New Report Provides Guide for Colorado’s Telemedicine Future

For Immediate Release
May 11, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social-distancing requirements have forced a new reality on the health care system. One of the most significant and potentially long-lasting changes may be the rapid adoption of telemedicine as a method of care delivery.

A new report by the Colorado Health Institute (CHI) offers context for the changes, explores their ramifications, and provides a guide for how Colorado can learn from these changes and implement best practices moving into the future.

“A flurry of state and federal policy changes in the early weeks of the pandemic paved the way for health care providers to deliver care to patients via phone and video,” said Jeff Bontrager, Director of Research and Evaluation at CHI and lead author of the report. “The big question now is whether Colorado will embrace telemedicine moving forward or whether it will return to the recent pre-COVID-19 past after the pandemic passes.”

Decisions to expand telemedicine — and the health care system’s swift “adopt and adapt” response — have big implications for payers, providers, and patients. The report identifies five strategic policy areas that federal and state leaders have targeted and explores the impacts on all three groups. It also profiles four clinics and hospitals from Durango to Hugo that have ramped up their telemedicine delivery this year.

“The jury is out on whether telehealth increases utilization and spending. Policymakers, health care providers, and payers have a huge opportunity to learn from this moment and lay the groundwork for the future of health care in Colorado,” Bontrager said.

The telemedicine brief is available at https://www.coloradohealthinstitute.org/research/telemedicine-colorado, and Bontrager is available to provide insight to reporters covering telemedicine.

Contact Kristi Arellano, Managing Director for Marketing and Communications
720.382.7080 or ArellanoK@coloradohealthinstitute.org