Six months into the pandemic, we have realized the true potential of digital health technologies, especially telemedicine. The COVID-19 pandemic has inevitably pushed telemedicine to evolve as a necessary supplement to the digital strategy of healthcare providers. Social distancing became the decree overnight, and economic lockdown forced healthcare facilities to shutter temporarily. The healthcare industry was destined to bear the brunt of this burden, non-essential care was suspended, hospitals were cleared out to make room for COVID-19 patients, and ERs brimmed with new cases every day. Telemedicine then suddenly became the ultimate lifesaving tool.

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, millions of Americans panic-purchased toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and other essential household items. Simultaneously, the healthcare providers and systems went into survival mode to pandemic-purchase telehealth solutions to help them sail through the crisis. The primary premise was ‘any solution is still better than no solution’.

Hence, during the initial period of shelter-in-place mandates, telemedicine kept the at-risk population out of the hospitals and ERs, limiting their exposure to the virus. The virtual doors of healthcare were opened to those in need. The downside, however, was unplanned and uncalculated hasty decisions to implement telemedicine solutions. The result was massive security breaches, low-quality audio, and pixelated video, and numerous dropped calls. What unfolded was a less-than-ideal and largely frustrating situation for both the providers and patients.

Read More: What will a Practice Need to Offer Telemedicine?

As time passed, telemedicine vendors strengthened their research and development processes to improve the solutions they offered. They spent a tremendous amount of time, effort, and resources to overcome the technology glitches that were hampering the overall efficiency of telemedicine. With this, the patients’ expectations for a seamless telehealth experience also increased manifold. Today they have much higher expectations than those at the outset of the pandemic – otherwise, they’ll seek care elsewhere.

Telemedicine today is essentially rewriting the rules of care delivery in the U.S. It has evolved as the silver lining to this pandemic, offering meaningful insights into patient behavior and the future of healthcare itself. Patients have started to enjoy telemedicine, owing to the ease of access, comfort, and convenience it offers. Apart from that, they also celebrate that telemedicine helps them comply with medication and wellness regimes. They are more aware and more engaged in personal care.

For those who labeled telemedicine a ‘pandemic fad’, it’s time to give your statement a second, though. Eighty-three percent of American patients today plan to use telemedicine even beyond the pandemic. Telemedicine saves over 90 minutes of average time per patient, which would otherwise be wasted in commuting and waiting to be seen by the physician. Similarly, remote patient monitoring through telemedicine has relieved the ERs from excessive burdens, while also expanding the reach of healthcare providers to rural and underserved communities. The healthcare systems that timely deployed a robust and easy-to-use telemedicine solution are already rebounding in terms of patient engagement and expanding the market share.

Read More: 4 Reasons Telehealth Will Transform Healthcare

Telemedicine today has become the most profitable business in the U.S. The healthcare industry responded well to meet the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in telemedicine. Helping inpatient appointments, reducing cancellations and no-shows, and expanding the overall reach of the providers, telemedicine is now the new healthcare normal.