Digital Health and Medicine in the COVID-19 Era

Many things have changed since we all began to navigate the changes brought by COVID-19. Think of it: “take out” is the new “dine in,” where printed menus and even touch screens have given way to “contact-free transactions.” Meetings and events, from family visits to business meetings, everything from wedding celebrations to funerals and memorial services have gone virtual.

Some things, however, still require physical contact: blood tests, injections, dialysis and infusions, radiation therapy, dentistry, chiropractic visits, surgery, “touch-intensive” physical exams, and the like. You simply can’t “phone those in.” On the other hand, as people in remote locations or where medical professionals are not geographically close, what is generally put under the umbrella of “telemedicine” has been helping people and saving lives for years.

Thanks to “stay at home” recommendations, video conferencing and allied distance-medicine tools are being used by even the most urban city dwellers. Most of my own doctors are less than five miles