Accessible by Design: Evaluating a Telehealth Accessibility Checklist

Abstract

Introduction:

In the wake of COVID-19, widespread adoption of telehealth has led to variations in implementation that have implications for patient safety and access to health care. We developed a 60-item Telehealth Access Checklist, which aims to address this challenge by supporting health care organizations in assessing their telehealth platforms for issues that may pose access challenges.

Objectives:

This feasibility study evaluates the Telehealth Access Checklist among three different large health care organizations. Eleven different reviewers ranging from primary care physicians to telemedicine directors evaluated the checklist’s content for efficacy and utility. Suggestions were made for checklist improvement.

Results:

The preliminary testing revealed overwhelming support for not only the concept of the 60-item checklist but also the checklist itself. Reviewers were able to identify aspects of their telehealth technologies that could be optimized to improve accessibility. They found the checklist to be an effective guide to delve deeper into their respective facility’s capabilities and identify areas needed for improvement to meet the needs of all populations. Recommendations for improvements to the checklist ranged from changes in formatting and phrasing to enhancements such as broadening the scope to include other modes of telehealth, such as remote patient monitoring.

Conclusion:

A self-assessment checklist may serve to improve telehealth technology in meeting the needs of all populations by enabling the identification of technological features that should be optimized.