The Telehealth Equity Catalyst (TEC) Awards were launched in 2021 as part of the AAMC’s strategic effort to Improve Access to Care for All by leveraging telehealth and technology to improve health care equity.
The AAMC is proud to announce the winners of this year’s TEC Award cycle. The following institutions have received funding for new or existing programs that reflect both ingenuity and flexibility in health care delivery strategies that harness telehealth and technology to advance health equity while addressing telehealth-related barriers such as the digital divide.
The following program summaries were provided by the awardee institutions. In their words, they tell us how they plan to reshape the telehealth landscape.
2024 Telehealth Equity Catalyst Awards – Program Summaries
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Bridging Healthcare Disparities: Enhancing Telehealth Education and Access for Rural OB Populations in Georgia
Access to preventive and emergent obstetrical (OB) care is a significant healthcare disparity in rural Georgia. We proposed to increase access to OB care by expanding the services of our Rural Hospital Virtual Care Network (Network) to include OB telehealth consultation and training medical residents and students to provide this care through telehealth. This project builds on our existing telehealth education program and 16 hospital telehealth network. We will (1) develop a specialized provider training module on maternal health equity and working with underserved and minority women and (2) equip six rural telehealth sites with essential telehealth equipment (Fetal Nonstress Test Monitor) to establish a Tele-Obstetrical Emergency Room.
University of California Davis Health
Reducing Postpartum Disparities for Black Birthing People through Telehealth
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends 6-week postpartum visits to optimize health outcomes. Both at UC Davis Health (UCDH) and nationally, Black patients have lower postpartum visit completion rates compared to those of other races. Care access inequities, particularly during the critical 6-week postpartum period, contributes to perinatal morbidity and mortality disparities for Black patients. Our program objective is to reduce Black perinatal morbidity by using telehealth to reduce care access barriers.
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
YourHealthKiosk: Moving the Community One Step Closer to Health Equity
YourHealthKiosk takes a different approach to enable communities to be proactive in keeping people healthy. YourHealthKiosk centers around promoting access to healthcare services via a digital platform that can be used in-person or over text. The program uses a multidisciplinary approach including, bilingual navigators and community health workers, technology, community partnerships and collaboration and promoting health literacy. In the past year, YourHealthKiosk has worked in many underserved areas in Central New Jersey (i.e., New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, and Franklin).
Lahey Hospital and Medical Center
Community Diabetes Care Enhancement Program at Dimock Community Health Center (DCHC)
This program will establish a connection between tertiary care centers (like Lahey Health center) and primary health centers (like Dimock community health center), and use of technology can enhance diabetes management at the primary level, leading to improved health outcomes. By addressing the existing healthcare gap in chronic disease management at primary care centers, this initiative has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare model.
Johns Hopkins Health Systems
Improving Digital Access and Equity in East Baltimore Through Coalition Building and Simulation Training
Our program will build upon the success of previous year’s work supported by the AAMC to advance digital health equity in Baltimore City. With this 2024-2025 award, we plan to (1) partner with our Electronic Health Record vendor, Epic (Verona, WI), to pilot and refine a low-cost web-based MyChart simulation experience with input from East Baltimore residents in English and Spanish and (2) continue coalition building in a narrower East Baltimore geography to develop a hyper-local roadmap for provision of free or low-cost internet to residents of the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the Johns Hopkins Hospital (zip codes 21205 and 21213). We intend to work with both established and new partners from Baltimore City, external partners, and non-profit institutions. Our goal is to develop a plan for obtaining funding and operationalizing solutions for device and internet access in this specific geographic area.
2023 Telehealth Equity Catalyst Awards
In 2023, the AAMC renewed its commitment to academic medical centers across the country by implementing its first round of TEC Sustainability Programs. This award goes to institutions that have already participated in the TEC Award program, and who remain committed to addressing barriers to care and the digital divide.
The following programs are recipients of the 2022-23 TEC Awards:
First Year Programs
- Children’s Hospital Colorado
Pediatric Critical Care Telehealth Support for Community Hospital Pediatric Inpatients: A Collaboration with Billings Clinic - Mercer University School of Medicine
Implementing a Co-Curricular Interprofessional Education (IPE) Program to Improve Farmworker Access to Mental Health Services in Rural Georgia - UC Davis Health
Applying Quality Improvement to Increase Telehealth Use Among Pediatric Patients with Limited English Proficiency - UW Medicine
Telehealth Forensic Mental Health Assessment Clinic - UVA Health
Increasing Access to and Awareness of Health Care Services in Rural Southern Albemarle County - Weill Cornell Medicine
”Veamos Juntos”: Increasing Equitable Access for Spanish-Speaking Families with Limited English Proficiency to Virtual Care Through a Community-Based Educational Program - Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine
Telehealth Access Initiative for Youth Who Are Unhoused and Underhoused in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Sustainability Programs
- Henry Ford Health System
Increase Digital Skills for Older Adults via Peer Coaching - Johns Hopkins Medicine
Capitalizing on Momentum to Improve Telehealth Access Equity in Baltimore City - Medical University of South Carolina
A Telehealth Initiative to Overcome Healthcare Barriers and Increase Health Equity for Children Experiencing Homelessness - Oregon Health & Sciences University
Community Organization Led Equity Through Design (CO-LED): Deepening our Collective Impact - UC Davis Health
Addressing Healthcare Inequities Using Virtual Family-Centered Rounds in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Sustaining and Scaling the Program - University of Michigan Health
GET Access Hypertension: Reducing Racial Disparities in Uncontrolled Hypertension Using Telemonitoring
2022 AAMC TEC Awardees
The following programs are recipients of the 2022-23 TEC Awards:
- Henry Ford Health
Addressing Health Equity for Older Adults in On-Demand Virtual Care Access - Johns Hopkins Medicine
Convening Cross-Sector Stakeholders to Promote Telehealth Access for Older Adults in Baltimore City and the District of Columbia - Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and LAC+USC Medical Center
Closing the Digital Divide by Integrating Design Thinking Curricula Into Medical Education - Massachusetts General Hospital
Development and Validation of a Communications Curriculum for Equitable Telehealth Practice - Medical University of South Carolina
Improving Telehealth Experiential Learning Through Virtual Reality Simulation for Patient Access, Engagement, and Equity - Medical University of South Carolina
The CARES 529 Meeting Street Clinic: A Telehealth Initiative to Overcome Health Care Barriers and Increase Health Equity for People Experiencing Homelessness - Oregon Health & Science University
Centering Community Expertise in Designing for Digital Health Equity - Oregon Health & Science University
The Patient Portal Simulator - University of California Davis
Addressing Health Care Inequities Using Virtual Family-Centered Rounds in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
The Arkansas Telemedicine Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program
2021 AAMC TEC Awardees
The following programs are recipients of the 2021-22 TEC Awards:
- Connecticut Children's Henry Ford Health
Pediatric Residency Telemedicine Curriculum - GW Medical Faculty Associates
HealthDesk - University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville
Expansion of a Telemedicine Program for Patients with HIV to Include Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis - Michigan Medicine
Expansion of Geriatric Education on Telehealth Access Program to Reduce Telehealth Disparities - Wayne State University School of Medicine
Interprofessional Telehealth Training Using a Standardized Patient
For more information about the AAMC Telehealth Equity Catalyst Award program or broader telehealth programming at the AAMC, please contact telehealth@aamc.org