The California Telehealth Policy Coalition, a grantee of the California Health Care Foundation, recently brought together a panel of caregivers, advocates, and providers to discuss expanded adoption of telehealth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar was designed to increase understanding of telehealth and how it can be used to meet provider and patient needs during the crisis while also highlighting the longer-term advances that will be required if telehealth is to flourish afterward.

The webinar, available for replay below, features six expert panelists:

• Mei Kwong, director of the Center for Connected Health Policy, offers a broad overview of telehealth.
• Ginger Moyes, a mother from Siskiyou County, talks about how her daughter with special health care needs benefits from telehealth.
• Julie Bates, MS, gerontologist and associate director for AARP of California, discusses how to prepare senior patients for telehealth visits.
• Sean Johnson, MHA, BSN, RN, vice president of applications and analytics at Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, explains how his organization rapidly pivoted to provide primary and specialty care via telehealth.
• Katherine Williamson, MD, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, discusses strategies for making virtual visits successful and ensuring high-quality care.
• Misty Humphries, MD, MAS, associate professor in the Department of Surgery at UC Davis Health, gives an overview of telehealth as a tool for COVID-19 triage.

The webinar includes an interactive question-and-answer session with attendees. The webinar slide deck and fact sheets about the role of telehealth during COVID-19 are available on the California Telehealth Policy Coalition website.