The spread of COVID-19 is reshaping traditional healthcare services and how medical officials interact with patients. Now Twilio, the cloud communications program, is teaming up with ZocDoc, the online medical booking service, to power its new video consultation service.
Susan Collins, the global head of healthcare services at Twilio, told Cheddar Thursday she believes telehealth is here to stay and will continue to accelerate even after the coronavirus pandemic subsides.
"There are certain parts of the country where we are seeing pre-COVID in-person visits close to back to normal at this point, and yet there's an additional 20, 30, and 40 percent of volume which is happening on telehealth," she said.
The service on ZocDoc is open to all medical providers who want to sign up and begin virtual appointments. Twilio is also offering three free months for healthcare customers, educators, and nonprofit organizations that sign up before June 30.
"I think it's a great opportunity, particularly for our underserved population — folks who have maybe difficulties getting to a healthcare facility, perhaps they have childcare issues or they have difficulty taking off from work," she said. "So, having the ability to reach a medical professional from the comfort of your living room is a great convenience."
Even before the pandemic, telehealth was a focus for Twilio according to Collins who said the company was able to get services up-to-speed quickly to meet the increased demand for virtual healthcare appointments.
"We pride ourselves on being able to enable the builders of the world to improve customer engagement," she said. "Obviously, during a pandemic, healthcare is a critical service. We are very pleased to be able to scale up quickly to meet that demand."
Despite concerns about shipping delays in the Red Sea, RSM Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas says there are still reasons to be optimistic about the state of the U.S. economy.
Dan Ives, Managing Director and Senior Equity Analyst at Wedbush Securities dives deeper into a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) that Apple has ended Samsung's 12-year reign as the world's largest smartphone seller.
Artificial intelligence is the biggest buzzword at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. Advances in generative AI stunned the world last year, and the elite crowd is angling to take advantage of its promise and minimize its risks.
Smartphones could get much smarter this year as the next wave of artificial intelligence seeps into the devices that accompany people almost everywhere they go.
In an annual assessment of global inequalities, Oxfam International said the first trillionaire could emerge within the next decade — as the anti-poverty organization pointed to the growing wealth gap that skyrocketed globally during the pandemic.
The Biden administration proposed a cost drop for overdrawing bank accounts, which it says could particularly relieve Americans living paycheck to paycheck.
Americans stepped up their spending in December more than expected, closing out the holiday season and the year on an upbeat tone. The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.6% in December compared with a November’s 0.3% increase.
