The pandemic ushered in ‘a new era of medicine’. These telehealth trends are likely here to stay.

USA TODAY March 21, 2021
Adrianna Rodriguez

The coronavirus pandemic has changed many aspects of the American health care system, but nothing changed quite as drastically as the rise of telemedicine.

While virtual care existed before COVID-19, the practice boomed after state-mandated, stay-at-home orders and have since remained strong.

Prior to the pandemic, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts received about 200 telehealth claims per day. That number reached up to 40,0000 claims per day from April to May 2020, and the insurer is still receiving about 30,000 claims per day almost a year later, according to spokesperson Amy McHugh.

Athenahealth, a health tech company, released an interactive dashboard that delivered insights on telehealth trends from 18.4 million virtual appointments by 60,000 providers.

“The pandemic has necessitated...

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