Rapid Response Telehealth Data Analysis and Issue Specific Telehealth Research Studies - Spatial analyses confirm that the United States exhibits a distinct spatial structure with defined vulnerable communities characterized by a high social vulnerability index, a high health access barrier index, and a high resource-constrained health care system index. Of these, 78% of those underserved reside in rural areas. Telehealth policy has been on a rollercoaster since the COVID-19 pandemic launched emergency policies that have varying degree of permanence; some expire and/or are reinstated for less than one year in federal budgets like this past March 2025, where many policies will only last till September or December 2025, and several remained expired. Synthesizing the current scope and application of telehealth is critical for guiding future interventions and policies in telehealth. The Telehealth Outreach and Policy for Rural and Underserved Populations (TOP-UP) Rapid Response Center responds to this need by conducting rigorous, policy-relevant, telehealth focused, data analyses on the long-term trends, disparities and access, flexibilities for telehealth care, and telehealth uptake and utilization in various specialties and via different modalities. TOP-UP leverages the existing infrastructure that PI Dr. Tapan Mehta has established through the Methods and Health Informatics (MHI) Core, with team members having expertise in large-scale dataset management, biostatistics, clinical informatics, epidemiology, and implementation science. We have demonstrated expertise in analyzing several national datasets, and have existing data use agreements for CMS (including 5% longitudinal sample), MarketScan, T-MSIS, HCAHP, and OneFlorida+ datasets. Of significance, the Center uniquely emphasizes on technology, digital health, and mobile health data technologies and geocoding using RUCA codes. We also have considerable experience using Medicare and Medicaid data, Uniform Data System data, American Hospital Association data, and other large observational and administrative databases including those from large health plans. TOP-UP is further supported by a technical writer/editor and communications specialist who will support a robust web build-out and posting and distribution of high quality completed work products. Access to Google Analytics, Buffer Social Media reporting, and Marketing Cloud email reporting allow us full visibility into traffic, views, downloads, and overall reach. Our proposed short-term projects, aiming to assess telehealth’s effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, are strategically built to target the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework, which is recognized to provide a systematic approach to examine telehealth implementation. Our nationally scoped projects target rural and underserved populations on telehealth policy matters that will have a lasting impact on the health of Americans.
