While not at my institution, I can share that I am a patient, seeing a team at NIH in Bethesda. Since the pandemic, my visits are via telehealth. They have what they call a "Telehealth Concierge." Someone calls me the day before, asks if I got the invitation, and if I have any questions. They also provide me with a direct number to them, in case I have any problems/questions. [Of course, this presumes that I have a computer, email, and access to the internet.]
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Carolyn Pointer
Assistant Professor
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-04-2021 08:54
From: Stacy Weiner
Subject: approach to bridging the digital divide
Thanks for the great questions. If you haven't seen it, you might find this recent AAMCNews op-ed on the digital divide interesting: How the telemedicine boom threatens to increase inequities . Good luck!
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Stacy Weiner
Senior Staff Writer
Association of American Medical Colleges
Original Message:
Sent: 11-03-2021 11:58
From: Rachel Abramson
Subject: approach to bridging the digital divide
Good morning!
I'm interested if anyone working in telehealth has a good approach to community outreach and/or bridging the digital divide. Some questions I have are:
- Do you have community "focus groups" specifically for telehealth? Is telehealth a topic in general focus groups?
- Have you done any sort of "needs assessment" for your patients and telehealth?
- What type of support do you offer patients who might struggle with telehealth (ex. instructions in multiple languages, support phone line, etc.)?
- How do you promote that support so that patients who need it are aware of it?
- Do you focus on tactics that can be implemented system-wide or specific target areas?
Happy to chat if you're interested!
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Rachel Abramson
Program Manager for Telemedicine
UW Medicine
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