FROM THE AHHA DESK
AHHA in the news
JD Weiher
24 JULY 2020
Virtual health care needs to be part of a new —not old—health system The rapid uptake of telehealth during COVID-19
So far, we’ve substituted GP and outpatient clinic
has highlighted the opportunities offered by virtual
visits with phone calls and videoconferencing;
health care technologies.
we’ve made some limited functional improvements
But virtual health care—that is, care at a
such as e-prescribing; and in some places, such
distance—is more than using telephone and video
as in “virtual hospitals”, there has been some
calls as a substitute for traditional doctor-to-
redesign of tasks and processes.
patient face-to-face care. To limit virtual healthcare in this way is to
However, a forward-looking approach to virtual health care would involve planning to embrace the
squander the opportunity for healthcare reform
opportunities which may be available, for example,
and a better health system in the longer term—and
through remote monitoring, data-driven quality
that is the main message from our report published
improvement, artificial intelligence and other
today, The effective and sustainable adoption of
innovations, to create new models of care.
virtual health care.
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The Health Advocate • AUGUST 2020
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