National Foundation of Emergency Medicine Scholar, Kori Zachrison, MD, MSc, received a grant to study the use of telemedicine as protection against COVID-19 exposure while ensuring quality of care among patients with limited English proficiency 

TUCSON, Ariz. — To encourage COVID-19 related research, the National Foundation of Emergency Medicine (NFEM) has awarded research funding for NFEM emergency medicine scholars across the country. Kori Zachrison, MD, MSc, an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, received a $10,000 grant from the foundation to examine the use of electronic personal protective equipment, or “e-PPE,” whereby providers use telemedicine to evaluate patients in the same ED and reduce exposure to COVID-19.  

Through her research, Dr. Zachrison aims to determine if evaluations using e-PPE provide equivalent delivery of care and equivalent clinical outcomes for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) when compared to an in-person exam. Dr. Zachrison will study patients with suspected COVID-19 in two Boston EDs, identifying those with LEP and determine whether patients with LEP who received evaluations by e-PPE had different clinical outcomes than those with an in-person exam.  

Dr. Zachrison says, “There are ways we might imagine that the increasing use of telemedicine in health care during the COVID-19 pandemic could improve disparities for vulnerable populations by improving access to specialists or overcoming transportation barriers; at the same time, there are also ways that telemedicine could potentially contribute to worsening disparities related to digital literacy, language fluency, or interpreter access. Particularly as the pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color, it’s really critical that we are vigilant in a response that addresses these issues head-on without risk of widening those disparities.”

The study will advance understanding of the relationship between telemedicine and health disparities among patients with limited-English proficiency. Three barriers to accessing telemedicine are the absence of technology, digital literacy, and reliable internet coverage. This “digital divide” disproportionately affects older people of color and those with low socioeconomic status. By studying e-PPE use in the ED, the study overcomes the digital divide and isolates the relationship between telemedicine as a communication tool to understand whether the quality of care delivery for patients with LEP is affected by the use of telemedicine.  

About the NFEM Scholar Mentor Program 

Dr. Zachrison is part of NFEM’s Scholar/Mentor Program. The Scholar/Mentor Program is a 2-year program that matches junior faculty members in an academic track in Emergency Medicine with mentors at their institution. This program provides an opportunity for scholars from 10 partner institutions to work on translational medicine research and foster professional development. Dr. Zachrison is one of nine scholar-mentor pairs who will receive funding for their COVID-19 related research projects. Dr. Zachrison is mentored by Carlos Camargo, MD, DrPH who is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.  

Read more about other COVID-19 related research other NFEM scholars are involved in here.

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About the National Foundation of Emergency Medicine   

The National Foundation of Emergency Medicine was founded in 2010 in order to encourage and support the development of career academic emergency medicine scientists. The Scholar/Mentor Program has been running for 3 years, producing three cohorts of scholars and mentors from 10 partner institutions across the United States.   

NFEM Board of Directors include Michael Rolnick, MD, David Taylor, MD, Harvey Meislin, MD, David Sheehan, Esquire, and Charles Cairns, MD, who reviewed and approved the eight grant proposals by nine Foundation Scholars interested in COVID-19 related research. Karen Lutrick, PhD is the NFEM Director of Programs and Operations. Dr. Lutrick coordinated the grant application process and will provide support and guidance to the scholars as they begin their research projects.   

The National Foundation of Emergency Medicine’s mission is to:  

•       Serve as a national platform for the improvement and expansion of research in Emergency Medicine 
•       Advance best practices and clinical excellence in Emergency Medicine 
•       Identify and support emergency medicine academic physicians to engage in and fund multi-institutional testing and research 

For more information, email: info@NFOEM.com (Follow us on Twitter).