In 2020, avoiding face-to-face care in clinical settings was seen to be crucial to slow the spread of COVID-19. Health systems had to undergo a massive transformation from in-person to virtual visits. By working alongside the Institute for the Future (IFTF) we found in the research we conducted that the growth in virtual healthcare during the pandemic was so vast, it’s almost impossible to overstate how much this shift accelerated as soon as the pandemic hit.
This rapid transition is one of the changes most likely to stick in most health systems. Telehealth is now proving too convenient, affordable, and accessible to revert to face-to-face medical consultations. But this new norm for accessing healthcare services will do more than just change how healthcare professionals and patients interact; it will move the primary location of routine care from the clinic to the home. But how do we ensure care continues outside of the health system?
