Telehealth for Chronic Disease: Improving Access and Real-Time Monitoring

Presenter: Nithya Nuvvala, Neuroscience, Global Public Health Scholars

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For my practicum project, I interned with Dr. Kartik Desai at Desai Medical Center in Ellicott City, MD. The medical facility focuses on treatment and prevention for adult populations in 100 different countries from various socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. During my internship, I shadowed the doctor and medical residents and also accustomed new patients to the online Telehealth system used called Medicscloud. This system stored live patient monitoring information such as blood pressure or oxygen saturation, allowing the team of health professionals to trace body substance levels for patients that could not come into the office or are traveling. I learned a lot about medical system interoperability and the importance of integrating AI to streamline patient care. With online storage and patient appointments, it allows people with limited healthcare access (whether due to kids, work obligations, or transportation) to receive proper care from the comfort of their homes. My work to bring new patients onto the Telehealth app and website directly related to public health as it allows increased health education, more disease surveillance/monitoring, and increased health care access. Especially for marginalized and under supported populations, telehealth can promote equity.