Even the most tech-savvy generation is divided on the effectiveness of virtual visits, according to an Aug. 19 study published in Telemedicine and e-Health. 

Below is a list of 23 new telehealth companies and services that were rolled out in 2021.

In 2020, nearly 80 percent of physicians worked in a practice that used telehealth, compared to only 25.1 percent two years earlier, according to a recent American Medical Association analysis. 

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, dermatology physician practices have turned to telehealth for conducting patient visits the most compared to other physician specialties, according to a recent American Medical Association analysis. 

CareFirst of Maryland, a Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate, created a virtual care delivery model that lets health plan members get preventive, urgent care and behavioral healthcare through a mobile app, the company announced Sept. 15. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking contractors for a $1 billion telehealth contract as the department seeks to modernize its system, according to a Sept. 13 Bloomberg Law report.

Several telehealth companies are offering patients access to the controversial anti-parasite drug ivermectin, which is rumored by some groups to be an effective treatment for COVID-19, The Guardian reported Sept. 13.

The Alaska Senate voted Sept. 10 to advance a telehealth bill that allows hospital workers to opt out of vaccine mandates, according to a Sept. 10 Anchorage Daily News report.

The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine, a coalition including hospitals, health systems, healthcare associations and other organizations, found in a recent analysis that the healthcare industry is lacking data on the quality of telemedicine diagnosis. 

The Clinic, a joint virtual health venture between the Cleveland Clinic and Amwell, is teaming up with Anthem to offer the insurer's members access to the Clinic's telehealth second opinion service, the organizations said Sept. 8. 

More than a year after most hospitals and health systems ended their COVID-19 shutdowns of nonemergency care, the use of telehealth for medical appointments is settling in near 20 percent or less of all visits, the Center for Connected Medicine reported Sept. 7. 

Mayo Clinic researchers investigated the benefits of the Rochester, Minn.-based health system's COVID-19 Remote Patient Monitoring Program, which it rolled out in March 2020, according to a study recently published in Nature. 

We’re delighted to introduce Bright.md’s new Chief Medical Advisor. Dr. Edward Abraham has been on the forefront of technological advances in healthcare throughout his career.

Telemedicine startup 98point6, which has raised $247 million to date, is searching for a new CEO after its co-founder and chief executive Robbie Cape abruptly left the company Sept. 1, Geekwire reported. 

Conducting outpatient visits via telehealth when possible and measuring the average greenhouse gas emission per outpatient visit can significantly reduce the healthcare industry's carbon footprint, the American Medical Association reported Sept. 1.

Membership-based primary care network One Medical on Sept.1 completed its acquisition of Iora Health, a tech-powered primary care provider serving Medicare patients. 

HHS awarded $10.7 million from the American Rescue Plan to integrate telehealth services into pediatric mental healthcare access and services across the country, the department announced Aug. 27. 

Below is a list of five hospitals and health systems that rolled out or announced new telehealth services in the past five months.

Amwell on Aug. 31 announced it finalized its acquisitions of two digital health startups: digital mental health platform SilverCloud Health and automated virtual health company Conversa Health. 

Small hospitals are least likely to have telemedicine, though they're also the ones that would benefit most from it, two physicians and a researcher at Boston-based Harvard Medical School argued in an opinion published Aug. 27 in JAMA Health Forum.