AAMC Working Towards Telemedicine Competencies
In 2016 the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted policy to encourage the integration of telemedicine education and training in the medical curriculum
In 2019 the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) created a telemedicine competency work group to research and develop competencies for telemedicine education
There are a number of barriers to telemedicine education that need to be addressed
May 06, 2020 — The rapid growth and success of telemedicine has exposed the lack of training in the U.S. to prepare clinicians to provide medical care virtually (1). A major barrier to the implementation of telemedicine is the lack of knowledge about it (2), therefore proper physician education and training has been highlighted as essential for strong telemedicine adoption (3).
In 2016 the AMA adopted policy to encourage the integration of telemedicine education and training in the medical curriculum. In 2019 — following in the footsteps of the AMA — the AAMC created a telemedicine competency work group to evaluate the impact of telemedicine in academic medicine and to develop competencies for its education.
The Work of the AAMC
Currently the AAMC is engaged in an initiative to develop competencies in telemedicine that span the continuum of medical education (undergraduate, graduate and CME). Recently the organization released a draft of the initiative which describes seven domains of competencies; and has been asking stakeholder organizations for feedback regarding the proposed domains. No official curriculum has been released yet, however.
Barriers to Telemedicine Education
Telemedicine education is needed now. However, a number of barriers to telemedicine education have been identified:
no available curriculum for telemedicine education
faculty lacks experience in telemedicine education
not much local use of telemedicine
limited time in the academic schedule
lack of institutional resources
not enough interest from leadership
Telemedicine competencies for medical education are needed in order to develop a standard medical curriculum. However, even after official competencies are released, there will be other barriers that would need to be address in order to successfully integrate telemedicine in the medical curriculum.
If you have any question about this article, feel free to contact me.
References
Papanagnou D. Sicks S., Hollander J.E. Training the Next Generation of Care Providers: Focus on Telehealth. Healthcare Transformation. 2015:52HT - 63HT.
Aires LM, Finley JP. Telemedicine activity at a Canadian university medical school and its teaching hospitals. Journal of telemedicine and telecare. 2000;6(1):31-35.
Edirippulige S, Armfield NR. Education and training to support the use of clinical telehealth: A review of the literature. Journal of telemedicine and telecare. 2017;23(2):273-282.
