PCC Webinar: Making the Call on the Best Use of Telehealth in Primary Care

At the beginning of the pandemic, telehealth use skyrocketed because clinicians and patients needed to be safe while providing and receiving needed care. Now, with many months of experience in heavy telehealth use, it’s worth taking stock of its profusion into primary care and evaluating which policies and practices make sense to continue in order to achieve the best health outcomes, advance efficiencies in care, and meet patient needs and preferences. This webinar examined ways primary care can prepare for a post-pandemic future and integrate telehealth into primary care practices in the right way. It looked at how telehealth can become a regular tool of primary care without fracturing it or weakening the clinician-patient relationship.

Panelists:

  • Chuck Ingoglia, MSW, President & CEO | National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and member of the NCQA, ATA and ACC Taskforce on Telehealth Policy
  • Steven J. Kravet, MD, MBA, President | Johns Hopkins Community Physicians
  • Beth R. Smolko, DMSc, MMS, PA-C, President | American Academy of PAs

Moderator: Christine Bechtel, Co-Founder | X4 Health

Beth R. Smolko, DMSc, MMS, PA-C

President, American Academy of PAs
Dr. Beth Smolko is the president of the American Academy of PAs (AAPA). She has served on AAPA’s Board of Directors since 2016, following several years of service and leadership in AAPA’s House of Delegates. She also served in multiple leadership positions at the Association of Family Practice PAs (AFPPA), including it board of directors and as its representative to national discussions on Hepatitis C at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the White House. read more

Christine Bechtel, MA

Consumer advocate and co-founder, X4 Health
Christine Bechtel is a longtime consumer advocate and the co-founder of X4 Health, a purpose-driven organization that uses social impact design to solve problems that matter. 3rd Conversation is one of X4’s programs. Christine has been involved with PCC since its earliest days, having co-chaired a number of PCMH-related working groups. She helped facilitate the development of the Shared Principles of Primary Care across 300 stakeholders on behalf of the PCC. She also spent 18 months working with a primary care practice where she helped its leaders establish a culture of patient- and family-centered care and professional satisfaction. Christine’s previous positions include leadership roles at the National Partnership for Women & Families, the eHealth Initiative, the American Health Quality Association, and AARP. read more

Chuck Ingoglia, MSW, MSW

President and CEO, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
As president and CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, Chuck Ingoglia leads the national charge to ensure people living with mental illness and addictions have access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery. To accomplish this, he harnesses the voices and support of the more than 3,000 National Council members who serve over 10 million individuals nationwide. Prior to being named president and CEO, Chuck led the National Council’s policy and practice improvement work, directing the organization’s federal and state policy efforts and overseeing trainings and programs offered to more than 500,000 behavioral health professionals across the U.S. read more

Steven Kravet, MD, MBA, FACP

President, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians
Steven J. Kravet, MD, MBA, is an associate professor of medicine and heads the largest primary care group in Maryland, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, a network of suburban community practices that serves more than 280,000 patients annually at more than 35 locations throughout the state. read more
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