Our ninth and final mini-blog aims to cover the expanse of digital health in the COVID-19 scenario.
The pandemic has restricted people from stepping out of their homes. It has also become necessary to avoid going to the hospital or clinic unless there is a clear emergency. Under such circumstances, people are now eyeing the option of undergoing digital health check-ups – for health conditions that are not serious. Although the Telemedicine industry has long been struggling to achieve global acceptance, the pandemic might just provide the opening it needed. With the COVID-19 outbreak showing no signs of a slowdown, people are turning to alternative ways of receiving treatment – while limiting their exposure to the Coronavirus.
Solutions like Telemedicine for remote consultations and remote patient monitoring through wearable devices are gaining ground. For instance, Paladina Health has revised its policies to facilitate virtual care for people across the country. The company first expanded videoconferencing capabilities to all of its 126 clinics in the U.S. Due to the COVID-19 fear, the company witnessed a 5X increase nationwide in the number of virtual care visits in March vs. February 2020. Appointments via PlushCare have also witnessed a 70% increase – in the wake of the pandemic.
Choosing the right telehealth provider and leveraging all the features of their apps is a critical necessity for healthcare providers today. It is only when healthcare institutions have the right technical infrastructure in place that they can facilitate the flow of information between patients and doctors and provide high-quality virtual care – even as social distancing norms continue to exist.
What’s in store for us in the Post-pandemic era?
The COVID-19 outbreak has upended all predictions – especially in the realm of IT and cloud computing. According to the latest IDC report, the economic fallout is expected to affect all IT hardware markets, but a colossal surge in cloud infrastructure adoption is predicted. IDC’s new five-year forecast predicts cloud IT infrastructure spending will reach $100.1 billion in 2024 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4%.
In this time of crisis, as enterprises and education institutions alike struggle to maintain stability, cloud-based solutions are a true blessing. Platforms across remote collaboration, virtual conferencing, VoIP, digital entertainment, e-commerce, digital education, cloud security, and telehealth are witnessing an unprecedented spike in adoption and usage. Leaders are predicting that the practices followed during the lockdown by providing a home-bound safe working and learning space will continue to drive value – even after the world comes back to normalcy. That will permanently change the way we work.
