The use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic rose dramatically across the nation, including at Mayo Clinic. Telehealth has provided safe, convenient access to health care for people who needed to stay home to follow guidelines for social distancing and quarantines.

Recent studies conducted by the COVID-19 Healthcare Coalition found that patients and providers are highly satisfied with digital health care as a way to deliver care.

The results of the patient survey mirrored the results of the provider survey released last fall. Of the 2,007 patients across the U.S. who responded to the survey, 79% indicated that they were satisfied with their telehealth visit and 73% expect to continue with telehealth care in the future.

“The experience with telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic has opened everyone’s eyes as the potential to deliver healthcare in much more safe and convenient ways," says Dr. Steve Ommen, medical director of Experience Products for Mayo Clinic's Center for Digital Health. "I think that years from now, we will point to 2020 as the year that the potential of digital care delivery became a reality, as long as the regulatory and reimbursement environment is conducive to its growth."

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Ommen discusses how telehealth is becoming part of the new normal in health care.