Telehealth

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of some digital health tools, but there are still significant obstacles preventing widespread use of these tools in the healthcare industry.

Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare announced plans to merge with Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health this week with increased telehealth and digital services as a key aspect of the pending deal.

As society pushes toward the first stages of the "fourth industrial revolution," there is an increased opportunity for technology to modernize the U.S. healthcare system, according to two national healthcare policy experts.

Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health committed to making a private investment in the business combination that will make telemedicine provider SOC Telemed public. 

Telehealth growth has sped up during the pandemic, but whether it continues long-term is a point of debate among hospital and health system CIOs.

Telehealth has played a significant role in initial public offering activity among healthcare companies in 2020, totaling  nearly $30 billion in deals, according to a recent S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis. 

Teladoc Health launched a new telemedicine service for mental healthcare on Oct. 21 that is available on the same platform as its medical virtual care platform.

Teladoc CEO Jason Gorevic recently filed a letter with the Securities and Exchange Commission detailing that four of Livongo's C-suite executives will be leaving after the two companies' merger is finalized.

When the pandemic began, insurance companies acted quickly to ensure members had access to telehealth services.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Oct. 19 that the state is releasing $50 million in funding for its second round of the Connect Illinois broadband internet expansion plan.