INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
TELEHEALTH The next frontier of virtual care
Today, smartphones and tablet computers have become, in many cases, the first access points for healthcare. Coupled with the rapid adoption of telehealth during COVID-19, and predictions for how sustained this change may be - we investigate how telehealth will impact the physical design of clinic facilities, and the fundamental duality that will drive healthcare design as a digital/physical hybrid. Angela Lee, Principal and Regional Managing Director, Asia Pacific, HKS Gordon Gn, Design Director, HKS
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A SI A N H O S P I T A L & H EA LT HCA R E M A N AGE M E N T
IS S UE - 54, 2021
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n a few short months during the initial periods of COVID19, telehealth went from almost nonexistent, to boom, and has begun to decline towards a yet undetermined state of normalcy. At its height, telehealth was projected to transform what was an estimated US$3 billion in total annual revenue to a projected US$250 billion in US healthcare spending post COVID19. Yet, the pandemic has highlighted the need for fully integrated telehealth to provide access to care and ensure business continuity now and in the future. Healthcare organisations have a