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My piece on how telehealth is leaving our most vulnerable patients behind. I love video visits & the explosion of telehealth has helped so many during the pandemic. But early signals about health equity are concerning. Thread. @washingtonpost @PostOutlook https://bit.ly/telemedicinehorn
The digital divide is real, but there is a lot that health systems can do to help bridge the divide: existing healthcare team members can be retrained as virtual care chaperones. Call centers can be stood up to ensure patients are ready for video care. @TomSequist @davechokshi
Patient on-boarding to video care can be simplified, with access to visits via patient portals, e-mail, and text messaging. @jacquelinetchu @DrJacobMirsky @TheOpEdProject
On-screen interpreters are a must for patients with limited english proficiency @atanmcgrory @MGHDisparities and patient instructions need to be written in multiple languages and at a 5th-grade reading level.
Every health system is in the building phase of their telehealth infrastructure, so now is the time to lay a strong foundation for telehealth equity. If we do not, undoing ingrained systems and workflows will be difficult. @ml_barnett @AliRaja_MD @kdonelan339 @JagSinghMD
More research is needed on effectiveness of video care vs. telephone care vs. in-person care. In the meantime, telephone care reimbursement must be sustained to insure the digital divide does not worsen @ml_barnett @Ateevm
The growth in #telehealth is unprecedented and historic, has undoubtedly saved lives and saved many outpatient medical practices during this crisis. The hardest part lies ahead: providing equitable telehealth access to all.
Thx @TheOpEdProject @writingblock @rjasras @dsolsMD
Thx @TheOpEdProject @writingblock @rjasras @dsolsMD
