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Transferring patients between hospitals is a common occurrence at community hospitals and tertiary care facilities. Although not enough is known about the burden this puts on our healthcare system, it has been estimated that 1.6 million inpatients originated at another facility,¹ including 1.5% of all admitted Medicare patients.² Despite the high volume of patient transfers, there is no structured way to ensure that the patients medical records arrive along with them to the receiving institution. This has posed significant, and even life threatening outcomes, but is there a solution?

Most of the attention that telehealth has garnered over the past year has focused on using remote technology for synchronous virtual patient visits. During portions of 2020, these visits represented as much as 70% of all patient encounters.

Clinical trials are the way that most new treatments are tested for initial efficacy and are becoming much more public in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you are sick, having easy access to your medical records is important for a multitude of reasons. But if an appealing or selective trial opens up, having your records available and organized prior to joining a clinical trial could save you time and stress and help you secure a spot in the trial. Even if you are not sick, in order to join a trial, you will likely be required to produce an extensive set of your medical records.

Suppose that a patient is seeking a second opinion from a specialist in Texas for their recent cancer diagnosis. The patient resides on the East Coast of the United States and is unable or uncomfortable traveling. To properly confirm and address the diagnosis, the physician in Texas needs to see the patient's full medical history, including pathology. Unfortunately, sending the pathology report through the mail is costly and wastes valuable time, and also runs the risk of getting lost or damaged in transit. Not to mention, digital pathology slides are so large they will not fit on a DVD for sending.

While we are still reeling from the onslaught of the pandemic, it is useful to reflect on and investigate some of the occurrences that will pave the way for healthcare in the coming years. Even if it wanes with the current delivery of multiple vaccination candidates, COVID-19 has made an indelible mark on our healthcare system.

Here are ten of the most important trends that we expect to emerge or gain traction in 2021, as the veil of COVID-19 is pulled back.