Libraries
Could Be The Next Hub For Telehealth Services
The
COVID-19 pandemic has made it harder for many people, especially those who are
more at risk for contracting the virus, to get the in-person care they need.
However, new research from the University of Virginia shows that getting
healthcare in the middle of a pandemic could be as simple as going to a nearby
library.
Pam
DeGuzman, a professor and researcher at UVA, says libraries could become a
new hub for telehealth services.
“Our research has shown that, right now, we can’t find anyone who’s doing
this," DeGuzman said.
According
to UVA Today, virtual visits from UVA Health alone rose more than 700% between
March and May. However, roughly 300,000 people across the commonwealth do not
have high speed internet to support using telehealth services from home.
“Particularly,
in the era of COVID, that becomes a problem because at one point, clinics
started doing almost exclusively for non-urgent cases in telemedicine,"
DeGuzman explained. “If you didn’t have the ability to get on telemedicine in
your home, it would either be very costly for you to do on your phone or you
just didn’t do it.”
Many of those who struggle to get internet live in rural areas that require multiple hours of driving to get to their healthcare provider, but the average Virginian lives just 30 minutes away from a library. WATCH 02:29
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