1、Healthcare PracticeVirtual hospitals could offer respite to overwhelmed health systemsA shift to more-accessible,cost-effective virtual-care models could mitigate increases in healthcare service demand,expenditures,and patient dissatisfaction.May 2023by Oscar Boldt-Christmas,Rebecca Kannourakis,Made

2、line Maud,and Drew UngermanHealthcare systems around the world are under pressure.Its no secret that the combination of aging populations,increased burden of disease,and staffing shortages has left substantial unmet needs when it comes to acute hospital care.Resource constraints are also affecting w

3、ait times in many government-run health systems;in Australia and the United Kingdom,for example,it is commonplace for ambulances transporting patients to“ramp”at hospital entrances because bedspace is at capacity.COVID-19 has compounded these challenges and,in many cases,further overwhelmed the capa

4、city of hospitals and intensive care units worldwide.1 These pressures have left healthcare staff overworked and exhausted.According to a 2022 McKinsey survey,between 20 and 38 percent of nurse respondents in Australia,France,Japan,Singapore,the United Kingdom,and the United States indicated they we

5、re likely to leave their current role in direct patient care within a year.2These pressures are driving administrators to shift toward more accessible,cost-effective models of care.A 2021 report from the US Department of Health and Human Services found a 63-fold increase in the use of“telehealth”ser

6、vices,which helped maintain access to care during the 1 lie Azoulay et al.,“COVID-19:A heavy toll on health-care workers,”Lancet Respiratory Medicine,March 2021,Volume 9,Number 3.2 Gretchen Berlin,Connor Essick,Meredith Lapointe,and Faith Lyons,“Around the world,nurses say meaningful work keeps them