- The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telehealth services throughout the world for general healthcare.
- Many health experts applaud this change, saying telehealth services can provide easier access to healthcare for a larger number of people.
- Telehealth services have also emerged that are specifically tailored to providing accessible, more inclusive care to women, LGBTQIA+ people, as well as Black and brown communities.
In the year since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, telemedicine — healthcare appointments and consultations provided at home through video conferencing and mobile apps — has increasingly become the norm.
To avoid long stays in waiting rooms, and out of caution over risk of possible COVID-19 exposure, people have viewed telehealth appointments as a method of maintaining contact with their health providers while staying safe.
Beyond the appeal of attending a doctor’s appointment from the comfort and safety of home, the telehealth phenomenon has, in some instances, made healthcare approachable and more accessible to people often stigmatized from the traditional medical system.
Over the past year, as more providers have embraced this kind of technology, services have emerged specifically tailored to providing accessible, more inclusive care to women, LGBTQIA+ people, Black and brown communities, among many others.
These services aim to offer alternatives to traditional — sometimes exclusionary — healthcare settings.
As we continue to navigate a world defined and reshaped by COVID-19, what role will telehealth continue to play, especially in addressing groups that have faced societal, cultural, economic, and even geographic barriers to quality care?
Source: healthline