Patients are a vital voice for the future of telehealth

Worldwide, telehealth was rapidly adopted as a widespread model of healthcare delivery during the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response. Indeed, by April 2020, telehealth services constituted 36% of all healthcare services in Australia. More recently (April 2021), this number has fallen to approximately 20%,1 but still remains higher than that observed before the pandemic (~1.3% of all services). This rapid uptake and progressive decline in the use of telehealth services has also been observed worldwide. For example, in the United States, telehealth use peaked in mid-April 2020, however as the pandemic continued, telehealth use has declined since June 2020. To decipher whether telehealth is a sustainable model of healthcare delivery beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, one must reflect on patients' experiences and satisfaction with telehealth services.