Los Angeles,
11
November
2020
|
09:00 AM
America/Los_Angeles

CNBC: After the Vaccine – Contact Tracing, Testing and Population Health

CNBC recently hosted a panel discussion that featured Darren Dworkin, chief information officer and senior vice president of Enterprise Information Services at Cedars-Sinai, and other technology leaders as part of the news network's Technology Executive Council summit.

Dworkin and the other panelists discussed how the healthcare landscape has changed during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and how information technology has played a key role.

"I think that one of the things that's really interesting is that a lot of the historical data sets and historical measures that we've used are not things that we can rely on. So we're finding ourselves not just coping with the new realities, but literally inventing new playbooks as we go," Dworkin said during the discussion. "We're preparing for the marathon – that we were hoping and were thinking was a sprint – to continue."

When the panelists discussed how technology has enabled healthcare professionals to connect with patients during the pandemic, Dworkin noted the growing role of telemedicine.

"There are some things we learned really, really quickly, and frankly, I think they're here to stay," Dworkin said, citing virtual post-surgery follow-ups as an example. "Our surgeons love it. The patients love it."

Dworkin also touched on the limitations of telemedicine and how it will evolve as the pandemic continues. Virtual options might not work for more complex health issues, which may still require in-person visits. But, Dworkin said, telemedicine has proved to be popular for many patients seeking primary care, urgent care and a variety of other specialties.

Click here to watch the complete discussion from CNBC.