ADDRESSING INEQUITIES IN HEALTHCARE

The COVID-19 pandemic is shining a light on the inequities woven into the social fabric of our nation. The FQHC Telehealth Consortium seeks to bridge healthcare and digital divides by building a robust and sustainable telehealth infrastructure—one capable of reaching and improving the health of the Commonwealth’s most under-resourced patients.

OUR MISSION AND GOALS

Our mission is to bridge the digital and health equity divide by supporting our member health centers in providing sustainable and integrated telehealth services for low-income and underserved patients.

We seek to bridge the digital divide.

Build centralized capacity to support health centers to provide technology and broadband access to patients.
Form partnerships in communities to expand broadband access.
Engage and educate patients about the benefits of telehealth.

We will address health disparities through telehealth.

Identify, understand, and address disparities in the access and impact of telehealth.
Ensure root causes, such as social determinants of health, are addressed in telehealth delivery.

We will build capacity.

Ensure the sustainability of telehealth and its integration into primary care through the pandemic and beyond.
Fund project management, practice coaching, and training opportunities to implement, evaluate, and sustain a mature model of telehealth at member health centers.

We will disseminate learnings.

Document our learnings and insights in a FQHC Telehealth Playbook that provides guidance on implementing and sustaining telehealth.
Produce a set of customizable project tools and resources to be used by health centers across the nation.

A PHASED APPROACH

In November 2020, the Consortium successfully completed Phase I of its work to expand telehealth to underserved communities. We are currently embarking on Phase II of our mission to bridge the digital and health equity divide.

PHASE I
March-November 2020

During Phase I, the Consortium raised $5M to provide member health centers with the hardware, software, and IT support needed to maintain their operations through virtual care during the Covid-19 pandemic. We also formed a learning community to share strategies and best practices during this unprecedented time in healthcare.

Phase 1 Accomplishments

PHASE II
December 2020-June 2022

In Phase II, our goal is to raise $12M to promote health equity and telehealth sustainability at FQHCs. We have raised $4.7M as of March 15, 2021. We will continue to strengthen centralized capacity to support health centers, form partnerships to expand broadband access, and provide telehealth education to patients in underserved communities

Phase 2 Goals

OUR APPROACH

We assess provider and patient
barriers to healthcare.

We address the digital divide and
provide patients with technology
and tools.

We explore alternative platforms
and tech solutions to help
underserved patients access care.

Telehealth can be a powerful tool in increasing access to care and promoting health equity, but we must ensure that all communities have access to the technology, tools, and infrastructure needed to access telehealth.