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The use of data in the twenty-first century to improve expert decision-making has radically transformed what it means to be an expert in multiple fields, including behavioural healthcare. This chapter summarises the impact on information technology on the field, including use of digital platforms to enable video therapy and online cognitive behavioural therapy programmes. The chapter is intended for practitioners seeking information on how to be a twenty-first century expert, where years of education and experience matter less compared to evidence of performance in the form of solid outcome data. Key to the use of outcome data is expertise in how to use questionnaires in therapy and how to interpret results, both at the individual client level as well as overall results across multiple clients. A twenty-first century expert measures are not simply to measure outcomes but to improve results over time. Failure to incorporate the use of data into routine practice ignores an evidence based practice with decades of evidence as to its effectiveness, potentially resulting in suboptimal care.

Telehealth has been playing a progressively significant role in the management of the COVID-19 crisis. The enforcement of social distancing measures has had the consequence of reduced technology distance in almost every walk of life. In this chapter, based primarily on the still-unfolding experiences of deploying it during the current situation, we argue that telehealth has finally come of age and that it is time to move it from the peripheries to the center of the twenty-first-century healthcare. To provide a live context to the discussion, several instances of how telehealth strengthened our healthcare systems during the COVID-19 crisis are presented.

The majority of children receiving special education services in the United States are participating in the general education curriculum. Special education programming is closely regulated, creating environments where school districts must consider compliance issues, often neglecting the instructional needs of individual students. The Exceptional Children team in a large urban district in a Southeastern state created a “playbook” to support teachers and families in navigating and succeeding in a distance learning environment (District, 2020). This playbook will be useful for educators and families to ensure each and every child receives the assistance they need to be successful learners throughout their schooling.