How Academic Medicine Can Improve Digital Health Equity and Why It Matters - May 22, 2022

This is part of the Advancing Health Equity Through Telehealth: AAMC Learning Series.

The benefits of digital health tools are many—timely access to providers, better care management through monitoring, more convenience for patients, and so on. Yet, many adults in the U.S. face barriers to digital health tools and technology and are being left behind. As academic medicine begins to integrate digital health tools and use them across the mission areas—patient care, research, training, and community engagement—health system leadership, providers, researchers, and educators must understand the risks that could exacerbate today’s health disparities and how to address them. For academic health systems to continue being leaders in innovation while also meeting the needs of underserved communities, providing digitally inclusive care will be crucial. 

Drawing from their research on Bridging the Digital Health Divide, their 2021 JAMA commentary “Focusing on Digital Health Equity,” and recently completed work, our speakers will outline approaches to mitigate the risks of digital health tools with specific action steps for health system leaders and providers.

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Courtney Lyles, PhD
Associate Professor, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations
UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine at ZSFG
UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Co-Founder, SOLVE Health Tech

Urmimala Sarkar, MD, MPH
Professor, General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
Associate Director, UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations
CO-Founder, SOLVE Health Tech