Dr. Paul Thomas at Detroit Digital Inclusion Week 2021
Dr. Paul Thomas at Detroit Digital Inclusion Week 2021
On October 4th, Dr. Paul Thomas was a part of the Detroit Digitial Inclusion Week 2021, specifically speaking on a panel called the Future of Healthcare https://youtu.be/197ao4G_sO8?t=8392.
It was a pleasure speaking with Joshua Edmonds the Director of Digital Inclusion at the City of Detroit, Shannon Wilson the Vice president of State Markets East at Priority Health, and Courtney Stevens the Director of Virtual Care at Henry Ford Health Systems about digital health access and the digital health divide here in Detroit, Michigan.
The big problem is this: too few Detroit residents have access to reliable internet access, and that impacts their health and wellness. The question is, how can we equip Detroiters with the resources to bridge this digital divide and potentially improve health outcomes?
Throughout the interview, I make the case for right-sizing our approach to telehealth/telemedicine as it is not a silver bullet. Giving Detroiters access to digital health tools will help somewhat, but it will not solve intergenerational chronic health challenges and learned health behaviors.
As always, I advocate for more family medicine physicians who are neighborhood based, who have the medical knowledge, clinical skills, and physical resources to provide excellent medical care in a patient-centered way, while accounting for cultural and geographic context.
In short, I believe we need more doctors in Detroit, not more telehealth visits. While telemedicine may help with some problems, like coughs and colds, or pink eye, a telemedicine app won’t help to teach folks how to take care of their diabetes with the support of their family and community, telemedicine apps won’t be able to draw blood or deliver medications, and most importantly, telemedicine apps cannot perform a comprehensive physical exam.
The following video was filmed live on Monday, October 4, 2021, at TechTown Detroit's I2C Building. The panel was moderated by Joshua Edmonds, Digital Inclusion Director for the City of Detroit. The event was hosted by the Connect 313 Policy, Advocacy, and Ecosystem Committee.
