Incorporating Medical Students Into Primary Care Telehealth Visits: Tutorial

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about sweeping change in health care delivery, which has shifted from in-person consultations to a web-based format. Few medical schools provide web-based medicine or telemedicine training to their learners, though this is likely to be important for future medical practice. Objective This tutorial communicates a framework for incorporating medical students into primary care telemedicine clinics. Methods A third-year medical student and internal medicine attending physician from the Johns Hopkins University completed telemedicine clinic visits in April 2020 by using a variety of video platforms and via telephone calls. Results Nine telemedicine visits were completed over 4 clinic days. Our patients were, on average, aged 68 years. The majority of patients were female (6/9, 67%), and most appointments were completed via a video platform (6/9, 67%). Additionally, our experience is summarized and describe (1) practical tips for how to prepare for a telehealth visit; (2) technology considerations; (3) recommendations for participation during a telehealth visit; (4) debriefing and feedback; (5) challenges to care; and (6) student, care provider, and patient reactions to telemedicine visits. Conclusions Telemedicine clinics have been successfully used for managing patients with chronic conditions, those who have attended low-risk urgent care visits, and those with mental health concerns. Patients have reported high patient satisfaction scores for telemedicine visits, and the majority of patients are comfortable with having medical students as part of their care team. Moving forward, telemedicine will remain a popular method for receiving health care. This study has highlighted that medical students can successfully be integrated into telemedicine clinics and that they should be exposed to telehealth whenever possible prior to residency.