Building telehealth partnerships
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands create telehealth programs.
Strong teamwork creates an effective telehealth program. Providers, community groups, and leaders all play a role. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) used partnerships to build telehealth programs.
USVI saw that telehealth could be useful and they made a plan. USVI contacted the Southeastern Telehealth Resource Center (SETRC) to help. SETRC is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The USVI Office of Information Technology worked with SETRC to plan the USVI Digital Health Summit. Community members discussed telehealth at this meeting.
"Strong teamwork creates an effective telehealth program."
Puerto Rico wanted to use telehealth to improve how patients get care. However, there weren't enough providers, computers, or internet. Puerto Rico's health department and the SETRC joined up to help providers work together and share resources. SETRC helped to put on Puerto Rico's first meeting on telehealth.
“Relationships…. become organizations that push things forward, convene people, and promote policy.”
USVI and Puerto Rico created bonds between health care providers. The providers were then able to provide useful telehealth to patients. The project director said, “relationships... become organizations that push things forward, organize people, and promote policies.”