Voting with Their Feet: Coronavirus Pandemic Refugees and the Future of American Cities

Paralleling crisis behavior in prior pandemics and continuing a contemporary migration trend already underway, wealthy individuals and families as well as remote workers in a host of other demographic groups are fleeing major, high cost, densely settled urban centers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These coronavirus pandemic refugees are relocating to less densely settled suburbs, exurbs, and rural areas-creating, in some instances, new "Zoom Towns.” The implications for the future viability of large cities are far ranging if, unlike prior pandemics, the social distance moves of coronavirus pandemic refugees and the aversion to dense urban living continue post-COVID-19. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Direct-to-consumer care in COVID-19 and other public health crises

Direct-to-consumer care (DTC) is a popular subset of telemedicine ideal for delivering large volumes of health care during a pandemic or other public health crisis conditions. DTC has the potential to relieve the burden of health care shortages and improve patient safety and outcomes during widespread disease. Below is a brief discussion exploring perspectives and evidence for DTC as a business modality, including the advantages and disadvantages of using DTC for providing health care during a pandemic.