NSU is hosting its first conference on telehealth. Telehealth itself is not new, but the term is more commonly used now to describe the use of electronic information and communication over the telephone to support patients who are unable to make the trip to a hospital or clinic. The event consists of a variety of presentations given by different professionals in the field, including the implementation of telehealth and the legal considerations that follow. Some professionals will also be coming from out of state to present at the conference.
Fred Lippman, the chancellor of the Health Professions Divisions, explained that “telehealth is not new to the world. It was created primarily for rural areas, but with the advancement of technology, there is a tremendous advantage of using telehealth to keep people healthy. It can be used to keep people healthy, and also help people prevent illness.”
Lipman also spoke about the future of telehealth stating, “healthcare is evolving and moving away from traditional visits to the doctor’s office. Telehealth can help people save time, and instead of running to urgent care centers, there’s an ability to communicate with a health specialist through the information stored in technology.”
Sandrine Gaillard-Kenney, associate dean of the Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences and Brianna Kent, assistant dean of professional development and education in the Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences are in charge of organizing the conference.
Gaillard-Kenney explained how the idea for the conference “[was] really the brain-child of our dean, Stanley Wilson, who is interested in bringing telehealth to the forefront at NSU. Our college wants to lead this initiative with our partners at the Health Professions Division because we train so many health care professionals here.”
Gaillard-Kenney also stated that the conference gives NSU students an advantage by exposing them to telehealth early in their professional careers.
“Telehealth is really expanding, so Dean Wilson really feels that the future is now and we need to be at the forefront to train our students and faculty about this technology. Our dean and our college are really paving the way and the goal is for NSU to play a very big role in the future of telehealth,” she said.
Gaillard-Kenney and Kent mentioned that the College of Health Care Sciences is working with the University of Delaware, which has a telehealth program as well.
“We are both looking at setting standards of excellence. Everybody is saying ‘Okay, we’re doing telehealth,’ but what does that mean? We are looking at the outcomes and what really makes a good telehealth program,” explained Gaillard-Kenney.
“Three of the NSU core values are innovation, excellence and community,” Kent continued. “Telehealth is very innovative and we are working to build standards of excellence in that field. We also want to be able to have the opportunity to present what we are doing now and hope to do so in the future with the NSU community.”
The telehealth conference will be held on Jan. 24 from noon to 4 p.m., and while students and staff are welcome, attendees will need to register. For registration and to learn more about the advancement of health sciences through telehealth, go to www.nova.edu/telehealth.
