Telemedicine in Rural NY: What Comes After COVID-19

Lane, Sylvia

Item

Telemedicine in Rural NY: What Comes After COVID-19

Lane, Sylvia

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Abstract

Despite ever increasing access to technology, prior to the COVID-19 2020 pandemic, telehealth has had a slow uptake. This pandemic has shown that telehealth can break boundaries and provide access to healthcare in non-traditional ways. In the rural community of Clinton County, NY, there are higher than average rates of ED visits, obesity, and chronic preventable illnesses. Despite greater than average insurance coverage, this population is not accessing preventative healthcare. Though telehealth appears to be a cure to these issues, the ever-evolving system has found many barriers that were not previously considered. 1 in 5 of these patients does not have access to broadband internet and a large majority cannot afford smart devices. This project aimed to collect telemedicine initiatives that creatively address these barriers and allow for use of technology to improve healthcare for all patients of this community. A comparison of different initiatives in the fields of transitional care, pediatrics, mental health services, and high risk chronic care was created for the health care administrators of the CVPH Family Medicine Clinic.