(robot whirring) - [Narrator] So a robot (electronic sound) is your doctor.

- Please plug me in.

- It was like a little TV monitor actually on wheels.

You know, the nurse was there and she was the one who checked my vitals.

I don't really know how it all worked actually.

- [Narrator] The pandemic turned the novel technology of telemedicine into a necessity for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients like Kami Kajewski in Nebraska.

- They could instantly had the results.

It's amazing how technology is developed.

- [Narrator] At Great Plains Health in North Platte, Nebraska in spring 2020 use of telehealth services jumped 350% over the previous year.

- At the beginning, a lot of us were doing telehealth for COVID and I think it was because COVID was largely unknown and our risks.

We weren't sure how severe it would be and if we would be protected or not, even in PPE.

- [Narrator] In the U.S., there were 1.6 million doctors visiting with patients using telehealth in the first three months of 2020, just as the pandemic began to move in.

That's a 50% increase over the same time the previous year.

- We found it very effective and it worked.

(machine beeping) The low supply of our personal protective equipment at the time.

So, masks, gowns.

If they could treat that patient remotely, then they weren't using their masks and gowns in going in the room.

- [Narrator] The longer the pandemic dragged on, some doctors felt telehealth technology fell short.

- [Woman] We have a unit coming in.

- Emergency medicine is about resuscitation and it's about stabilization until you can assure yourself that the patient is stable enough.

It's just not a tool that I'm comfortable using.

- Is it okay if I listen to your heart?

- This for me has been by far, the hardest thing for me to deal with is the patient relationship is essentially gone.

And for me, it's about building that relationship, walking in the door of a room, shaking their hand and sitting down.

- Yes, exactly.

- We've realized that we are very well-protected, either in a PAPR or an N-95.

So, I've stopped using telemedicine because you can't assess how sick they are, unless you're in the room, face-to-face with a patient.

- So how have you been since the last time I saw you?

- [Narrator] One real problem, cyber security.

Hackers took advantage of telemedicine's popularity.

- I definitely think it's a targeted category, because it falls into that classification of high-risk data, high-value data.

- [Narrator] Since the pandemic began, hospitals and clinics suffered a rapid increase in attacks on networks with viruses and malware.

Up 117%, according to the report by SecurityScorecard.com.

- When they have an internet connection, that's one more door, or like another gateway for hackers to go knock on, to open.

And the unfortunate reality with digitally-connected devices is security is oftentimes an afterthought.

- [Narrator] Telehealth equipment according to the SecurityScorecard report, saw a drastic spike of sharing stolen confidential patient records on the Dark Web where hackers meet online.

- When we see the sharing of patient records, that's usually a strong indicator to us that the web applications, like when you go to a web portal and log in or open your phone and log in, that's like a web application, those web applications that are storing the data are oftentimes vulnerable to attack.

- [Narrator] The telehealth apps for phones and tablets linking doctors and patients may be especially vulnerable.

- [Sam] My fear is that maybe they're skipping security or just doing the bare minimum to get the checkbox in order to go live and be put in the app store.

(wheelchair softly rumbles) - [Narrator] After her scary start with a COVID hospitalization, Kami improved quickly.

(Kami laughs) Before the end of the week she checked out and headed back home to the family ranch an hour to the west.

She's fine with getting her follow-up visits through telehealth.

- You know, it was different.

I mean, I felt very comfortable.

You know, it was kind of neat how I could see and talk to my doctor.

I don't think I'd ever have a real problem with it.

- [Narrator] Before 2017, eight out of 10 hospital and clinics did not expect most of their patients to be using telemedicine services.

Many didn't see the need to invest in the equipment.

- Yes, I was skeptical at first.

I think most of the infectious disease doctors they rely a lot on their assessment and being there next to the patient and looking for subtle signs that might help you come up with a diagnosis or a treatment.

- [Narrator] There's agreement telehealth technology is beginning to catch up with the level of care needed for critically-ill patients.

- But, there's a lot of good things that the cameras... Actually when there is something I need to see, I can see actually better on the camera than with my eyes now (laughs) so.

The technology is so good.

- So we have a robot that we can put in the room and be able to sit at a screen and be able to talk to the patient, even have a portable stethoscope that we can hear them as well.

- [Narrator] One survey of patients with telehealth experience found that over half would welcome replacing an office visit with an online doctor consultation even after the pandemic clears up.

- I mean, I was very comfortable with it the whole time.

I didn't feel like I was losing any, like personal one-to-one contact with them.

I wouldn't be opposed to it at all if that's what needed to be done, especially if I knew that I could see my provider.

(robot whirring)