Pandemic Telehealth Visits

Pandemic Telehealth Visits in United States

United States

Telehealth or telemedicine visits allow patients to receive care from a health care provider without an in-person visit. Telehealth may include talking with a provider live over a phone or video conference, sending and receiving messages with a provider or using remote monitoring devices to check a patient’s vital signs in their own home. Using telehealth can limit exposure to illnesses such as COVID-19, reduce travel time, circumvent issues getting child care or time off work, shorten wait times for appointments and improve access to specialists.

Telehealth can be used for:

• Monitoring and managing chronic health conditions, such as migraines, skin conditions, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
• Managing prescriptions.
• Receiving results of laboratory tests or x-rays.
• Receiving needed treatment, including mental health counseling and physical and occupational therapy.
• Addressing urgent care issues such as colds, coughs and stomachaches.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, use of telehealth services have greatly increased. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) implemented policy changes in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency to make telehealth more accessible, though state laws and private insurance coverage relating to telehealth still vary.

Updated 9/16/22

Brotman, Joshua J., and Robert M. Kotloff. “Providing Outpatient Telehealth Services in the United States.” Chest 159, no. 4 (April 2021): 1548–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2020.11.020.