Database of Health Workforce Innovations
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Virtual First Responders: the Role of Direct-to-Consumer Telemedicine in Caring for People Impacted by Natural Disasters
Providing medical care/ health services to victims of natural disasters
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) telemedicine offers patients immediate access to remote physicians via personal devices. These services were originally designed for patients seeking care for minor acute illnesses. In disasters, however, DTC telemedicine may facilitate care that would otherwise be inaccessible due to displacement, unpassable roads, emergency closures, or increased demand for healthcare services.1 For the first time during the 2017 hurricane season, several DTC telemedicine companies including Doctor on Demand, MDLIVE, Teladoc, American Well, and LiveHealth Online offered free visits to hurricane victims To understand the role that DTC telemedicine may play in disaster response and recovery, we describe services provided by one DTC telemedicine company during Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
- Telehealth/virtual care
- Physicians - Primary/Family
Disaster response during hurricanes Harvey and Irma
- Other
- Remote
Virtual care platforms such as Doctor on Demand, MDLIVE, Teladoc, American Well, and LiveHealth Online offering free services for victims
Research Intervention - outcome data available
Uscher-Pines, L., Fischer, S., Tong, I., Mehrotra, A., Malsberger, R., & Ray, K. (2018). Virtual First Responders: the Role of Direct-to-Consumer Telemedicine in Caring for People Impacted by Natural Disasters. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 33(8),
Lori Uscher-Pines
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RAND Corporation and the National Institutes of Health
United States
USA