Fad or future? Telehealth expansion eyed beyond pandemic

Grady wears an insulin pump to help manage her diabetes at her home in Westford, Vt. Medicare rule changes during the pandemic now makes it possible for her to meet with her doctor remotely, saving her from hours on the road. — AP

WASHINGTON: Telehealth is a bit of American ingenuity that seems to have paid off in the coronavirus pandemic. Medicare temporarily waived restrictions predating the smartphone era and now there’s a push to make telemedicine widely available in the future.

Consultations via tablets, laptops and phones linked patients and doctors when society shut down in early spring. Telehealth visits dropped with the reopening, but they’re still far more common than before.