Governor Bryan Extends Deadline for Survey Assessing USVI’s Readiness for Telehealth

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS — Governor Albert Bryan Jr. has extended the deadline for doctors and telehealth providers to submit the USVI Telehealth Provider Survey to December 11, 2020, to ensure his office has the most comprehensive data for appropriating resources toward a telehealth infrastructure. 

In October, the Office of the Governor distributed the USVI Telehealth Provider Survey to determine how ready local doctors and healthcare providers are to use technology to extend their reach beyond traditional clinical settings. Telehealth includes options such as video doctor visits and remote patient monitoring.  

“Only a fraction of doctors and healthcare providers across the territory submitted the survey and I am urging those who have not completed it, to take the time now to fill out and submit the survey so that we can accurately  determine how much work needs to be done to deliver telehealth services for Virgin Islands residents,” Governor Bryan said. “This effort is just as much about patients having virtual visits locally from the comfort of their homes as it is about patients being able to manage travel out of the territory for care.” 

The survey was emailed to doctors and healthcare providers across the territory but is also accessible online at www.surveymonkey.com/r/VITelehealth.  The online survey takes five minutes to complete can be submitted via a desktop, tablet, or smart phone. All responses are confidential.  

The telehealth survey is  designed to assess telehealth capacity and identify gaps such as training of IT staff, and technology needs, both software and hardware, and to provide baseline information as the Administration work towards the development of the territory’s first-ever Health Information Exchange (HIE). 

 Dr. Julia Sheen, Health and Human Services Policy Advisor, is recommending that a senior administrator within a doctor or healthcare provider’s office complete the survey because questions cover areas such as general facility information, telehealth capacity, and HIE capacity.  

Since January, Dr. Sheen has been working with key stakeholders in the public and private sector, as part of the VI Telehealth Workgroup, to lay the groundwork for making telehealth services in the US Virgin Islands a reality. The Workgroup is leading the coordination of telehealth services among healthcare providers and will spearhead the regulation and implementation of the HIE. 

The USVI Telehealth Provider Survey is part of Governor Bryan’s Healthier Horizons Initiative, which includes telehealth and 10 other projects. The initiative is an effort to improve the healthcare system by broadening the scope of health services provided, by increasing patient access to quality care and by hardening our healthcare infrastructure. 

For more information visit www.vi.gov/healthier-horizons

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