, an analytics platform that measures virtual care program efficiency, recently licensed a telehealth implementation model roadmap from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.