Virginia Postrel, Columnist

Telemedicine Will Be Great After Covid, Too

Pandemic-fueled innovations like remote consultation and licensing reform are good for doctors, patients and public health.

March 31, 2021 at 12:30 PM UTC

By Virginia Postrel

Virginia Postrel is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. She is a visiting fellow at the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy at Chapman University and author, most recently, of “The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World.”

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Photographer: Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

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As recovery from the coronavirus pandemic continues, Bloomberg Opinion is running columns looking at crisis-inspired innovations that promise better living over the long run — from more resilient economies and healthier offices to five-star meal kits and less unnecessary business travel.

People have been predicting the ascent of telemedicine since the 1920s, but even mass broadband use wasn’t enough to make it catch on. Doctors were too worried about losing income, privacy restrictions limited the utility of software and people were just too accustomed to the old ways of doing things.