Digital and Virtual Health

The lack of access to proper medical facilities presents a gap in quality healthcare, particularly populations, geographies, and specialties. Other populations simply prefer receiving some healthcare services in locations and/or during times that are more patient-centric. This course will present the advantages and challenges of telehealth services to close these gaps, and to develop more efficiencies in providing healthcare services across populations. This course will also cover a broad variety of healthcare services and specialties but will focus on services and specialties that primarily utilize synchronous technologies. After a broad review of the telehealth field, this course will focus on how to set up, sustain, and lead a telehealth, digital, or virtual program. This will include regulatory issues such as state-based licensure, state-based licensing boards, emergency management procedures, reimbursement, and credentialing and privileging. In addition to these regulatory issues, the course will focus on current and emerging technologies, how to conduct a needs assessment, define staff training needs, overcome resistance, market services, implement different business models, and evaluate best practices for leading virtual teams. The course will also cover how some innovative and emerging technologies such as mobile apps and virtual reality are being used in healthcare. Preferred Prerequisite: HINF 4301.