Telehealth can help fight the novel coronavirus, but U.S. challenges could limit its potential
As the world braces for the spread of disease caused by the new coronavirus, public health officials are calling on clinicians and health systems to embrace a set of tools that are technically already within reach: smartphones.
This week, officials from both the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization urged hospitals and clinics to expand their use of telehealth services — also known as remote or virtual care — to help triage the sick and keep the worried well out of already-crowded medical facilities.
In the eyes of many clinicians and public health experts, telehealth’s moment has arrived.
“Telehealth can be a force multiplier that helps protect health workers and extends their reach, and should absolutely be seized upon,” Eric Perakslis, a Rubenstein Fellow at Duke University focusing on data science who previously led the technology efforts for multiple Ebola response programs in West Africa, told STAT.
But there are obstacles to telehealth in the U.S., since its health care system is not well-suited to widely adopt digital health tools.
“The biggest challenges stem from factors that don’t exist in China, like our vast array of private, state, and federal payers with varying reimbursement policies and state-based medical licensing,” Linda Branagan, the director of the University of California, San Francisco’s telehealth program, told STAT.
Those challenges, however, are not stopping some U.S. hospitals and telehealth companies from stepping up to the plate. [...]
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