Large-Scale Telemedicine Implementation for Outpatient Clinicians: Results From a Pandemic-Adapted Learning Collaborative

Abstract

Learning collaboratives are seldom used outside of health care quality improvement. We describe a condensed, 10-week learning collaborative ("Telemedicine Hack") that facilitated telemedicine implementation for outpatient clinicians early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Live attendance averaged 1688 participants per session. Of 1005 baseline survey respondents, 57% were clinicians with one-third identifying as from a racial/ethnic minoritized group. Practice characteristics included primary care (71%), rural settings (51%), and community health centers (28%). Of three surveys, a high of 438 (81%) of 540 clinicians had billed ≥1 video-based telemedicine visit. Our learning collaborative "sprint" is a promising model for scaling knowledge during emergencies and addressing health inequities.