Telehealth Has Been a COVID-Era Blessing. Is It Here to Stay?
At the height of the pandemic here in New Jersey over the spring, I developed a near-constant throbbing noise in my left ear, making it sound like a very tiny, very annoying death metal drummer was practicing their double bass technique inside my skull. After about a week of thinking the diminutive percussionist might tire themselves out and call it quits, I decided it was time to see a doctor. Problem was, none of the ENT (ear, nose, throat) specialists around here wanted to see me. With COVID-19 raging, their offices were shuttered except for the most vital appointments.
Instead, I set up a telemedicine appointment—skeptically, because my malady seemed like the sort of thing a doctor could only diagnose by jamming that little tube-shaped magnifying glass thing in my ear. But after describing my symptoms over the phone, my doctor suggested I was getting an ear infection, and prescribed a round of antibiotics. A few days after starting the meds, the drumming went away and has yet to return. (I am, of course, jinxing myself by writing this). Still, the episode further convinced me that telemedicine, which was on the upswing before the pandemic but has skyrocketed in popularity during the outbreak, could be useful even in situations I used to think would require an in-person visit.
Another case in point: the (much more serious) case of Curtis Carlson, a California man who was recently diagnosed with a kidney infection, and who shared his story with my colleague Abigail Abrams. But rather than keep him at the hospital, staffers tricked out his bedroom with all manner of internet-connected monitoring gear, letting him recover in the virus-free safety of his own home. Doctors and nurses watched over his condition remotely and often checked on him in person, before “releasing” him to a primary care physician after four days of hospital-from-home. “No complaints,” Carlson said of the whole endeavor.
Carlson’s story is an extreme example of the increasing popularity of telemedicine, which is helping people like us get the treatment we need with minimal risk of viral exposure. Telehealth could also help expand access to health care in places that desperately need improvement on that front, including poor urban neighborhoods and rural areas.
But, while earlier in the pandemic it looked like telemedicine was here to stay, its future could be jeopardized by ongoing debates between stakeholders like medical providers, insurers, lawmakers and patients over access, cost, and regulations. One problem: some insurers don’t want to cover telehealth appointments at the price of in-person visits, but many medical providers say they take the same amount of work on their part.
“We know the U.S. health care system wasn’t prepared for this pandemic, but in the case of telehealth, COVID-19 forced hospitals and physicians to speed up innovations that would have otherwise taken years to develop, and could actually improve access to health care for millions of patients,” says Abrams. “But the regulations and insurers only temporarily allowed these quick changes, so now even though telehealth is supposed to overcome barriers to health care, it too could get stuck in the patchwork nature of our health care system.”
Another wrinkle: it isn’t yet clear whether telehealth on a mass scale will deliver the same health results as in-person visits. It does, however, seem clear that telehealth will play some role in the future of U.S. health care, and the debates we’re having today will shape exactly what that role becomes.
More than 19.8 million people around the world had been sickened by COVID-19 as of 7 AM eastern time today, and more than 731,000 people have died.
Here is every country with over 250,000 confirmed cases:
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is currently in Taiwan, where he visited with President Tsai Ing-wen today and praised the country’s remarkable efforts to contain the virus—it has had only 480 confirmed cases and just seven deaths. While Azar said his trip “demonstrates the robust U.S.-Taiwan partnership on global health and health security,” it’s also sure to escalate already heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing. Azar is the highest-level American official in decades to visit Taiwan, a self-ruling island over which Beijing claims sovereignty. Sure enough, China greeted Azar by sending a pair of fighter jets across an informal boundary between China and Taiwan; the aircraft were warded off by Taiwanese interceptors.
India reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths in a single day for the first time over the weekend as the outbreak there continues to worsen dramatically. The country now has about 2.5 million recorded cases (third most, behind the U.S. and Brazil) and 44,386 deaths (fifth most). So far, India’s reported death toll remains below that of other hard-hit countries, but that may be a result of inadequate testing and records-keeping (death is also a lagging indicator).
New Zealand, heralded for its highly effective pandemic response, yesterday celebrated 100 days without community spread of the virus. Life for Kiwis has largely returned to normal, the Associated Press reports, though some experts are concerned that complacency may lead to a resurgence—indeed, the virus has repeatedly re-emerged in parts of the world after lockdown measures were lifted.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. recorded more than 5 million coronavirus cases as of 7 AM eastern time today. Nearly 163,000 people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On August 9, there were nearly 47,000 new cases and 515 new deaths confirmed in the U.S. Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Nearly 100,000 children across the U.S. tested positive for the virus during the last two weeks of July, according to a new study from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. The findings are sure to complicate leaders’ decisions over whether to reopen schools for in-person learning this fall. A school in Georgia where a student was suspended after posting a viral photo showing crowded hallways and limited mask-wearing has since closed after nine students and staff tested positive, CBS’ Atlanta affiliate reported today.
The Trump Administration is “prepared to put more money on the table” amid ongoing negotiations over more coronavirus-related economic relief, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on CNBC this morning. Democrats have called for a package worth at least $3 trillion, while Republicans have wanted to cap it at about $1 trillion. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Democrats, said last week that the White House turned down their offer to meet roughly in the middle at around $2 trillion.
Speaking of coronavirus relief: U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order over the weekend which, in part, extends the extra pandemic-era unemployment payments at a rate of $400/month. But the order also asks states to fund a quarter of the program—a difficult burden, to say the least, given many states’ already precarious financial positions. “The concept of saying to states, you pay 25% of the insurance, is just laughable," New York governor Andrew Cuomo said yesterday of Trump’s order. “It’s just an impossibility. So none of this is real on the federal side. This is going to have to be resolved."
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of August 9, 1 AM eastern time. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Why American Men Don't Wear Masks
A recent Gallup poll found that, while 54% of U.S. women say they always wear a mask when outside their home, only 34% of men say the same—and men are more than twice as likely to say they never wear one at all. The reason, posits Alex Abad-Santos at Vox, might be because some men view masks as a sign of weakness and a threat to their masculinity; Abad-Santos also offers some suggestions for reversing the problem. Read more here.
A Season of Grief and Release: 5 Months of the Virus in New York City
For those of us in and around New York City, the relatively calm virus situation is offering us a chance to catch our breath and take stock of the collective trauma we’ve all just been through together. Here, New York Times deputy metro desk editor Dodai Stewart does exactly that, recounting month-by-month the virus’ toll on the city and its residents, along with evocative images from street photographer Daniel Arnold. Read more here.
There’s No COVID-19 in Antarctica. Scientists Want to Keep It That Way
Researchers willing to brave the inhospitable climate have long done remarkable scientific work in Antarctica in fields ranging from climatology to astronomy. But the island will be off-limits to almost all of them this year to prevent the virus from reaching the continent, National Geographic reports, forcing scientists to rely on sensors and other instruments already in place. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Alex Fitzpatrick and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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