By By Dan Hounsell

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed nearly every industry and facet of life, with healthcare as a prime example. Healthcare systems have been forced to rethink the way they deliver care, with an emphasis on patient affordability, comfort, convenience and safety. The industry is shifting and adapting to what is now the new normal: telehealth. In an attempt to further reduce the spread of the virus, telehealth offerings became the go-to solution for routine visits, counseling services, and more. 

But as the novelty of virtual care wears off, healthcare IT managers need to be aware of potential roadblocks that threaten to keep digital health from reaching its full potential, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.

Consider data interoperability. Sharing data across different hospital systems and electronic health record databases is not possible right now, as each system has its own way to store, code and preserve data. It is likely to take a long time to transform fragmented data into one unified system.