Digital health leaders feel optimistic about the digital health industry despite nearly 9 in 10 feeling their business operates in a moderate- to high-risk environment, according to a Beazley report.

The past year has accelerated the use of virtual care services beyond anyone’s expectations. In fact, a McKinsey & Company study shows that adoption increased from 11% of consumers in 2019 to 46% by the end of May 2020.

The FCC voted March 30 to formally adopt a Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration to start the second round of its COVID-19 telehealth program.

Fueled by the acceleration of digital health and telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, several health insurers have launched initiatives to expand virtual care for members.

SOC Telemed completed its acquisition of acute care telemedicine provider Access Physicians for $194 million, the company announced March 30. 

A complete array of virtual care capabilities is being offered at Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health to extend healthcare services in Georgia and the Carolinas.

Telehealth has played a crucial role in helping providers continue to care for patients amid a deadly pandemic.

For most patients, it is safe to return to in-person provider visits, leaving many to wonder what the outlook of telehealth is. Research suggests telehealth is a vital aspect of healthcare, according to a March 28 article published by The Wall Street Journal.

Despite Amazon's increasing presence in telemedicine and healthcare, Amwell is welcoming the retail giant into the space rather than seeing them as competition, according to Amwell Chairman and Co-CEO Ido Schoenberg, MD. 

Advocate Aurora Enterprises, the new subsidiary of Milwaukee-based Advocate Aurora Health, recently led a series C funding round of more than $25 million for telenutrition platform Foodsmart.

Amwell reported a $50.6 million net loss for the fourth quarter of 2020, up from $22.7 million lost during the same time in 2019. 

In the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 transmission became prevalent in the United States, Americans started experiencing high levels of isolation, economic uncertainty and anxiety. In January 2021, the American Psychological Association's Stress in America survey found that adults were experiencing the highest levels of stress since the early days of the pandemic.

Trust can be harder to establish between patient and provider in a virtual care setting. Here are recommendations to establish these elements, according to a March 24 article published in Harvard Business Review.

Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital teamed up with telehealth company TytoCare to create an at-home telehealth kit to provide on-demand virtual medical exams, according to a March 23 news release.

Pharmacy discount provider GoodRx on March 24 launched its COVID-19 vaccine tracker, which offers information on vaccine inventory and appointment availability for more than 50,000 U.S. sites.

From making telemedicine more consumer friendly to increasing access to care during the pandemic, retail and tech giants including Amazon, Google and Best Buy are ramping up their virtual care initiatives and innovating the healthcare delivery system. 

Ro, a direct-to-consumer telehealth app for pharmacy services, completed a $500 million Series D financing round, it said March 23. 

Before 2020, few in the healthcare industry questioned the potential utility of telehealth. Its benefits were obvious, the technology itself was robust and well-developed — but all the same, it never quite hit mainstream adoption. Then COVID-19 changed everything.

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have invented a telehealth drone that can deliver lab tests, medicine and medical supplies in the country's most secluded regions, according to a March 15 article published by the university.

COVID-19-related telehealth rules for out-of-state providers may lead to unintended consequences such as fraud and limited patient access if made permanent, according to a recent Kaiser Health News analysis.