Prior to the pandemic, the utilisation of telehealth was already rising. This was due to a growing elderly population and telehealth’s various advantages such as accessibility, convenience, and lower cost. The pandemic has significantly accelerated this growth. It essentially forced consumers, physicians, and payers to put away remaining reluctance and quickly become familiar with telehealth. The increased interest in telehealth was reflected in recent merger and acquisition activities as well. As an example, recently Teladoc, a telehealth company, acquired Livongo, a digital health company, in one of the largest deals for a US company in 2020. It remains to be seen if the accelerated growth of telehealth will continue after the pandemic has subsided.
