As the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the U.S., it was clear the disease would have a huge impact on the healthcare system. Though that first phase wasn’t pretty for the industry, telehealth became a lifeline for patients and their providers. In some cases, it was also the only source of revenue for  healthcare systems.

Though it’s difficult to predict what a truly post-COVID-19 world looks like, it is increasingly clear that patients who have used telehealth to get care over the past several months won’t be going back to a bricks-and-mortar-only model.

According to the Advisory Board¹, at the end of 2019, 25 percent of patients said they would switch to a new primary care provider if they offered virtual care options. By April, that percentage had climbed to 40 percent and showed no signs of plateauing. Forrester expects as many as one billion healthcare visits in 2020 will be conducted virtually.

That means now is the time to lock in a wide-open virtual front door strategy that serves as a revenue multiplier for both ambulatory and specialty care.