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Telehealth training and workforce development

Types of trainings for telehealth

There are many types of trainings available to help learn the basics of telehealth delivery or enhance the skillsets of those already familiar with telehealth.

Below is a list of common training types used by telehealth professionals.

Types of trainings

Introductory training

If staff members have little to no experience using telehealth, an introductory training is a great place to start. Depending on the course syllabus, trainees may learn the basics of telehealth technology and equipment, compliance and regulations, reimbursement and how to establish a telehealth workflow.

Digital communication skills

Gathering information from a patient during an in-person visit allows for auditory and visual cues that may be more difficult to identify through telehealth. Digital communication trainings help providers and other staff learn effective means of interviewing and examining patients virtually.

Cultural humility

Providers and staff need to acknowledge the unique elements of every patient’s identity to give them the best telehealth care possible.

Cultural humility training helps combat stigma and misinformation surrounding traditionally underserved communities. By fully understanding the complexity of a patient’s daily life, you can support them in ways that are best suited to their needs.

How to find telehealth trainings

Hands-on, in-person training is the most effective way to get employees up to speed on telehealth. It allows your Education Manager to work side by side with staff and tailor curricula to your practice’s capacity.

However, high-quality virtual telehealth training courses can be found in a variety of places.

Spotlight

Stony Brook University School of Medicine

Stony Brook University School of Medicine (SBU) used funding from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to further develop the Preventive Medicine Residency Program, a program designed to increase the number and quality of preventive medicine physicians who can address public health needs and promote access to inter-professional and telehealth care.

The Tele-Preventive Medicine (TPM) program, developed by the Preventive Medicine Residency Program at SBU, facilitates the effective teaching of virtual preventive medicine, specifically the delivery of clinical preventive services and lifestyle medicine interventions. Patients include those served by the SBU family medicine Patient Centered Medical Home, who are identified as not meeting national guidelines for breast and colorectal cancer and/or pneumococcal vaccination. Residents gain skills to serve disadvantaged populations more effectively, by collecting and utilizing information on the social determinants of health in their TPM practice.

The program has created a patient registry for telehealth outreach for preventive services. Since the TPM service went live, 94 patients have been scheduled, 59 virtual visits have been completed, and 22 gaps of care have been closed. Future expansion of the service to include other populations is planned, such as the employees of SBU and the underprivileged population served by the Sun River Health FQHC.