Telehealth systems are growing rapidly in response to the crisis Around 8 p.m. on Jan. 20, I received the call: A test had confirmed that one of the hospitals where I oversee clinical care, in Everett, Wash., had admitted the first Covid-19 patient in the U.S.
The coronavirus bomb went off in our corner of the country that day, and we quickly realized that the pandemic would change health care faster than anything before.
We are now leveraging telehealth technology in ways that will last long after this pandemic. The Providence health system, where I work, now has more than 1,200 beds occupied by patients who have the virus or are suspected of having it across the seven states in the western U.S.