The Rapid Evolution of Telemedicine

Telemedicine has come such a long way in just a year since the COVID pandemic. In the first quarter of 2020, patients and physicians took part in 1,629,000 televisits. As of now, 61% of patients have experienced televisits and 80% of them would like to see this method of healthcare continue long after the pandemic. 

Telehealth actually has a history that’s much longer than one might suspect. The first form of telehealth took place in the 1920’s with ship clinicians receiving medical advice over the radio. The 1950’s saw closed circuit televisions between hospitals. In the 1960’s primary and emergency services were transmitted via microwave, and in the 1970’s telehealth was offered to rural communities in Alaska. In the 1980’s telemedicine was offered to countries beyond the US, and the 1990’s saw a massive increase in videoconferencing for health. In the 2000’s physicians began using telemedicine for chronic medical conditions, and in the 2010’s the American Telemedicine Association grew by 3,100 members. The latest development in telemedicine came after the pandemic began in 2020 with veterinarians offering telemedicine for the first time. 

Telemedicine has a relatively long history considering the nature of this method of healthcare, but with the sudden increase in 2020, we are poised to see even greater increases and advancement in telemedicine in the next few years.