As the pandemic continues to affect the healthcare system, telehealth is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s environment and will certainly continue as a viable option for care long after the pandemic has ended. According to an Aug. 17 press release, the Sioux Falls, S.D.-based American Board of Telehealth is launching a new Teleprimary Care Certificate program. The program is “designed to help primary care providers develop telehealth strategies for a post-pandemic future. The self-paced, online program explores innovative telehealth models and best practices that will enable primary care teams to overcome key challenges, such as reimbursement parity, regulatory barriers, infrastructure costs, and new competition from retail clinics and urgent-care centers.”
Whitney Flanagan, R.N., director of education for the American Board of Telehealth was quoted in the release saying that "Teleprimary care is at the forefront of the telemedicine space, but it continues to evolve and expand with the development of new technologies, innovative care models, and evolving reimbursement policies. Telehealth training—whether it's on the platform, regulations, or webside manners—will be critical to long term success. Primary care teams need specialized skills to meet the growing demand for telemedicine services, and ensure the highest quality care possible for patients.”
The topics covered in the Teleprimary Care Certificate program include training on barriers and opportunities; operations, workflow, and productivity in an ambulatory setting; legal, regulatory, and ethical considerations; providing care via a remote medium; and health equity and social determinants of health.
Finally, “The American Board of Telehealth also offers a foundational CORE Concepts in Telehealth Certificate Program and a first-of-its-kind Telebehavioral Health Certificate.”
