New Partnership to Launch a School-Based Telehealth Program

Aiming to improve virtual healthcare access, OU Health and Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) announced they are working together to provide care services and integrated health education programs through a school-based telehealth program.

According to the press release, there is a need for sick visits, behavioral care, chronic disease management services, and health education among pediatric patients.

To expand access to these types of services, OU Health created a pilot telehealth program for children at six Oklahoma City public schools.

Through the program, the public schools will receive telehealth software and associated diagnostic devices that will allow OU Health providers to perform comprehensive virtual health examinations in school locations. The types of examinations the technology will enable include heart, lungs, abdomen, ear, mouth, throat, and skin exams. The devices will also allow providers to capture accurate temperatures.

“As the state’s academic healthcare system, we believe it is our mission to provide healthcare that is accessible, timely, high-quality and affordable,” said Richard Lofgren, MD, OU Health president and CEO, in a press release. “Our telehealth partnership with Oklahoma City Public Schools achieves that mission in many different ways. Ultimately, we want to play a role in providing children and families with the care they need and improving their health and well-being.”

The schools involved in the program include Douglass High School, FD Moon Middle School, Eugene Field Elementary School, Thelma Parks Elementary School, Martin Luther King Jr Elementary School, and Wilson Elementary School.

“In some cases, our school nurses are the only health care provider our students see regularly. The relationships they build with students and their families play a vital role in maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for our students,” said OKCPS Superintendent Sean McDaniel, PhD, in the press release. “To add the component of telehealth from our partners at OU Health is a game changer. It will allow our families to receive enhanced health services without having to take time off work to go to an outside clinic. We are thankful to OU Health for this critical partnership.”

Aside from increasing access to primary care and disease management services, the program aims to provide various other benefits, including improvements in health outcomes and literacy, as well as decreasing student absenteeism and emergency department (ED) visits.

Additionally, the program could help cut healthcare costs, as well as lost time from work and loss of pay, the organizations said. The press release also noted that the program will be available to all students regardless of health insurance status.

In recent months, several projects related to the provision of telehealth services for pediatric patients have been launched.

For example, in September, Intermountain Healthcare added pediatric telehealth services that allowed for consistent video consult communication between the Primary Children’s Hospital ED and ED physicians throughout the system.

Pediatric patients who visit the ED are often transferred to a pediatric hospital. However, through the telehealth program, ED providers can communicate with Primary Children’s Hospital clinicians through telehealth to provide the type of treatment that pediatric patients need.