Improving chronic care management through asynchronous telehealth simulations

Abstract

Interdisciplinary approaches to chronic care have been shown to improve health outcomes both in person and via telehealth. This article details a replicable activity involving telehealth simulations with asynchronous collaboration between student pharmacists and student physician assistants in an interprofessional activity focusing on chronic care management between the Physician Assistant and Doctor of Pharmacy programs. The activity consisted of six standardized patient encounters with components of asynchronous communication between each series of encounters. Qualitative data was analyzed for emerging themes as well as for predefined themes corresponding to the four Interprofessional Education Collaborative core competencies for interprofessional education: roles and responsibilities, teamwork, communication, and values and ethics. The asynchronous interprofessional chronic care management telehealth simulation was well received by students in both programs and allowed learners to practice providing virtual care and collaborating as part of a team in a realistic manner, strengthening the competencies of teamwork and communication.