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Telemedicine has been an increasingly important development during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the pandemic has highlighted the uneven viability and adaptability of existing health care systems. Julie Mendoza and Mario Sanchez of CallisonRTKL conducted a study that investigated the feasibility of applying telehealth technology to medically underserved areas to improve access to specialized care, evaluating novel approaches such as freestanding telemedicine stations in areas where many residents lack internet connections in their homes. Through data collection and observations in Pleasant Grove, a socioeconomically underserved community within Dallas County, Texas, CallisonRTKL identified gas station convenience stores as an important and abundant element within the community infrastructure. This session will discuss how the CallisonRTKL research team was determined to understand how the use of telemedicine in underserved areas can improve access to specialized care. Walking through the details of the study, session attendees will learn more about communities that deal with low levels of health infrastructure, personal mobility, economic resources and access to the internet, and ways to bring health care to these communities.
Learning Objectives:
Assess socioeconomically underserved communities to enable equitable access to health care systems.
Identify technologies that have been released that are smaller, cheaper and faster to produce than nonmobile medical equipment.
Describe that although there are many community health concerns such as health access and quality, social concerns, education access and quality impacts, and neighborhood and built environment challenges, the greatest impact on this community is related to the social determinants of health is healthcare access and quality.
Identify the often overlooked opportunity for telemedicine integration within communities