Building a sustainable telehealth strategy

The 2020 novel coronavirus epidemic didn't introduce new trends and technology so much as accelerate those already underway - such as remote work, online shopping and e-learning. Nowhere is that shift more evident in healthcare than telehealth, which within months, moved from nice-to-have to necessity.

A three-part longitudinal study that started in Fall 2019, prior to COVID-19's U.S. arrival, and ended in Fall 2020 reflects the swift adoption of telehealth, driven primarily by the pandemic and newfound patient demand. The study, Telehealth in Overdrive: Intelligence on a Year in Adaptation, conducted by HIMSS and sponsored by Spectrum Enterprise, shows how healthcare organizations (HCOs) handled an abrupt switch of in-person patient care delivery to more virtual interactions. It also outlines how these same HCOs intend to build on early telehealth successes and work through challenges that often accompany hypergrowth.

The HIMSS research series involved a total of 737 respondents employed at U.S. HCOs, all of whom had at least moderate familiarity with their organization's telehealth initiatives and communications and connectivity technology solutions. The first "wave" involved 125 healthcare stakeholders in Fall 2019 (pre-pandemic), followed by 304 the following summer and 308 a few months later in Fall 2020 to get an understanding of anticipated changes post-pandemic.

This statistically significant sample represented a wide mix of providers, from integrated delivery networks (IDNs) and multi-hospital systems to specialty practices and long-term, ambulatory and outpatient care centers. While the majority of these HCOs serve either urban or suburban populations, a sizeable number deliver care to rural communities. Most work in upper or middle management, but between a fifth and a quarter are frontline staff or clinicians.

The broad representation and breadth of time among all three surveys provide both snapshots and big-picture perspectives based on what's worked well and what's now needed to maintain telehealth's growing role in healthcare today and into the future.