Rapid Response Training for Telemedicine in the Pandemic 

As the United States healthcare system began to experience significant strain from COVID-19 infections, many providers pivoted to offer medical appointments, consultations, and follow up visits via telemedicine. In seemingly the blink of an eye, clinicians across the country were expecting to transition their patient encounters to unfamiliar technological platforms. Most had no prior experience with telephonic or web-assisted provider-patient communication and little support from their employers.  

Drs. Michael Fratkin and Brian Mistler, principals at ResolutionCare, a northern-California-based community palliative care service, which for years has utilized off-the-shelf technology to provide palliative care; the CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care; and the California HealthCare Foundation collaborated to rapidly stand up and offer six training sessions over six weeks in April and May 2020, on the ZOOM platform, to clinicians in any setting on how to use telemedicine for patient care.  

The series, Telemedicine Now! (and How!), was extremely well received and successful in its goals. This poster will describe the sessions and present results from pre- and post-session surveys demonstrating real, practical, and profound impact of the training, improving patient care in the coronavirus crisis.  

Author: Jennifer Moore Ballentine, MA, CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care