In a recent blog post, MedData reported on the results from its survey of 275 U.S. physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners who shared their thoughts on the impact of the expansion of telehealth-related technology on their practices, patients, and prescribing behaviors both now and in the future.

MedData noted that the highly contagious nature of the coronavirus has made frontline healthcare workers, including physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, dangerously vulnerable to contracting the virus themselves as they provide care to the over 1.25 million Americans seeking treatment.

Fortunately for health care professionals, the expansion of telehealth, or telemedicine, has shifted into hyper-drive in response to the pandemic. To expand patient and provider access, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as well has many private insurers, have moved swiftly to waive the reimbursement restrictions, interstate regulations, and out-of-pocket costs that have historically acted as barriers to telehealth’s widespread adoption. As a result, prominent health care systems throughout the country have reported unprecedented surges in telehealth encounters, with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) for example reporting a 35-fold increase from March to April 2020.

As MedData concludes, the response to COVID-19 will likely permanently entrench telehealth services on the frontlines of patient care.