Standardizing Competencies and Enhancing Professionalism Through a Telepresenter Certificate Program

Abstract

Background: Telehealth researchers frequently identify barriers to telehealth delivery, but often their literature does not propose change management strategies to improve access to care through telehealth. Systematic reviews support findings that education and training are lacking to ensure high-quality telehealth delivery. Curriculum that addresses technical skills, provides a clinical perspective for addressing digital health care, and proposes best practices can build the foundation for a competent telehealth workforce — most crucially, telepresenters.

Objective: Recognizing an unmet need for standardized training for telepresenting health care professionals, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Connected Care (VA OCC) built on its prior telehealth experience to create a Telepresenter Certificate Program (TCP) in partnership with the University of Florida College of Nursing (UF CON). This paper describes the program’s curriculum, the educational methods used, and learners’ responses to a summative survey that evaluated the TCP’s impact.

Methods: VA OCC and UF CON created a curriculum encompassing two courses. The first course was an introduction to the current knowledge regarding digital health, including the role of clinical informatics, electronic health records, patient-generated health data, and trends in data use in health care. The second course helped learners understand required telehealth competencies through patient case scenarios and covered topics such as how to telepresent virtual medical exams and apply these skills in practice.

Results: Over a total of four TCP cohorts, 909 learners completed the program. Among overall learners, 87% agreed or strongly agreed that “they will be able to apply the knowledge and skills learned to effectively assist telehealth providers in delivering patient care using telehealth technology.” On average, 94% of TCP completers were satisfied with the program.

Discussion: VA OCC’s partnership with UF CON successfully created a novel curriculum to standardize competencies and enhance professionalism for the telepresenter role through the TCP. Learners positively endorsed their acquisition of skills and their satisfaction with the program. The TCP offers a viable model for other health care consortiums to standardize competencies and enhance professionalism for telepresenters, resulting in improved telehealth quality and increased health care access.