The telemedicine and digital health industry has a new organization, the Telehealth Equity Coalition (TEC), which seeks expanded, meaningful access to health care. Launched in February 2021, the TEC works with nonprofit, academic, and industry partners to offer a unique voice to help transform communities through equitable telehealth delivery and utilization. The Coalition is “driven to improve access to quality and affordable health care by increasing the adoption of telehealth, especially among those communities who have been left out or left behind.” Among the TEC's initial twelve corporate members are the American Telemedicine Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved, and Foley & Lardner LLP.
The Coalition brings together the experiences and expertise of these member organizations to reveal telehealth disparities and their relationships to social determinants of health, systemic, and historical institutional biases.
“Disparities in healthcare have long been an issue in this country, and expanding telemedicine can improve care for marginalized patients,” said Foley partner Alexis Bortniker. “Access to and availability of meaningful healthcare services is a critical social determinant of health,” said Foley special counsel Aaron Maguregui, “and digital health technology can help close the gap in underserved communities.”
Want to be a part of the effort? The Telehealth Equity Coalition is seeking individuals, organizations, and academics who want to add their voice to important discussion about health care inequities and help with the efforts to expand access nationwide.
Originally Published by Foley & Lardner, February 2021
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