Population and Public Health

The COVID-19 crisis prompted an enormous uptick in virtual care use from patients and providers – but it has also raised a number of questions about telehealth's security, accessibility and longevity.

From pandemic-necessitated go-live pauses to major rip-and-replaces, FHIR-based efficiencies to interoperability strides, digital records are evolving.

Will a health system battered by the pandemic emerge stronger in the year ahead? The annual report predicts challenges such as profitably merging virtual and in-person care, capitalizing on new consumer- and clinician-facing digital health tools – and enabling pharma to find its footing in this changing ecosystem.

As COVID-19 wreaked havoc at health systems worldwide, hackers and bad actors were all too happy to take advantage of the confusion and expanded attack surface – in a new "cyberpandemic" that shows no sign of abating.

Healthcare IT News speaks to experts about the top predictions that will define healthcare in 2021.

Walgreens, Costco, CVS and others said they would use existing IT systems to help customers track their vaccination dosage schedule.