Evaluation of Telemedicine as an Option for Providing Safe, Accessible, Care to Young Adults in a University Setting

Previously underutilized, telemedicine has been implemented within a wide variety of health settings as a safe and efficient way of delivering healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maintaining operations during the pandemic made implementation of telemedicine an important aspect of college and university health center reopening plans. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the acceptance and quality of a telemedicine program implemented at the health center of a medium sized private university. Data were collected via patient and staff surveys to measure satisfaction with the program and a retrospective review of electronic medical records was conducted to obtain data regarding utilization of telemedicine services. Baseline usage of telemedicine was collected 4 weeks following initiation of the program and again 16 weeks later to measure staff and patient acceptance of the program. Student access to healthcare providers was evaluated by comparing student access to providers with extended telemedicine hours during the 2020-2021 academic year with standard office hours. Use of telemedicine resulted in an increase in access to university healthcare providers by 32 hours per week during the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters. Student satisfaction with the program increased significantly between the fall and spring semesters with overall satisfaction growing from 62% in the fall to 92% in the spring and a year-end staff survey and campus partner interviews showed strong support with 100% of participants recommending continuation of the program. The findings suggest that telemedicine can be used to successfully deliver quality care and extend access to care providers in a college health setting