Online Module Aims to Educate Stakeholders on Telehealth Implementation

The Telehealth Service Implementation Model (TSIM), which originated from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), will begin a new online training course to assist telehealth leaders in optimizing services.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth use skyrocketed, largely due to restrictions on in-person care that also began at the time. Although the severity of the public health emergency has declined, telehealth use remains high.

For instance, the FAIR Health Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker indicated that telehealth use increased at the national level and in all US Census regions in January 2023. 

To support the ongoing development and implementation of telehealth services, TSIM will launch an online training course to assist telehealth leaders and teams. With assistance from the Zucker Institute for Innovation Commercialization (ZI), also a part of MUSC, TSIM aims to extend telehealth-related knowledge to more healthcare organizations.

With the goal of beginning in May, the program is a fully accredited online training course divided into 11 topics. Through this course, program participants will learn how to take telehealth services through the development and implementation phases and ensure sustainability in the long term.

At the conclusion of the TSIM-accredited training course, participants must pass an exam from a globally recognized industry accreditation provider, APMG International.

"We are extremely excited to launch the TSIM Foundation Course later this year. TSIM is an investment in the people and process of telehealth. We have been using the TSIM framework for over seven years to simplify the complexities of telehealth,” said Shawn Valenta, one of the founding members of TSIM at MUSC and the current vice president at Wellpath, in a press release. “TSIM establishes a standard repeatable process for teams to successfully develop, implement and optimize their telehealth services. As telehealth continues to expand, it is now more important than ever for organizations to follow best practice and ensure the delivery of high-quality, highly reliable telehealth services.”

James McElligott, executive medical director of the MUSC Health Center for Telehealth, noted in the press release that though there are several training courses for telehealth implementation and optimization, they provide too broad an overview for teams on the ground.

“TSIM changes that with a system that logically and concisely covers the breadth of effort required to transform health care practice over distance with virtual tools. People who study TSIM will feel fully equipped to bring innovation to reality,” said McElligott.

Efforts to spur telehealth optimization have grown amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

After receiving funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in November 2022, Avera Health launched a group of projects that involved telehealth training, telemetry monitoring, virtual nursing, and cultural awareness to support the rural public health workforce.

“We are looking to novel ways to better support the professionals we have through technology, to maximize innovative solutions for caregivers to spend more time doing what led them to this profession — helping others, and reduce time spent doing administrative and regulatory tasks like documentation,” said Rachael Sherard, senior vice president for rural health at Avera, in a press release.