New App Pushes Better mHealth, Telehealth Provider Communication

Students at the University of Tennessee’s (UT) Knoxville’s College of Nursing will get firsthand telehealth provider communication experience next semester testing out a new virtual care app designed by UT faculty and students.

The multiplatform V-Visit Sim app was developed for healthcare educators to replicate a virtual visit between a patient and a provider for students. As virtual visits rise due to COVID-19, the educational app will prepare students for the healthcare field.

Lisa Merritt, clinical assistant professor of nursing, designed the app in collaboration with a team of professors from various UT schools, including the Tickle College of Engineering, the College of Architecture and Design, and the Graduate School of Medicine.

“The Centers for Disease Control has recommended that healthcare providers explore alternatives to face-to-face visits in an effort to reduce unnecessary visits and prevent transmission of COVID-19,” said Merritt. “Virtual visits can advance those efforts and have great potential to enhance patient experience, improve health outcomes, and control healthcare cost.”

Currently in its beta version, the V-Visit Sim app gives students the opportunity to improve their clinical reasoning skills through 35 clinical scenarios in an asynchronous online environment. The app will be used by nurse practitioner students, medical students, physician assistant students, and others working toward becoming advanced practice providers.

Merritt will be using the new application in the College of Nursing during the spring 2021 semester to provide family, pediatric, and mental health nurse practitioner students with valuable experience through simulated virtual visits to prepare them for their future in healthcare.

The app allows learners to conduct a virtual physical exam. Using the exam findings in conjunction with the patient’s given history, students are tasked with developing a correct diagnosis and management plan through chat messages, images, and video, Merritt said.

The app will prepare the next generation of healthcare workers for a healthcare system that utilizes technology to deliver virtual care.

“Simulation is used in healthcare education to give learners the opportunity to practice skills without putting patients at risk,” Merritt said. “The pandemic has accelerated the need for virtual visits, and the development of this virtual simulation app provides participants a simulated experience in performing a virtual visit.”

“Research shows that students have positive perceptions toward mobile learning and feel that using their mobile device for education enhances their learning.” Merritt continued. “It makes learning more portable and accessible.”

The project was funded by the University of Tennessee Research Foundation. Merritt and her team used some of the funds to work with students from UT’s School of Design to improve the usability of the V-Visit Sim app.

“These students have done a fabulous job making the app more attractive to the eye and user-friendly,” Merritt said. “This collaboration has provided the opportunity for students to work with faculty from other colleges and has enhanced their learning experience.”

Allie Torres-Lopez, a junior in the College of Architecture and Design, worked as a student designer on the app.

“When the opportunity first arose, the project was to create video tutorials for this platform. However, this project developed more than we had ever thought possible in such a short amount of time,” Torres-Lopez said. “I truly believe that the V-Visit Sim App will become a helpful resource for the future of healthcare education.”

Nearly 75 percent of patients accessed their first-ever telehealth visit during the first wave of COVID-19, and most reported high patient satisfaction based on a survey of 1,000 patients conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of Kyruus. Fifty percent of patients surveyed said they would be willing to switch providers if it meant they could continue using telehealth on a regular basis post-pandemic.