/PRNewswire/ KeyCare, the nation s first and only Epic-based virtual care company, announced today that it has partnered with Captive Health to deliver.
Last year, as cases of a new virus forced hospitals and clinics to close their doors as a protective measure, facilities across Iowa were forced to instead offer many of their services virtually.
In Cedar Rapids, Mercy Medical Center reported its providers connected with patients on more than 49,000 telehealth visits between March and December 2020, said Dr. Tim Sagers, a family medicine physician who spearheads the hospital’s telehealth initiatives. In 2019, that total had been less than 1,000 telehealth visits.
At UnityPoint Health locations across Iowa, which includes its health system in Cedar Rapids, telehealth visits rose from 6,700 before COVID-19 to more than 174,000 in the pandemic, officials stated.
By Dorothy de Souza Guedes, for The Gazette
Telehealth has become the norm for health care visits during the novel coronavirus pandemic. And patients are getting used to virtual rather than in-person visits with a doctor.
“In March (of 2020), telehealth became our go-to, especially early on,” said Dr. Tim Sagers, a primary care provider with Mercy Cedar Rapids.
Technology use by consumers had matured, and people had developed a comfort level with on-demand services, Sagers said. The time was right for telehealth to take off.
“The consumer was prepared, the technology was prepared, and health care finally realized that we have to have different ways to reach patients,” Sagers said.