Geisinger has reimagined how patients access care by building a broad telehealth program that now supports: - Primary care - Urgent care - More than 70 medical and surgical specialties (including neurology, stroke intensive care, pediatrics, geriatrics, psychiatry, endocrinology, rheumatology, podiatry and others) Telehealth is no longer a niche service. More than 8% of Geisinger’s total outpatient visits are now conducted virtually. Over 2,000 providers and more than 500 nurses have been trained to deliver care via telemedicine, and the service is fully integrated into the electronic health record for scheduling and billing. Before March 16, 2020, Geisinger had completed just over 9,500 telemedicine encounters in three years. After the onset of COVID-19, virtual care scaled rapidly: - Between March 16, 2020 and April 11, 2020: 38,095 telehealth encounters (phone and video) - Between March 16, 2020 and March 20, 2022: more than 784,000 telehealth visits - At peak: more than 3,800 telehealth encounters per day This footprint spans in-home video visits, virtual consults in clinics and hospitals, and connections to non-Geisinger sites such as skilled nursing facilities and correctional facilities.

Geisinger serves 45 predominantly rural counties across central and northeastern Pennsylvania, including 31 counties in Appalachia. Roughly 75% of Pennsylvania’s land—about 33,394 square miles—is considered rural, with geography ranging from mountains to farmland. These communities face: - Limited access to specialists and sub-specialists - Existing primary care shortages - Long, costly travel to reach care - Limited public transportation between counties - Higher rates of obesity and chronic disease risk - Wider and growing wage gaps compared to urban areas To address these challenges, Geisinger expanded telehealth starting in 2018 with a platform designed to: - Connect distant specialty experts (neurology, stroke intensive care, pediatrics, primary care, geriatrics, psychiatry, endocrinology, rheumatology, podiatry and more) directly to rural patients - Offer in-home video visits when feasible - Provide closer-to-home clinic-based telehealth visits - Reduce missed workdays and long-distance travel Telehealth is also used inside hospitals and partner facilities: - Inpatient units and emergency rooms use tele-stroke and other virtual consults - Skilled nursing facilities in the region connect to Geisinger specialists - EMS teams and emergency department screening tents at all 10 Geisinger facilities are equipped with telehealth capabilities The result is a more practical way for rural residents—who often have higher health risks and less insurance coverage—to access specialty care where they live and work, without always needing to travel to major centers.

Telehealth has reshaped how Geisinger manages patient engagement and clinical operations, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. 1. Lower no-show rates Geisinger saw a meaningful change in behavioral health: - Behavioral health video visits had a 7–10% lower no-show rate compared with in-person appointments. This insight is helping the organization rethink where virtual care adds the most value beyond just visit volume—especially for populations that face transportation, work, or stigma-related barriers. 2. Continuity of care during COVID-19 When COVID-19 hit, Geisinger rapidly shifted to virtual care: - Telehealth encounters increased by more than 2,000% compared with pre-pandemic levels. - Elective procedures were postponed during surges, but patients were encouraged to continue routine care virtually when clinically appropriate. - Providers who had to self-quarantine but were asymptomatic continued caring for patients via telemedicine instead of stopping work. Within hospitals, admitted patients—whether they had COVID-19 or not—continued to access specialty experts through telehealth consults. 3. Technology and funding support To sustain this model, Geisinger received $978,935 from the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Grant Program. The funding supported: - Tablet computers - Remote monitoring equipment - Telehealth platform licenses These investments helped maintain access to primary care and all 72 specialties within the medical center. 4. Addressing broadband limitations Geisinger recognizes that broadband availability in rural areas is still a barrier to telehealth adoption. The organization is looking to continue partnering with the FCC and broadband providers to expand high-speed internet access so that more patients can reliably use virtual care.