project telehealth understanding the impact of virtual health care

The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a rapid transition from in-person to telehealth visits. Project Telehealth hopes to understand the effects of this transition and the role that underlying social vulnerabilities may have had on these outcomes.

Read journal article in PubMed

Research Question

our question:

How did the rapid transition to telehealth during COVID-19 impact vulnerable populations?

Out of the COVID-19 pandemic grew a natural experiment in the effects of telehealth on the outcomes of disease control and health care use. We examine and quantify these effects for individuals with chronic conditions and different and intersecting social vulnerabilities. Our ultimate goal is to help patients, families, policymakers, clinicians and payers make decisions to better address patients’ unique needs.

Project focus areas

t2d

Type 2 Diabetes

Randomized controlled trials have shown positive effects of telehealth for patients with type 2 diabetes, in terms of glycemic control and patient satisfaction.

htn

Hypertension

For those with hypertension, telehealth interventions have led to improvements in blood pressure control.

Our analysis focuses on two of the nation’s most prevalent chronic health conditions. Nationally, approximately 30 million people suffer from type 2 diabetes and 108 million have hypertension. These are also two of the most important risk factors for heart disease, which remains the leading cause of death in the United States. Patients with these conditions are also at higher risk for COVID-19 mortality. Moreover, underrepresented minorities and individuals with high social vulnerability disproportionately bear the burden of these common chronic conditions.

Publication

Theis RP, Dorbu JI, Mavrodieva ME, Guerrero RA, Wright SE, Donahoo WT, Modave F, Carrasquillo O, Shenkman EA. Telehealth Implementation Response to COVID-19 in the OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Network: Perspectives of Clinicians and Health Systems Leaders. Telemed J E Health. 2024 Jan;30(1):268-277. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2023.0029. Epub 2023 Jun 26. PMID: 37358611; PMCID: PMC10794842.

Project aims

aim 1

Quantify the effects of the transition from in-person to telehealth

aim 2

Explore and examine experiences with shared decision-making

aim 3

Compare the telehealth implementation of statewide clinical partners

aim 4

Disseminate findings for shared learning

data partners

big data makes a big difference

OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Network

This clinical research network and data warehouse unites scientists, clinicians, patients and stakeholders throughout Florida and other states to address some of today’s biggest health challenges. The network’s academic institutions and health systems provide care for Floridians in all 67 counties, together with large, diverse populations in other states. The OneFlorida+ Data Trust contains data for many millions of individuals, creating a dynamic resource to facilitate health care research, disseminate research findings, and improve health, health care and health policy.