Under COVID-19 Pressure, Healthcare Finally Embraces New Digital Tools

MOBI HEALTH NEWS — Anthony Pannozzo, frog’s global health lead and chief design officer for North American & Asia, write about digital health innovation in the wake of COVID-19 pressures.

Healthcare has often been accused (fairly and unfairly) of being too slow to change or adapt to new technologies and the ideas they inspire. While change is hard for everyone, in a space like healthcare change meets the especially strong headwinds of regulation, reimbursement, legacy systems and institutionalized workflows.

But the COVID-19 pandemic single-handedly swept all those barriers aside. FDA emergency use authorizations paved the way for extraordinary innovation and speed to market for a host of new ventilator concepts, test kits and vaccine trials. Social distancing policies at hospitals and clinics created a surge in demand for telehealth services. With regards to ventilators, as well as personal protective equipment (PPE) and test kits, this pandemic has certainly exposed an extraordinary lack of preparedness in our healthcare system. But in the case of telehealth, the pandemic may ultimately be credited with catalyzing a fundamental shift in how we provide and receive care.