The Future of Telehealth: Addressing Health Inequities and Sustaining Physician Practice Beyond the Pandemic

The rapid growth of telehealth during the pandemic changed how millions of patients received care remotely. This quick shift also revealed differences in access and quality. Factors like socioeconomic status, internet availability, provider skills with virtual tools, and varying regulations led to uneven telehealth experiences.

Brett Oliver, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer at Baptist Health Kentucky, stated, “This is not going away… That would be a mistake.” Baptist Health Kentucky works to improve telehealth services to tackle health inequities, focusing on making access fair for different populations.

A recent article by nursing scholars Mahrokh M. Kobeissi and Joanne V. Hickey from UTHealth Houston highlights the need for a clear plan to ensure telehealth is safe and accessible for diverse social and economic groups. They use systems theory and the Donabedian quality assessment method to guide healthcare leaders in designing telehealth systems that consider organizational rules, provider capabilities, and patient factors. This model shows telehealth is more than just technology—it is a framework that must include health equity at its core.

Medical administrators should keep checking patient results, update technology, and train staff. Telehealth can save travel time, remove geographic obstacles, and deliver faster care. Still, these advantages will only reach everyone if problems with internet access, digital skills, language differences, and payment rules favoring in-person visits are addressed.

Telehealth is also important for keeping physician practices operating, especially small or independent ones that had difficulties during the pandemic. The American Medical Association stresses that fair payment and simpler administrative procedures are needed. Partnerships, like those between independent doctors and organizations such as Privia Health, help lessen paperwork, letting physicians concentrate on patients. This is especially important as practices navigate value-based care and insurance reimbursements.

Innovations in Telehealth Integration Across U.S. Health Systems

Some health systems have made solid progress in adding telehealth to their care plans in lasting ways. Baptist Health Kentucky leads efforts to expand telehealth and reduce health inequities through targeted programs and technology investments. This shows telehealth’s importance and the need to adapt it to patient requirements.

Atlantic Health System in Morristown, New Jersey, uses augmented intelligence (AI) to speed up radiology service prior authorizations. These delays have long caused frustration for patients and providers. By automating approval steps, Atlantic Health cuts wait times and eases patient concerns, improving care flow. This example shows how automation can remove barriers limiting telehealth’s effectiveness.

Bayhealth’s pilot program focusing on social determinants of health achieved notable results, cutting heart failure readmissions by 67%. The program integrates factors like housing, transportation, and finances into care, sometimes through telehealth platforms connecting patients with social services. It points to telehealth’s potential as a tool for more well-rounded care management, beyond clinical visits.

Henry Ford Health in Michigan started a community paramedicine program where paramedics visit patients at home to avoid unnecessary hospital stays. Although this happens outside virtual telehealth, it complements telehealth services by filling gaps in person, aiding patients with chronic illnesses or mobility issues, and lightening hospital loads. Combining telehealth with local outreach creates a broader approach to future healthcare delivery.

Regional needs also influence telehealth approaches. In Oregon, where climate events like wildfires and heatwaves affect health, leaders like Dr. Colin Cave of Northwest Permanente see climate change as a public health issue and support telehealth as a way to keep healthcare accessible during emergencies that limit travel or increase risk.

The Challenge of Practice Variation and Quality Assurance in Telehealth

The fast rise of telehealth during COVID-19 also brought wide differences in how it was practiced. Quick setups without uniform rules raised concerns about patient safety, data protection, quality, and fairness. There is still variation between rural and urban settings and among organizations.

The system-theory telehealth model from UTHealth Houston researchers shows how policies, organizational culture, provider skills, and patient social factors all affect outcomes. This model uses the Donabedian framework, which looks at quality through structure, process, and results. Healthcare managers and IT teams should apply such frameworks to develop telehealth programs that are safe and effective for a broad patient group.

Practices should make clear policies, train providers in telehealth communication and clinical skills, and set up data tracking to monitor ongoing results. Sustaining telehealth growth needs these organized efforts along with regulatory support, including reimbursement equality and flexible licensure rules.

AI and Automation: Redefining Telehealth Workflow and Enhancing Patient Experience

Many healthcare organizations in the U.S. are using artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to improve telehealth workflows. Adding AI to front office and administrative work helps reduce operational problems and raise patient satisfaction.

Simbo AI, for example, offers AI-based phone automation and smart answering services for healthcare providers. These systems manage tasks like appointment scheduling, patient questions, reminders, and billing, freeing staff to handle more complex issues needing human attention.

Beyond scheduling, AI automation targets delays caused by insurance prior authorizations. Atlantic Health System’s use of augmented intelligence for prior authorization speeds up patient access to diagnostics and treatments. This reduces backlogs, allowing clinicians to make faster decisions and communicate better with patients, which is especially important in telehealth where speed and ease matter.

AI also supports clinical decisions during telehealth visits. Advanced algorithms can flag abnormal images or warn about drug interactions. When integrated with telehealth platforms, these tools improve diagnosis accuracy and patient safety, offering extra support for doctors adapting to virtual care.

From a workflow viewpoint, automation helps maintain appointment schedules, optimize staffing, and reduce errors. It smooths coordination between telehealth and in-person visits, supporting care continuity. IT managers must create systems compatible with AI tools and current electronic health records (EHR) platforms.

Using AI in telehealth helps make physician practices more efficient and sustainable by cutting routine work, lowering clinician burnout, and increasing patient engagement. As telehealth matures, AI and automation provide practical ways to address ongoing challenges in virtual care.

Reimbursement, Value-Based Care, and Sustainable Practice Models

For telehealth to continue beyond the pandemic, providers must earn enough revenue and keep expenses manageable. The American Medical Association points out that physician skills remain key to cost-effective care. Telehealth should not be treated as secondary to in-person visits, especially in value-based care contracts.

Value-based care requires detailed data on patient needs and results. Philip M. Oravetz, MD, MPH, Chief Population Health Officer at Ochsner Health, advises systems to obtain payer commitments for claims data. This transparency is vital to assess how telehealth contributes to clinical outcomes and controlling costs.

Partnerships that let independent doctors delegate administrative work help keep practices financially stable and focused on clinical care. When combined with AI and automation, these models offer a useful path for telehealth sustainability, especially in smaller or rural practices with limited resources.

Looking Ahead: A Strategic Approach for Medical Practice Leaders

• Continuously assess telehealth programs using quality frameworks that address safety, equity, and outcomes.
• Provide training for providers to build skills in virtual care and communication.
• Implement AI and automation tools like Simbo AI to reduce administrative workload and improve patient experience.
• Work with payers to secure adequate reimbursement matching in-person services.
• Include social determinants of health in telehealth models to decrease disparities.
• Form partnerships offering business support to independent practices, allowing doctors to focus on care.
• Plan for external challenges, such as climate change, that may require adaptable healthcare delivery including telehealth.

Applying these strategies can help keep telehealth a core and lasting part of healthcare in the U.S. This will support practices that are financially viable and accessible to all patients.

Reviewing current innovations and preparing for upcoming challenges allows healthcare leaders to guide telehealth’s development as a key part of patient-centered care beyond the pandemic period.