Around the world, the adoption of telemedicine has not only skyrocketed following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also has become an increasingly important part of health systems globally. This is particularly true in China where even before the pandemic, the government had already been promoting “internet hospitals” and there is a rapidly growing market of “direct-to-consumer” (DTC) teleconsultation provided through private third-party platforms. As countries transition into a post-pandemic era, policy makers are beginning to grapple with the challenge of how best to integrate telemedicine into their health care delivery systems. There is a burgeoning body of research that attempts to understand the implications of growing telemedicine use on health system performance. This research is critical to guide policy as new telemedicine-enabled models of care evolve, raising important questions about how these care modalities fit into the larger health system and affect overall performance.
Resources
- Cheng, Terence C., Sean Sylvia, Winnie Yip. 2024. “Innovative approaches of measuring care quality in China’s market for telemedicine.” The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific 46:101070. doi:10.1016/j.lanwpc.2024.101070