New expectations and standards for virtual care are being established as the healthcare marketplace emerges from pandemic conditions. Without the urgent need driven by COVID-19, questions about coverage and reimbursement for virtual care are halting the move toward standardization, and telehealth still faces barriers to wholesale adoption. Research and resources around COVID-19 continues for OB patients, reactivating GYN patients is proving challenging.

Plus, an ongoing series from Self covering the struggles of being black and pregnant in the US, and the public health crisis of black maternal mortality. Find it here.

As the phrase "new normal" fast becomes ubiquitous, every industry is determining what that looks like in their own space. In healthcare, it is no longer a question that virtual care will be a part of the post-pandemic standard of care, but instead who will pay for it, and how it will affect the patient-provider relationship. Plus, how COVID-19 is driving changes to the traditional model of maternity care. 

In this week's news, state openings and concerns about resurgence of the coronavirus put pandemic strategies in the spotlight, including questions about the future of digital health and the balance between new virtual care strategies and traditional medicine. Plus, concerns around funding for virtual solutions and new research on pregnancy and COVID-19.

The future of telehealth and telemedicine continues to dominate the news cycle as practices begin to test their pandemic strategies against the realities of a post-Covid world. Plus, the role that digital health can play in getting people back to work quickly and safely.  

Coronavirus is pushing the racial disparities at the heart of the maternal health gap into the spotlight, as the challenges of the economically and geographically vulnerable are exacerbated by the outbreak. It's also exposing the benefits of telehealth and remote monitoring as a possible solution to these disparities. Plus, the longterm effects of COVID-19 on telehealth and virtual care: are we looking forward to a new standard of care?

As the economy cautiously emerges from social isolation, the healthcare industry is looking at a post-pandemic landscape that will involve virtual care in some respect - the question is, to what extent? Plus, new guidance and research. 

As state and federal governments begin discussions on how to reopen the economy, practices are looking toward the future too -- how to get patients back into the office, and how to integrate pandemic workflows in a post-pandemic world [see our interview with Dr. Sylvia Romm for a firsthand account of the questions facing practices post-Covid]. In the news this week, the healthcare industry debates whether the use of telehealth in meeting an outbreak might herald a new standard of care. Plus, how virtual care is being used to fight the ongoing public health crisis of maternal mortality. 

In the news this week: As the lack of information around the novel coronavirus and maternal health continues, providers find new ways to support pregnant women, and adapt to the shifting needs of their patients and overwhelmed hospitals through new protocols, policy changes, and reimbursement codes. Plus, a look at the long-term effects of the pandemic on women's health.

Based on the conversations we are having with OBGYN practices, information being published in the media, and guidance delivered from professional organizations, it is clear that practices are quickly rolling out reduced prenatal visit schedules to keep patients outside of the clinic. Providers are able to stay connected with patients between visits by leveraging telemedicine, remote patient monitoring, and telephonic visits, with reimbursement codes to bill for those technological touch points. Take a look at some of the top articles referencing these topics in this week's roundup!