Jennifer Hilliard ScottU.S. Rep. Buddy Carter helped secure $1 million in federal funding to help support the recently established Medical College of Georgia Center for Telehealth. The funding will also support Augusta University’s mission to improve health care access and outcomes for all Georgians, particularly those in rural and underserved areas of the state.
The MCG Center for Telehealth aims to reduce health care disparities, strengthen rural care partners and support rural patients by building relationships statewide through digital inclusion and a trained telehealth network. The center also trains future physicians and prepares them to provide telehealth-related patient care.
“The Medical College of Georgia has shown great commitment to the continued advancement of telehealth in our communities,” says Rep. Carter. “I am both excited and optimistic to see what kind of revolutionary work comes as a product of this great program and how telehealth continues to advance and improve the lives of both patient and provider.”
MCG has focused on telehealth for many years, so this expansion is a natural progression of that foundation, adds David Hess, MD, MCG dean.
While connectivity is not a significant barrier to telemedicine in rural Georgia, the lack of education and training on how to effectively use telemedicine remains a challenge.
“As the only public academic medical center in Georgia and a statewide medical school, this initiative helps us further our mission to serve the entire state’s health care needs,” says AU President Brooks A. Keel, PhD. “Telemedicine is a powerful tool to address disparities in health care by enabling clinicians and specialists to reach underserved populations. We are proud of this next phase of our mission, and we expect this expansion of the MCG Center for Telehealth to have a significant impact to improve health care outcomes throughout the state for many years to come.”
