New to the Telehealth Industry? Top Ways on Why and How to Jump In!

As a starting intern at Connect Wolf, a start-up looking to make an impact in the telehealth and AI industry, I’ll admit that I wasn’t super familiar with what exactly “telehealth” entailed. Essentially, telehealth tackles how medical and healthcare services can be conducted long-distance between clinicians and patients via technology, such as computers or mobile phones.

With the global COVID-19 pandemic occurring, the need for these remote services has been absolutely essential to making sure patients get the care they need. Personally, I would know — having contracted strep throat amidst the COVID-19 outbreak (not the best timing, I’d have to say), doctor’s appointments had to be conducted remotely. But I was so surprised as to how convenient it was! It was as easy as turning on my video camera, shining a light (awkwardly) on my throat, and taking my temperature before reaching a likely diagnosis. The point being — the telehealth industry is worth studying and expanding in the near future.

Video calls between physicians and patients is just one example of how telehealth is revolutionizing traditional patient care

If you’re like me and didn’t know exactly where to start on keeping up to date on this growing industry (and trust me, I’m still in the process of learning too!), check out some of these websites and articles below!

1. Science Daily — This contains some of the most groundbreaking and up-to-date news on research in the medical field as a whole, as well as telehealth.
2. This article on how the transition to telehealth may cause trouble for hospitals and medical facilities that may not have access to technology. For me, this put the wealth disparity in the US into perspective, as well as how funding from federal and state agencies is crucial for implementing telehealth services.
3. Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) — The CCHP website provides weekly newsletters and news articles on noteworthy trends in the telehealth industry. They mainly focus on legislation and policy changes that affect the use of telehealth applications. For example, can we expect to see extensive telehealth use even after the COVID-19 pandemic? Read this to find out!

These are only a couple resources to get you started, but they’re a great place to start understanding and learning about the relevance of telehealth in our world today!