The Transition to Telehealth: A Pilot Model in a New York City Student-Run Free Clinic During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  • Brittany Glassberg, MD Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4402-1247
  • Kevin Weiss, MPH Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • Terence Hughes Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • James Meyers Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • Samir Kamat Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • Jonathan Pan, MD Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • James Blum, MD, MPP Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • James Carter Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • Cynthia Luo Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • Samuel Powell Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • Hannah Krystal, MD Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • David Thomas, MD, MHPE Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • David Skovran, NP Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • Yasmin Meah, MD Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Keywords: COVID-19, Medical education, telemedicine

Abstract

Here we describe the development and implementation of a telehealth model for vulnerable, uninsured residents of East Harlem in New York City during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at a student-run, physician-supervised free clinic. The East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership completed 43 primary care follow-up and 78 urgent telehealth encounters during a six-week trial period during the COVID-19 outbreak, and 40 patients were managed for either suspected or confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses. Telehealth is a useful tool to provide rapid, high-quality care to a large patient population during a pandemic. Challenges include the lack of access to updated technology among patients of lower socioeconomic status and rapidly evolving management guidelines for COVID-19. Telehealth is essential for supporting vulnerable populations during times of reduced physical contact, including the COVID-19 pandemic, but can be applied broadly to all free clinics to augment access.

Published
2021-11-23
How to Cite
Glassberg, B., Weiss, K., Hughes, T., Meyers, J., Kamat, S., Pan, J., Blum, J., Carter, J., Luo, C., Powell, S., Krystal, H., Thomas, D., Skovran, D., & Meah, Y. (2021). The Transition to Telehealth: A Pilot Model in a New York City Student-Run Free Clinic During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Student-Run Clinics, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.59586/jsrc.v7i1.247
Section
Descriptive Report

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