WATERTOWN — In an expansion of their telehealth partnership, the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization and Adirondack Health Institute have created the North Country Digital Inclusion Coalition to identify barriers faced by providers and patients in rural communities.
The coalition has launched two surveys, one for community members and one for providers. Both aim to identify barriers to telehealth access and digital equity and to gain perspectives regarding telehealth services.
“The North Country Telehealth Partnership has been in existence since 2015, with the aim of increasing access to health care through telehealth technology, especially in our rural areas,” Nancy DelMastro, telehealth project manager, said in a statement. “Though usage of telehealth technology was gradually taking off between 2015 and 2019, its growth increased exponentially because of the COVID pandemic — from just 231 visits in 2015 to over 128,000 in 2020 and over 170,000 in 2021. Now that patients and their health care providers have more than likely had an opportunity to use telemedicine for visits, it is an excellent time to find out what their experiences were like. This information is key to helping us continually make improvements and reduce barriers to access to telemedicine options.”
All providers and community members in the survey area of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties are encouraged to take the survey.
Responses will be collected through July 31.
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