Ryan white title III HIV capacity development and planning grants - the covid-19 pandemic has impacted the medical field across the spectrum

IT raises new challenges each day and exacerbates pre-existing gaps, including patient engagement. Telehealth is designed to make healthcare more accessible to patients by removing the barrier of transportation and allowing them to have appointments that are more convenient for them. This method of healthcare has been useful in medical settings to discuss health concerns and review bloodwork without risking exposure to infectious diseases from other patients. During the height of the pandemic, the lack of access to healthcare for people living with HIV (PLWH) affected the HIV care continuum, resulting in the reduction of individuals maintaining retention in care, viral load suppression, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy. Telehealth has allowed US to maintain a rapport with patients that we would otherwise lose touch with if we had to rely on their physical presence in our facility. Common barriers with our patient population often include transportation and overwhelming work schedules. Being able to have general check-UPS over webcam calls or phone calls has allowed US as providers to keep up with the patient, track how much medication they have and immediately address conflict regarding accessing their medication. Despite the benefits telehealth has already brought, there are technological barriers for our facility that impact the providers' ability to effectively meet patient needs. By funding these additional technologies, we can ensure that our capacity to see patients virtually is consistent, visually clear, dynamic, and allows our providers to record verbal consents needed to continue care.