Coronavirus Drives Teladoc’s Daily Virtual Medical Visits Up 50%

Virtual care provider Teladoc Health announced that the company is experiencing unprecedented daily visit volume in the United States as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread globally. This week, patient visit volume spiked 50 percent over the prior week and continues to rise. The company had been handling visit demand consistent with peak flu volumes, but last week Wednesday began to see that number accelerate to as much as 15,000 visits requested per day. Teladoc Health has provided approximately 100,000 virtual medical visits to patients in the United States in the past week, helping to alleviate pressure on the broader health care system. The $8.3 billion Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 has set aside $500 million to pay for Medicare telehealth services (voice and video), and allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to waive Medicare telehealth restrictions during the public health emergency to support the growing the demand for virtual care visits. These actions have driven many people to use telemedicine for the first time, with more than half of all the Teladoc Health visits this month being from first time users.