Telehealth has long held promise for many healthcare services as a way to reach more people at a lower cost across a larger area. That includes home-based asthma services, too. Over the last decade, several leaders in asthma home visiting have successfully incorporated virtual visits into their protocols. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed countless more to experiment with, expand upon, and rely on virtual delivery of services almost overnight.

To support stakeholders in considering and/or implementing virtual asthma home services, in late 2022, RAMP and the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) released Incorporating Virtual Visits into Home-Based Asthma Services.

Pandemic or not, there are many reasons to consider combining virtual and in-person visits including geographic reach, client preference, safety concerns, scheduling difficulties, workforce shortages, budget challenges, and more. Still, virtual visits require considering a range of new issues, such as:

• How to combine virtual and in-person visits
• Adjusting current staffing models
• Communicating with clinical providers and referring clients into the program
• The pros and cons of different technologies and approaches to virtual visits.

This module will help you think through these and other issues as you consider incorporating a virtual aspect to your home-based asthma services.

Developed with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this module is part of NCHH’s Building Systems to Sustain Home-Based Asthma Services, an e-learning and technical assistance platform to support the launch and growth of large-scale, evidence-based, sustainable asthma home visiting programs. With guidance on a wide range of topics, the modules offer a deeper look into some of the topics and strategies to consider while working to design and implement home-based asthma services. Check it out today!