The pandemic has complicated the weekly shop for those in rural areas – when delivery slots are few and a big supermarket is far away, countryside-dwellers are struggling to source ingredients. Costcutter has a solution: village pop-ups with stock tailored to local wants and needs.

Costcutter: serving rural Britons with pop-up stores

From athleisure to streetwear, fashion is undergoing a shift toward the casual – and future-proof activewear has hit luxury shelves. As people grapple with climate change and a global pandemic, Salomon’s hyper-functional Advance shoe range is giving them the high-performance protection they crave.

Salomon Advanced: future-proof footwear

COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of people’s lives and a looming recession means the worst may yet be in store. Having grown up in the wake of the 2008 crash, Gen Zers are already alert to financial precarity, but how will coming of age during a pandemic shape their relationship with money?

Will COVID-19 create a generation of super savers?

The global tourism industry was brought to its knees as COVID-19 restrictions saw jet-setters cancel flights en masse. As the world emerges from lockdown, it’s hoped that HNWIs will play a key role in reviving the sector – but how has the pandemic changed their vacation preferences?

How will HNWIs travel post-pandemic?

As businesses reopen post-lockdown, employers have a greater responsibility than ever to look after employees’ health. At the same time, the BLM protests have honed people’s attention on the effects of systemic racism. So, how might the events of 2020 redefine ideas of a safe workplace?

What constitutes a safe workplace?

The easing of lockdown measures is leaving people in a bind. Though many remain wary of contracting COVID-19, there’s a common desire for physical interaction after months of social isolation. So, how can shops, restaurants, and leisure spaces create experiences that keep us safe and connected?

How will a no-touch world impact sensory experiences?

Natural disasters, global crises, and a pandemic have made people more aware than ever of the need to prepare for the unexpected. With individual- to family-sized prepper packs, preparedness nudges, and an SMS helpline, Judy ensures Americans are equipped for whatever may come their way.

Judy: prepper packs for modern Americans

The COVID-19 pandemic has upheaved societies around the world – perhaps permanently. There’s an acknowledgement that everyday life will have to change post-lockdown to avoid further outbreaks, but could this transition also present a chance to usher in a fairer, greener, and less lonely future?

Is a sustainable utopia within reach post-COVID-19?

COVID-19 has hit the travel and hospitality sector harder than most others, with event venues forced to postpone bookings, airlines grounding fleets, and restaurants banning sit-in service. As people re-explore their leisure options post-lockdown, what will they expect from brands in this space?

What will people want from leisure brands post-COVID-19?

Before the coronavirus pandemic, both health providers and patients were reluctant to embrace telehealth, despite the convenience. But attitudes are changing as people see the benefits of going remote. What can brands do to provide the quality of care people expect, but from a distance?

Will COVID-19 change attitudes to telehealth?

Made to withstand bleach, immersion in water, and even UV cleaning, the Versity 9553 smartphone is designed to be used in hospitals to help prevent the spread of disease and keep data safe. As the COVID-19 pandemic changes our attitudes to hygiene, tech brands are meeting new demands.

Versity 9553: hygienic phones for frontline workers

Grocery stores have seen business boom as Americans have sought out shelf-stable foods to prepare for life under lockdown. What does this mass uptake of non-perishables reveal about the ways people are eating during the crisis? And will their taste for these products last post-COVID-19?

How are Americans filling their pandemic pantries?

These rapid changes have set a precedent for how people will expect the public and private sectors to address slower-burning global crises such as climate change and inequality. But they’ve also raised concerns around privacy and overbearing governments. While some Americans and Britons have flouted lockdown, considering it a violation of their personal freedoms, others are warming to the idea of biometric surveillance in the name of safety.

CRISIS BEHAVIOURS

POST-CRISIS BEHAVIOURS

Historically, responses to pandemics have followed a pattern – from initial denial and anxiety to a period of adjustment and, finally, the establishment of a new normal. These stages are mapped against the estimated number of new active cases over time. 

A robotic dog called Spot is being trialled as a way of prompting park-goers in Singapore to maintain social distancing. As the city-state is accustomed to AI in the workplace, people may be willing to accept robots and other tech innovations as a key part of hygiene going forward. (May 2020)

Lockdowns might be ending in some parts of the US, but that doesn’t mean everyone feels ready to return to public spaces. As hotels reopen for business, they’re maxing out on deep-cleaning protocols to give reticent customers peace of mind amid fears of further outbreaks. (May 2020)

As health anxiety and widespread meat shortages impact China, restaurants are adding more plant-based meals to their menus. With the uncertainty of COVID-19 still looming, people are looking to safeguard their physical wellbeing with everyday lifestyle shake-ups. (May 2020)

The South Korean government is using an app to monitor its citizens in quarantine. While people in social isolation want better access to healthcare resources and support, concerns are mounting about the use of state-regulated technology and how it could impact privacy. (March 2020)

Face masks may help people feel protected when they enter a restaurant, but what happens when they want to eat? A French designer has come up with a solution: lampshade-like shields that create private safe spaces. It hints at what eating out could look like post-pandemic. (May 2020)

Robots are being integrated into the Spanish healthcare system to test patients for COVID-19. While some may fear the possibility that machines will one day displace human workers, vulnerable medical professionals are welcoming the chance to protect themselves. (March 2020)

EMERGING DEVELOPMENTS

Diseases can shape cities just as much as immigration or industry. London’s Embankment, for instance, was a Victorian innovation designed to disguise a state-of-the-art sewage system built to replace the city’s festering open drains after repeated cholera outbreaks. New York’s skyline, meanwhile, was partially constructed to mitigate the spread of airborne tuberculosis through internal air shafts and large, central squares. In 2020, as countries steadily emerge from lockdown and grapple with how to thaw out finances, the COVID-19 pandemic may present a similar opportunity to reimagine urban societies, potentially making them greener, more sustainable, and fairer for all.

“It is sometimes difficult to imagine how things can be different until you see them change,” says Alex Hollingsworth, an Oxford City Councillor. “The lockdown has helped demonstrate that there is a different way of our streets being used – a better way.” 

 Many people seem to agree, with a study commissioned by the RSA finding that only 9% of Britons want a complete return to ‘normal’ post-pandemic. Over half of those surveyed said they had noticed cleaner air during lockdown, while 42% valued food more, and 40% felt a stronger sense of community. 

 These perceptions are particularly strong in cities. Social platforms have been abuzz with feel-good examples of local activism and engagement. As highlighted by the Italian opera singers who serenaded their neighbours on balconies, the Mumbaikars who banged pots and pans in support of healthcare workers, and Americans who howled daily at sunset, physical separation does not mean social isolation. “The vast majority of people who live in cities feel they live in a village within their few streets,” says Hollingsworth. “Community links have proved crucial.” 

There are promising signs that COVID-19 is having a pro-social and pro-environmental effect. From Bogota to Berlin, city authorities are implementing temporary measures to boost active travel, promote social distancing, and ensure they are not swamped by pollution from private cars. Milan has added 22 miles of cycle lanes and increased pavement space so pedestrians can safely shop and visit outdoor cafés. 

 In the UK, the government has announced a £2 billion package aimed at boosting walking and cycling, promoting electric vehicles, and increasing bike and e-scooter hire schemes. 

 According to Juliet Davenport, the CEO of the Good Energy Company, the pandemic has led to greater recognition that environmental and health policies are connected. “It’s all interlinked,” she says. “There must be no backwards step – we need to be strict with ourselves as a society.” 

 So, how exactly can cities be adjusted post-pandemic to address underlying systemic problems?

Interconnected hubs like London, New York, and Hong Kong have been worryingly effective vectors for the virus and have borne the brunt of its impacts. But while COVID-19 might have temporarily slowed immigration to these cities, evidence from past epidemics indicates that it will surge again once the outbreak passes. 

 In the aftermath, sustainable urbanisation – a concept flagged up by the UN in 2018 when it predicted that 68% of the global population would live in urban areas by 2050 – may become more of a priority for local and national authorities. 

 After all, an analysis of COVID-19 deaths in Italy, Spain, France, and Germany revealed that 78% occurred in the five administrative regions with the highest levels of air pollution. 

 Additionally, a Harvard University study covering 98% of the American population found that a small rise in fine particle pollution over the two previous decades was linked to a 15% rise in the COVID-19 death rate. 

During lockdown, pollution has fallen precipitously as vehicles idle on driveways and travel restrictions have reduced the number of flights globally. Skies are clearer, roads quieter, and birdsong is as likely to wake you as an alarm clock. In Oxford city centre, the Council reported a 59% reduction in levels of toxic NOx compared to pre-lockdown levels, representing “the cleanest city centre air in several generations, and perhaps not previously seen since the days of the horse and cart.” 

 This is significant given the link between coronavirus and pollution, and may magnify many urbanites’ concerns about their environment. “Clean air will be a massive driver,” says Davenport. “Cleaning up the air in our cities and reducing the potential for transferring the virus will be a core part of what governments try to put first.” 

Air pollution is not the only sustainability-related challenge that needs to be addressed as cities recover. COVID-19 has thrown into relief how interdependent and fragile global networks of medicine, food, and trade are. Many governments see increased localism and resilience as key to not only managing this pandemic, but also tackling future crises. “The main lesson we can take [from the pandemic] is that preventive action is very important,” says climate activist Sophia Kianni. “We need to apply the same logic to the climate crisis – the sooner we act, the less destructive the long-term impacts will be.” 

A decline in activity has made the pollution problem more visible

COVID-19 has revealed and exasperated latent inequalities. Countries with strong welfare systems and relatively low levels of income disparity, such as Norway, Iceland, and Denmark, have handled the crisis well, reporting fewer cases and deaths than nations with similar populations and wealth. The US, by contrast, where income inequality is considerably greater, has the highest number of deaths and infections in the world. 

 According to an analysis conducted by professors Harold Clarke and Paul Whiteley, the Gini inequality index – a measure of income disparity – has almost as big an impact on COVID-19 fatalities as population density and size. 

 Meanwhile, figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that people living in the poorest parts of England and Wales were twice as likely to die from the disease – the most deprived areas had 55.1 deaths per 100,000 at the start of May, compared to a rate of just 25.3 per 100,00 in the least deprived areas. 

Sustainable initiatives can also be unequal. At the most extreme end of the scale, Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel previously bought up real estate in New Zealand to supposedly construct a bespoke, self-sufficient doomsday bunker. 

 Writing about a tabletop game in which players aim to prosper in the wake of an apocalypse by acquiring remote land and resource rights, effectively creating a corporate colony (a fictional reflection of Thiel’s plans), journalist Mark O’Connell notes that this idea represents “an apocalyptic logic of progress: a movement away from the nation state, away from democracy, and finally away from the ravaged earth itself.” 

 As he suggests, those HNWIs who can afford to are moving themselves away from the problem, rather than doubling down on finding solutions.

Other, smaller schemes may also struggle to be fully inclusive. Danish architecture firm 

 – eco-developments powered by solar and biogas energy, where inhabitants can grow organic food, keep livestock, and recycle water. A similarly ambitious scheme was launched in 2019 by the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Called 

, it promises a $10,000 grant, co-working space, and a green, city-centre apartment to white-collar workers willing to relocate. Both projects, however, are expensive, exclusive, and do nothing to address the insecurities of those in the low-paid gig economy, many of whom have emerged as ‘key workers’ during the pandemic.

COVID-19 has shone a light on the side-effects of deep economic divides

With research commissioned by crowd-funding platform WhatWeWant finding that 53% of Britons feel their community has been brought closer together by COVID-19, it’s clear that interactions – especially with trusted networks, like family and friends – have taken on a renewed resonance. 

 The pandemic has shown the profound benefits of active citizenship. “Big national efforts might disappear quite quickly,” says Will Butler-Adams, the managing director of Brompton Bikes, “but on a smaller scale, they will have a lasting impact. People now know the others in their communities – that’s a really positive thing to have out of this.” He points out that many citizens might be suspicious of central governments, especially if their policies (or oversights) have been seen to allow large numbers of avoidable deaths. By contrast, he argues that the local bonds forged during adversity will last as “the fear isn’t going to go away in a few months.” 

Aided by apps and social networks, community schemes and mutual aid groups have proliferated during the crisis. This has been especially marked in cities, where the idea of knowing your neighbour – let alone helping them with the groceries – would once have been alien. “City residents are becoming aware of desires that they didn’t realise they had before, which is for more human contact, for links to people who are unlike themselves,” said Richard Sennett, a senior advisor to the UN on climate change and cities, to 

, suggests that although mutual aid groups are formed in response to adversity, their impacts can endure long after the immediate threat has lifted. “There are those who will want to return to normal after this crisis,” she writes, “and there are those who will decide that what was regarded as normal before was itself the crisis.” 

The pandemic has accelerated a generational shift in attitudes to communal action. In 2017, 68% of Gen Yers reported that creating positive change in the world was a personal goal. 

 The worldwide School Strikes for Climate movement indicates that many are willing to put that ambition into practice. Cities are likely to succeed in rebuilding in a greener, fairer way if they allow that ground-up passion to flourish. Extinction Rebellion draws on the history of nonviolent civil protest to argue that only 3% of a population needs to mobilise to put sufficient pressure on governments to act, and the pandemic has shown what communities are capable of. “Every single person has their own network that connects us to millions,” says Kianni. “We’ve seen we are able to mobilise a large amount of public support.” 

People may be isolated, but they’re feeling a stronger sense of connection

There is ample opportunity for companies to be involved in the reshaping of cities. For instance, subscription models for bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters are likely to boom as they help drive down the upfront cost of these products and encourage more users, thereby democratising sustainable transport. “Currently, the financial barriers to ownership are too high,” says Butler-Adams. “You don’t go to the gym and drop £600 upfront. We live in a society now where people expect to pay for what they use.” 

 Sponsorship of active travel infrastructure is another potential area of interest. There is a precedence here with Google’s sponsorship of Oyster card touchpoints on London’s train and bus network, and as the post-pandemic downturn bites, many authorities will no doubt be looking for creative ways to fund their transformation plans.

As well as demonstrating an appetite for civic togetherness, the pandemic has highlighted that many people favour localism and strong community ties. “The pandemic has shown that bottom-up, grassroots initiatives can deliver better than centralised approaches,” says Hollingsworth. 

 Brands can tap into these desires in creative ways. For example, in 2018, Dominoes filled potholes in Bartonville, Texas, as part of a tongue-in-cheek stunt to protect its precious pizza deliveries, helping the town’s residents in the process. 

 And in 2019, Decathlon launched a sports ‘ecosystem’ alongside fitness providers, experts, and brands to encourage people to try out new activities and promote healthier lifestyles. 

The post-pandemic world may open up diverse possibilities for reimagining civic spaces. With fewer vehicles on roads and social distancing requiring more pedestrian space, cities will feel more expansive and pleasant to navigate. Planners might take a leaf of Utrecht’s book and install greenery and solar panels on rooftops, weaving the natural world into the urban. “Cities will be cleaner, more intimate places to be,” predicts Hollingsworth. 

 At the same time, the aftermath of COVID-19 is likely to accelerate the decline of high street businesses – some projections suggest that 75% of ‘Main Street’ companies in the US will not survive the crisis. 

 This means that “city centres will be even more about leisure and less about retail than they were before,” Hollingsworth adds. 

 This shift could create space for innovative customer experiences to flourish, offering more immersive – but socially distanced – retail and entertainment.

Interview with Alex Hollingsworth conducted by the author

'Brits see cleaner air, stronger social bonds and changing food habits amid lockdown', RSA

''Cleaner and greener': Covid-19 prompts world's cities to free public space of cars', The Guardian

'£2 billion package to create new era for cycling and walking', GOV.uk

Interview with Juliet Davenport conducted by the author

'Covid-19 might not change cities as much as previous pandemics', The Economist

'68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, says UN', United Nations

'Air pollution may be ‘key contributor’ to Covid-19 deaths – study', The Guardian

'Air pollution linked to far higher Covid-19 death rates, study finds', The Guardian

'City Council to explore once in a generation improvements to city centre beyond the coronavirus pandemic', Oxford City Council

Interview with Sophia Kianni conducted by the author

'COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University

'Economic inequality can help predict COVID-19 deaths in the US', LSE

'Coronavirus death rates twice as high in UK’s poorest areas as in richest, stark new data shows', Politics Home

'Peter Thiel’s New Zealand estate lies neglected as coronavirus drives preppers into hiding', CNBC

'Notes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Back', Mark O’Connell

'Brits feel communities have become closer since Covid-19 outbreak', Morning Star

Interview with Will Butler-Adams conducted by the author

'Cities after coronavirus: how Covid-19 could radically alter urban life', The Guardian

'What mutual aid can do during a pandemic', The New Yorker

'As Millennials demand more meaning, older brands are not aging well', Fast Company

'Domino's branded potholes appear after pizza company takes to road repair', The Guardian

'Decathlon creates sports platform to connect customers, brands, fitness providers and experts in a ‘sport ecosystem’', Internet Retailing

'How our cities can reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic', Brookings

The COVID-19 pandemic has most Americans sheltering in place to avoid spreading the disease, venturing out only for essentials. It’s a difficult state of affairs, particularly for people with chronic illnesses as they are more likely to require hospitalization if they contract the disease. In fact, 94% of people who were hospitalized in New York City in late March and early April 2020 had an underlying illness. 

 "It's terrible to have cancer in the time of corona," says Sassy Outwater-Wright, who is fighting brain cancer for the third time in the midst of the pandemic. "I still have to go to the hospital for my conditions. Each time, we're putting our health and the lives of our loved ones at risk." 

The technological infrastructure to facilitate home visits and monitor health data has been growing steadily since the early 2000s, explains Dr. Joseph Kvedar, professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and president of the American Telemedicine Association. “Usually for chronic illness you are monitoring some kind of value, like blood sugar tests for diabetics,” he says. 

 The continuous glucose monitoring tool from 

, for example, enables patients to transmit blood sugar values to their doctor’s smartphone via an arm sensor and a hand-held device. But before the outbreak of COVID-19, technology in medicine wasn’t widely adopted – only 39% of US physicians used telemedicine in their practice. 

 And patients were suspicious of chatbots, feeling that this tech wasn’t responsive to the nuances of their symptoms. 

One reason for the lack of widespread adoption was regulatory practices, says Dr. David Ficker, professor of neurology at the University of Cincinnati and chair of the Epilepsy Foundation’s Professional Advisory Board. Even using basic technology was onerous, he explains. “Regulatory burdens in place before COVID-19 meant that patients had to be in a clinical facility.” 

 Before the pandemic, the bulk of government insurance plans would not pay doctors for most telemedicine visits. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, these barriers have quickly been lifted. As part of the $2 trillion CARES Act, the federal economic relief package passed in March 2020, telehealth restrictions were reduced for federal health insurance and safety net programs, including for the elderly, veterans, low-income families, and indigenous peoples. 

 With COVID-19 changing so much, what long-term impact will it have on telehealth?

The state of chronic illness in the United States

Chronic illness is “a physical or mental health condition that lasts more than one year and causes functional restrictions or requires ongoing monitoring or treatment.” 

 At least 48% of Americans (121.5 million people) have cardiovascular disease, one of the most common chronic illnesses in the US, and nearly 17 million Americans have had cancer. 

 Though pandemic research is limited, studies indicate that people with chronic conditions are more likely to become seriously ill as a result of COVID-19. From March to early April 2020 in New York, 88% of people admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 had more than one underlying health condition. 

 And a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that, across the US, 78% of patients admitted to the ICU with COVID-19 have at least one underlying health problem. 

The average cost to treat a patient with COVID-19 in the hospital is $30,000, with 55.1% of Americans relying on employer healthcare packages to cover their healthcare costs. 

 Despite the prevalence of chronic illness and the need for routine health monitoring, doctors and patients alike were reluctant to embrace telehealth pre-COVID-19. Although many healthcare plans offered online options, few patients made use of the opportunity. Patients were more likely to go to an urgent care clinic or emergency room than to talk to a doctor or nurse online, and many physicians in the US work at small private practices and so found the transition to telemedicine too costly. 

 Doctors also worried that telemedicine would diminish the doctor-patient relationship and trust that is crucial to quality care. 

 “Telehealth services were considered something less-than,” says Dr. Karen Edison, senior medical director of the Missouri Telehealth Network. “And now with the COVID-19 crisis, people are recognizing the standard of care applies no matter what technology you’re using.” 

Telehealth means vulnerable people aren’t in hospital during outbreaks

Telehealth use, expanding slowly for years, can’t keep up with demand

Millions of dollars have been poured into telehealth yet Americans remain far more likely to trust diagnoses made in person to those made via telehealth. The biggest barriers to mass adoption were that people were unaware of their telemedicine options or were unsure of what using telemedicine might cost. 

 Overall, American trust in the medical profession is low, with only 34% expressing great confidence in medical leaders, down from three-quarters in 1966. 

 “The world was ripe for adoption,” says Dr. Kvedar. “Then this crisis hit and doctors had to provide care remotely.” 

As COVID-19 became a global concern, use of telemedicine soared. At the end of March 2020, 17% of Americans had used telemedicine, up from 8% in December 2019 – and the number of people who intended to use telemedicine jumped from 19% to 30% over the same period. 

 The rapid embrace of telehealth has overwhelmed existing health tech companies. Both technical infrastructure and the supply of doctors are stretched beyond capacity, even at well-established companies. “You can get the technology to support these astounding volumes,” says Roy Schoenberg, CEO of telemedicine company Amwell. “But you’re very quickly getting to a point where the supply of medical services isn’t there. We need to have enough clinicians to allow us to handle that incoming volume.” 

Telehealth companies are anticipating the surge in demand to continue once the curve of the pandemic has flattened, as people with chronic conditions who delayed seeking care during the outbreak have relapsed or experienced new complications. 

 “The hospitals are eerily quiet, except for COVID-19,” writes Dr. Harlan Krumholz in 

. “We are not yet at capacity because of a marked decline in our usual types of patients.” 

 Some companies are trying to get ahead of the anticipated demand before it hits. Quil, Comcast’s health tech brand, has debuted a tool to help people maintain their health while they wait for their elective surgeries to be rescheduled. Digital healthcare company Omada has increased its surveillance of data from diabetic patients’ continuous glucose monitoring, while Virta Health is in contact with its patients to emphasize the importance of self-care to their mental health as they shelter in place. 

Remote care can empower patients in managing their conditions

Surge in demand may mask suspicions about health tech

Demand for virtual doctor appointments has grown significantly, but that is just one small piece of telehealth – there isn’t much to indicate changing attitudes toward the use of technology like artificial intelligence in medical care. Dr. Kvedar and others explain that expanded use of technology is crucial to meet expected increases in healthcare demand, especially as the American population ages. 

Suspicion of AI in healthcare runs deep. Patients believe that their illnesses are unique, and that AI won’t be able to account for their distinct symptoms and circumstances. “There is an idea that machines are good at applying rules or procedures, but they are not as flexible as a human being can be. People believe that AI is unable to learn,” says Dr. Chiara Longoni, an assistant professor of marketing at Boston University. This idea persists even though studies indicate that IBM’s Watson diagnoses heart disease better than cardiologists and algorithms detect eye disease as well as specialists, she explains. Though chatbots that help patients decide if they need to see a doctor are a ubiquitous feature of the pandemic, they are “really basic,” says Dr. Longoni. “They don’t really qualify as medical AI.” 

Privacy also remains a concern when it comes to medical technology, says Dr. Kvedar. 

 Only 38% of Americans believe their personal health data is adequately protected, while more than 60% say that privacy-related issues deter them from using telemedicine or fitness trackers. 

 “We were not done any favors by the Zoom bombing controversy,” he says. He explains that patient portals are secure and that Zoom bombing is a product of user error, as people publicly share links to video conferences that aren’t password-protected. 

 Doctors, who are taught to protect patient privacy from the earliest stages of their training are very unlikely to make errors that would violate confidentiality.

Telemedicine means doctors can remotely monitor health indicators

At-home care keeps patients safe and optimizes physical treatment

The coronavirus pandemic exposed the fault lines in America’s healthcare system. Hospitals were overwhelmed almost instantly by patients in COVID-19 hotspots, and faced a shortage of beds, staff, and medical equipment. 

 Health tech is ripe for expansion as Americans are increasingly willing to use telehealth to reserve resources for people who require in-person visits or hospitalization. Dr. Ficker says that the neurology department at the University of Cincinnati didn’t use telemedicine before the pandemic. And he hopes the relaxed federal regulations stay in place after the pandemic eases. “After being exposed to the use of telemedicine I’m encouraged to see how we can use it after COVID-19.” 

 Used in conjunction with video consultations, medical technology can keep people out of the doctor’s office or the hospital by allowing non-critical patients to be monitored from home. For heart disease, technology like remote blood pressure cuffs and pulse oximeters enable doctors to monitor their patients remotely. 

 And smart packaging can help patients with a chronic illness adhere to recommended dosing schedules. 

Patients with chronic illness are open to virtual care

Patients with chronic illnesses have long turned to virtual support for navigating their illness – and online support networks can benefit the one-third of people with chronic illnesses who experience depression. 

 Social media has been particularly important for people with chronic illness coping with loneliness, as illustrated by the popularity of the 

 Instagram, and people use online platform 

 to share their stories of chronic illness with a large community. As people with chronic illnesses are looking to connect with a virtual community and seeking support and advice, health tech brands could step in to provide platforms that enable these supportive and informative networks. 

, for example, offers integrated care for managing diabetes, hypertension, weight loss, and mental health. 

Tech could help doctors capture a picture of overall health

Lifestyle changes can reduce the risk for chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type-2 diabetes, the illnesses that kill most Americans, and technology can help doctors and patients track health behaviors. 

 Even tech as simple as a pedometer that transmits data could assist doctors and patients in preventing illnesses – especially if the data for each patient is easy to access and helps doctors to get an overall picture of a patients’ health based on various indicators. Data points that are presented in a way that offers a clear picture of a patient’s quality of health, however, are rare, explains Dr. Kvedar. In the world of business, “every executive of a Fortune 500 company probably has a dashboard that shares real-time information with the data points that they care about,” he says, adding that, in medicine, a dashboard that provides doctors with a similar granularity of data about their patients would be invaluable.

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‘Coping with disease and disability in the time of coronavirus’, CNN

Interview with Dr. Joseph Kvedar conducted by the author

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Interview with Dr. David Ficker conducted by the author

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Interview with Dr. Chiara Longoni conducted by the author

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Asking people to choose between privacy and health is, in fact, the very root of the problem. We can choose to protect our health and stop the coronavirus epidemic not by instituting totalitarian surveillance regimes, but rather by empowering citizens.

PREPAREDNESS AS A VALUE

Governments have been forced to act quickly in the face of the pandemic – whether that’s by revising data policies to enable digital contact tracing or enforcing social distancing measures that are changing the design of restaurants, stores, and public spaces. ‘Safety theatre’ is becoming de rigueur as businesses from Whole Foods to Harrods transform shop floors to reassure customers that hygiene is top-of-mind.