My 2009 paper on redesigning a telemedicine system is usually cited for the hardware finding, but the result that stayed with me was a regional gap that had nothing to do with the device. I revisit what that gap was actually made of, and why I don't think it has closed so much as moved.
IDEATel existed only as long as its federal grant did. I trace what changed between that era and today's Medicare remote patient monitoring codes, and what I think the policy shift still doesn't solve on its own.
There is a window of time after a hospital discharge that the healthcare system has never fully figured out how to close. I unpack why the first two weeks at home remain so dangerous, and what a disciplined, closed-loop model of care could change.
