Telehealth's new era: A look at the rapid rise in virtual care adoption and what's required to sustain growth


With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption of telehealth shifted into hyperdrive. Adoption has occurred at unprecedented levels, cramming years' worth of telehealth integration into months and weeks.


Since the pandemic began, analysts have been rapidly revising their predictions for telehealth upward. Forrester analysts anticipate more than 1 billion virtual care visits in 2020. While 900 million of these will be related to COVID-19, Forrester still estimates that there will be as many as 200 million virtual visits related to general care and 80 million visits related to mental health needs.


Even after the COVID-19 crisis passes, telehealth is expected to continue to expand. Forrester predicts that healthcare organizations that don't deliver virtual care will face customer attrition.


This white paper looks at what's driving the increased telehealth adoption beyond just COVID-19 and the opportunities within the healthcare system for providers to use telehealth.