A group of third- and fourth-year School of Medicine students learned the nuts and bolts of telehealth at UMass Memorial Medical Center last week so they can step in and help patients and providers with routine patient visits remotely.
Since most routine patient visits with physicians have been cancelled because of social distancing guidelines associated with prevention of the spread of COVID-19, telehealth offers patients the chance for remote consultation, care and check in with a medical provider.
“This is a really great opportunity for students to get involved during this emergency,” said Patrick Lowe, a fourth-year SOM student about to graduate with MD/PhD degrees. “The pandemic has changed everything in medicine; so while telehealth may well have been a growing factor in medicine long term, this is really speeding it up. It’s a great opportunity for students to learn how it will work in the future and to provide critical health care support at this time.”
