At Addiction Services and Pharmacotherapy in Madison, that means some patients who used to have to visit the clinic daily are now coming once a week, said Dr. Christopher Harkin, a provider at the clinic. Required counseling is mostly being done by phone, instead of in person, Harkin said.

“We’re trying very hard to contact each patient on a daily basis as a check-in to make sure they are safe and well,” he said.

Here to stay?

At UW Health, video visits for urgent care started two years ago and expanded last month with COVID-19, Brazelton said.

In recent weeks, dermatology, oncology, transplant and other clinics started offering video visits, with more types of care expected to follow, he said. At least half of UW Health’s 35,000 outpatient visits per week could be done by telehealth, he said.

Inside UW Hospital, provider teams, including pharmacists, nutritionists, chaplains and others, are “virtually rounding” with patients so they don’t have to enter their rooms, thanks to technology set up this month.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Brazelton said. “We’ve done in five weeks with telehealth what we hadn’t been able to do in five years.”