By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director

For years, the College of Health Sciences has been leading the way in telehealth education.

Now, the director says the program is ready to take another step forward.

The portfolio is growing with the addition of a first-of-its-kind course to be offered to undergraduates beginning this spring. CSD 450 Telehealth 101 is designed to provide an overview of telehealth to seniors pursuing advanced education in the healthcare field. The course is scheduled for Mondays/Wednesdays 3:30- 4:45 p.m., in person.  

“Telehealth is a staple in today’s healthcare regardless of the profession,” said Joneen Lowman, PhD, CCC-SLP, an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Director of the Center for Telehealth Education, Research and Outreach. “Students who take the course will be exposed to the breadth and depth of telehealth and how these models fit within their future healthcare professions. As a result, they will be better prepared to use telehealth as they progress through their graduate education programs, regardless of the healthcare field.”

CHS will be advertising the course in-house and across campus to undergraduate majors in traditional health-related fields like psychology, social work, nutrition, HHS, any of the pre-meds (medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary), as well as ancillary programs like public health and law.

“I feel like it’s incredibly important to learn about this, so that if something like this past year comes up, you're ready, you’re able to keep serving,” said Tori Schaub Hutchins, APT, and a speech pathologist at Associates in Pediatric Therapy in Louisville. “But I also hope that people continue to recognize the utility of this type of service, outside of just necessity.

“As therapists, we provide the tools, but we really need families and patients on board so that they can use these tools effectively outside of just our weekly sessions,” she continued. “Telehealth gives us the opportunity to get to our patients in their most natural environment, their home. If patients are children, or in the care of someone else, telehealth allows us to empower their caregivers to use our strategies, since it requires us to be much more hands-off. Telehealth pushes us to be more effective communicators, and to communicate about your practice, you have to have a deeper understanding of it.”

Listen to our podcast about Tori's story here.

Course Description

The course is designed to equip the learner pursuing advanced education in a healthcare field with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to use telehealth. This service delivery model uses telecommunications technology to connect healthcare providers with patients, caregivers, and other professionals they serve. The course will describe models of virtual healthcare delivery, primary regulatory statutes and technology requirements, areas of application, and professional issues and trends within the global marketplace. Topics will cover the implementation of virtual care by diverse healthcare providers (e.g., rehabilitation, physician, nursing, pharmacy) to individuals across the lifespan who are in a variety of settings (e.g., schools, homes, hospitals). 

Course Prerequisites

Undergraduate senior status