Expansion of telehealth curriculum: National survey of clinical education leaders

Abstract

Introduction In response to the COVID pandemic and the rapid changes in delivery of and education on telehealth services, the Research Committee of the Alliance of Clinical Education (ACE) surveyed its multidisciplinary group of medical educators to determine how telehealth was being taught pre-COVID versus during-COVID. Methods An online survey was developed by the ACE Research Committee and sent via email to the ACE delegation. The objective of the survey was to determine changes in telehealth curriculum for medical students due to the rapid transition to telehealth, and the barriers for developing and delivering a telehealth curriculum. Results Forty-nine percent of recipients (31/63) responded representing eight different disciplines in addition to institutional curriculum developers. Most programs had no formal didactics and no clinical experiences in telehealth prior to the pandemic. Most respondents added didactics and clinical telehealth encounters during COVID, although few schools required this of all students. Discussion Given the barriers of faculty training to pivot to telehealth, and the potential benefits to healthcare cost and patient satisfaction, there is a need for more formal study on best practices for teaching telehealth to prepare our future physicians.

Instructional strategies and challenges for implementing teledentistry in dental hygiene curricula: A qualitative study

“…7 In 2018, 76% of US hospital systems implemented some form of telehealth 7 to address existing deficiencies related to healthcare provider shortages and remote geographical locations and increase equitable access to care among diverse populations. [8][9][10] Telehealth services are viable options within healthcare and have increased accessibility, reduced service barriers, and supported emergency response events. 11,12 The inception of teledentistry has emerged as a subspeciality of the telemedicine domain 13,14 following the rapid progression of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Telehealth options have been implemented in other healthcare fields to increase patient access to care for acute and chronic disease management 7 . In 2018, 76% of US hospital systems implemented some form of telehealth 7 to address existing deficiencies related to healthcare provider shortages and remote geographical locations and increase equitable access to care among diverse populations 8–10 . Telehealth services are viable options within healthcare and have increased accessibility, reduced service barriers, and supported emergency response events 11,12 …”

Telehealth Integration into Pharmacy Practice Curricula: An Exploratory Survey of Faculty Perception

“…Despite pharmacists’ positive patient contributions on the telehealth care team [ 4 , 5 ], there remains a deficit in telehealth integration into didactic education within pharmacy curricula [ 6 ]. Compared to professional pharmacy programs, there was also a dearth in medical school curricula of the incorporation of telehealth instruction into didactic education prior to the pandemic [ 7 ]. Chike-Harris et al compared different healthcare training programs and found significant discrepancies in the consistency and depth of telehealth content between curricula [ 6 ].…”