During the health crisis, many opted for telemedicine due to logistical factors. However, logistics and social distancing aren’t the only variables. Before the pandemic, nearly 1 in 4 Americans were reported skipping potentially needed medical care.
Investopedia claims that one reason for rising healthcare costs is government policy. In addition, they say providers have been able to increase prices due to the creation of programs such as Medicare and Medicaid
This essential design of Medicaid has largely remained unchanged throughout its 25-year history despite criticism from all quarters. Recent incremental expansions in Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2019 were essential in increasing accessibility.
History of telemedicine
While telemedicine reached the heights of popularity during the pandemic, the concept of delivering medical care via information technologies dates back more than a century.
With the invention of the telephone in 1876, the potential for live but remote care grew as a physician determined whether a baby had croup by listening to the baby cough through a phone receiver.
Telemedicine during the Covid-19 pandemic
American telemedicine encounters increased by 766% in the first three months of the Covid-19 pandemic as doctors struggled to keep up with the surge of patients.