Action Plan 7: Improve Access to Health Care for All

Health care access is a complex and chronic challenge in the United States.

This action plan seeks to improve access to care for people in medically underserved and otherwise marginalized communities by capitalizing on the strengths of the academic medicine community: its integrated mission areas, commitment to evidence-based care, and community collaborations. We seek to identify and advance innovative, effective, and evidence-based strategies that enhance health care access and promote health care equity while supporting high-value care.

• Building confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and routine pediatric immunizations.
  In our final months of the cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we continue to advance strategies to build confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines and routine pediatric immunizations. As we navigate the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to maintain VaccineVoices as a resource to highlight efforts to increase confidence in and access to vaccines in communities across the country, amplify strategies and approaches put into action by the Building Trust and Confidence Through Partnerships Grant Program participants, and raise awareness of the importance of vaccination via media interviews nationwide.
  
  As health misinformation continues to significantly impact confidence in vaccines, the AAMC will promote online content created by the Health Professions Education Curricular Innovations grant program subgrantees.
   
• Leveraging telehealth to improve health care equity.
  Telehealth became a central tool throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency to facilitate continuous care, maintain access to care for patients, and enhance positive health outcomes. However, significant barriers to telehealth adoption and implementation exist and require approaches predicated on equity.
  
  We continue to lead efforts and partner with our members to identify and address digital equity and inclusion barriers. The AAMC Telehealth Equity Catalyst (TEC) Award Program, in its fourth cycle, funds member institutions across the country to develop and assess solutions to advance digital equity for underserved and under-resourced communities. Learn more about our 2024-25 awardees.
  
  The ongoing AAMC learning series on Advancing Health Equity Through Telehealth aims to highlight and disseminate best practices in academic medicine that promote and advance health care equity through telehealth. New webinars occur regularly throughout the year and are announced on the Advancing Health Equity Through Telehealth: AAMC Learning Series webpage. Past webinars are available on demand.
  
  As part of the Advancing Health Equity Through Telehealth Learning Series, we hosted two webinars in November and December of 2023 focusing on accessible telehealth for patients and providers with disabilities. In May, we expanded this topic to a session at the CMS Health Equity Conference. The AAMC is committed to supporting patients, health care providers, and learners with disabilities, and we seek to promote strategies for academic health systems to improve access to care for patients with disabilities. For more information about this work, please email telehealth@aamc.org.
  
  We have also released several publications designed to help our member academic health systems strengthen their telehealth programs. Our most recent publication, AAMC Telehealth Technology and Functionality Recommendations to Promote Patient-Centered and Equitable Care (PDF), delineates a core set of technology- and infrastructure-related functional recommendations to promote patient-centered and equitable telehealth services.
  
  Digital Health Equity: Current Practices and Approaches of Academic Medical Centers sheds light on early successes and common threads across 11 institutions to support academic medical centers lay the groundwork for equitable digital health strategies. Resources and Recommendations for School-Based Telehealth Implementation serves as an organizational guide and provides concise points for consideration along with links to publicly available resources for further assistance.
   
• Broadening access to mental and behavioral health care.
  In our effort to expand access to mental and behavioral health care (MH/BH), particularly for historically marginalized and under-resourced communities, the AAMC focuses on three major priorities: the implementation of integrated behavioral health (IBH) models in academic health systems, promoting training and collaborative problem-solving to address maternal mental health care disparities, and encouraging the utilization of technology to augment MH/BH care delivery and improve its accessibility.
  
  The Promoting Access to Behavioral Health Care microsite has been in operation since 2023. It serves as a virtual hub of the AAMC’s programmatic and advocacy work related to MH/BH. It houses our advocacy agendas for mental health (PDF) and maternal health (PDF) — which includes perinatal mental health) — information about our IBH Award program, and  features each of our webinar learning series; the first on implementing IBH at academic medical centers and the second on addressing gaps in maternal mental health care. For each series, all recordings and accompanying resources are available on demand upon registration. Visitors can also use the microsite to locate key literature and resources from the AAMC and peer organizations on IBH, maternal mental health, and utilizing technology to improve mental health care access.
  
  We have recently announced the recipients of the 2024 IBH Award. The awardees will work alongside peer academic health systems in an IBH Learning Collaborative that the AAMC has developed in partnership with the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association (CFHA). The goal of the collaborative is to develop standardized metrics for IBH programs to demonstrate value and ensure sustainability.
  
  We are continuing to investigate the role of telehealth and technology in ensuring access to MH/BH care. We will continue pursuing collaborative partnerships that leverage technologies to maximize team-based coordination and transitions of care.

• Building confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and routine pediatric immunizations.
  While the CDC cooperative agreement will end on Sept. 30, the AAMC will continue to foster confidence in vaccines, promote trust between our member institutions and their communities through authentic partnerships, and amplify the efforts of health professions schools to incorporate curricular tools to mitigate health misinformation.
   
• Leveraging telehealth to improve health care equity.
  To highlight the progress of the 2023 TEC Award programs, we will host a two-part virtual symposium in August and September as a part of the Advancing Health Equity Through Telehealth webinar learning series.
  
  We will also work with peer institutions advocating for health equity by continuing to explore the various needs for disability-accessible telehealth.
   
• Broadening access to mental and behavioral health care.
  In July, we launched the IBH Learning Collaborative with the CFHA. The yearlong workshop series will include a variety of perspectives within integrated behavioral health, including both primary and specialty care. We aim to propose standardized IBH metrics that can be utilized by academic health systems, invested parties, and policymakers to assess the value and sustainability of IBH programs.
  
  We are exploring other avenues to expand our work in MH/BH. Currently, we are investigating trends in billing data related to substance use disorder care delivery within academic medicine. We are also investigating other opportunities to expand our work regarding maternal mental health by continuing to listen and learn from perinatal mental health experts and patient advocates at academic medical centers. We look forward to building more relationships with national partner organizations to increase access to maternal mental health care nationwide.

• Visit VaccineVoices and learn about ways you and your institution can promote vaccine confidence, acceptance, and access.
  Email vaccineconfidence@aamc.org with any feedback or ideas.
• Look for announcements to register for our ongoing webinar learning series Advancing Health Equity Through Telehealth.
• Join the Telehealth Advisory Committee by emailing telehealth@aamc.org.
• Read and share AAMC Telehealth Technology and Functionality Recommendations to Promote Patient-Centered and Equitable Care (PDF) and Digital Health Equity Current Practices and Approaches of Academic Medical Centers.
• Register for The Mental Health Access Crisis: How academic medical centers can use IBH models as part of the solution and Improving Maternal Mental Health Outcomes: Varied Approaches to Closing the Gap of Care and share each webinar series link with your networks.
• If you are interested in networking with the AAMC and peer institutions on topics related to IBH, maternal mental health, or mental health technology, please email us at mentalhealth@aamc.org.