Chekhov and a Checkup: Delaware Libraries Introduce Telehealth Kiosks

Three libraries in Delaware have recently installed telehealth kiosks, part of an innovative project aimed at improving access to community health resources.

The libraries, in Seaford, Milford and Laurel, are the first sites in a program launched several years ago by Nick Martin, emerging technology consultant for the Delaware Division of Libraries. At first, the goal was to put social workers in the libraries, in a partnership with Delaware Health and Human Services.

“Pre-COVID we had 22 libraries with social workers,” Martin recently told Technical.ly. “We have a strong history there. There’s a behavioral health crisis happening. There’s a digital access crisis. And we have COVID, which is this proof of concept for telehealth. The kiosks are part of a larger initiative for better access to health and social services and technology.”

The project is part on ongoing national trend to boost access to healthcare and social services through public locations like libraries, shopping malls, supermarkets, pharmacies, schools and community centers. In some cases the programs are launched by local health systems, while others are take on by public health groups, state governments, even charities.

Martin, who expects his program to expand statewide this summer, partnered with TalkBox, a company that specializes in “privacy phone booths,” or communication kiosks. They’re billed as germ-free and capable of holding as many as three people.

“Inside is pretty simple, pretty much just an iPad on a stand,” Martin said. “They can use the iPad to access whatever they need, whether it’s Zoom, Skype or the ChristianaCare or Beebe Healthcare portals.”

The pilot program is funded by DHHS, Barclays, Delaware Community Foundation, Crystal Trust Foundation, Discover Bank, Highmark BCBS Delaware, Longwood Foundation and the Welfare Foundation.

Telehealth kiosks have been around for a while, hitting a peak several years ago with the introduction of large, elaborate booths that could serve as remote exam rooms and came with a video screen, several mHealth devices and other connected health amenities. Those units proved to be too costly and complex, however, and faded out of view.

More recently, a number of companies and health systems have developed smaller, more versatile kiosks, designed for use in public areas, businesses, hospital emergency departments, clinics and schools. The form factor is gaining favor again as telemedicine technology improves and becomes more cost-effective.

They’re also capable of offering more resources, such as links to public health and welfare programs, housing and rent assistance, legal advice and other social services. This falls in line with the idea that telehealth platforms can address not only clinical concerns, but socio-economic factors that make up the social determinants of health.