New Federal Telehealth Program Aims to Treat COVID-19 Patients at Home

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), in collaboration with the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has launched a Home Test to Treat program aiming to provide COVID-19 patients with access to care at home through telehealth and at-home care services.

Despite the overall drop in COVID-19 severity levels and cases, there remains a need to support patients in order to avoid poor outcomes as the coronavirus continues to evolve.

The NIH, a medical research agency that comprises 27 Institutes and is also a part of the HHS, has led the national COVID-19 Test to Treat initiative since March 2022. The initiative allows people to take a COVID-19 test, be assessed by a healthcare provider, receive prescriptions for medications, and fill prescriptions all at the same location.

The new Home Test to Treat program expands on the initiative. Designed as a virtual community health intervention, the program will provide patients with free COVID-19-related resources, such as at-home rapid tests, telehealth sessions, and at-home treatments. It will also make antiviral treatment an available option for those eligible who receive a positive COVID-19 test result, which can lessen the likelihood of illness, hospitalization, or death, the press release notes.

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) supported the development of the program through the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative.

Following the initial implementation of the Home Test to Treat program later this month, organizers plan to note participant feedback to determine best practices and enhance the program. The program will launch in Berks County, Pennsylvania, where up to 8,000 eligible residents are expected to participate.

Telehealth provider eMed will support the program by hosting the program website, where participants can sign up, report symptoms, and receive telehealth services, antiviral treatment, and telehealth-enabled test kits. Through a contract with NIBIB, UMass Chan Medical School researchers, in collaboration with eMed, will analyze data collected to glean the impact of a home-based testing and treatment program and patient outcomes.

“At-home testing for COVID-19 is now widely available in the United States, as are antiviral treatments, and this program combines easy home access to both,” said Bruce Tromberg, PhD, director of NIBIB at the NIH and leader of the RADx Tech program, in a press release. “The Home Test to Treat program allows those who are sick an alternative to venturing out for testing or treatment, potentially reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the community.”

Through partnerships with local health departments, the Home Test to Treat program could provide services to approximately 100,000 people across the country over 2023. The press release also notes that the program could help identify strategies for future pandemics.

To combat COVID-19 and its related effects on individual health in the US, the NIH has previously supported various efforts. 

In July 2022, a grant from the NIH went toward research on an mHealth app that aims to treat anxiety and depression. The sharp increase in the prevalence of mental health disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic led researchers to create the app known as Easing Anxiety Sensitivity for Everyone (EASE).

Through EASE, users can access education on how the pandemic influenced stress levels and strategies for managing anxiety. The app also contains features that allow patients to log stressors.