Hospital telehealth leveling off at one-fifth of medical appointments, research finds

The pandemic resulted in a historic increase in telehealth use last year, as providers quickly pivoted to handling non-emergent visits virtually to recoup lost in-person volume. According to data from EHR provider Epic, telehealth made up almost 70% of all ambulatory visits by mid-April of 2020. Before the pandemic, they made up fewer than 0.01%. However, telehealth utilization has oscillated since its peak, generally linked to rising and falling COVID-19 cases, experts say.