Telemedicine is helping patients in underserved communities access quality healthcare

Reimagining Healthcare is an ongoing series of short video conversations between Novartis leaders and members of the healthcare community, including patients, physicians, researchers, advocates and partners.

In this first video, Novartis US President Thomas Kendris speaks with Dr. Kemi Alli, CEO of the Henry J. Austin Health Center in Trenton, New Jersey about telemedicine.

COVID-19 is shining a harsh spotlight on persistent healthcare inequities in our society. People of color in underserved communities are catching - and dying from - the disease at disproportionately high rates, causing tremendous suffering and heartbreak.

This situation is unacceptable - and demands action from all of us. At Novartis, we’re taking concrete steps to improve healthcare in disadvantaged communities, where people may feel reluctant to seek out care, or have difficulty accessing it, or are unable to pay for it.

One very promising approach is greater use of telemedicine. Recently I spoke with Dr. Kemi Alli, CEO of the Henry J. Austin Health Center in Trenton, New Jersey, about her work to expand telemedicine in a part of the state where poverty, chronic disease and COVID-19 are all taking a huge toll. Dr. Alli received a grant for her project from the Novartis US Foundation.

Our overarching goal is to help build trust in society, including in our healthcare system.

I was especially moved by her comments about the need to reconnect with communities where trust has broken down. This is the overarching goal of the US Foundation - to help build trust in society, including in our healthcare systems and institutions that are essential for promoting good health and wellness.

Well before the pandemic struck, the US Foundation partnered with the New Jersey Primary Care Association to support telehealth initiatives, like the one at the Austin Center. COVID-19 provided heightened urgency to this effort. We continue to look for innovative ways we can reimagine medicine to promote greater equity, build trust, and improve and extend people’s lives.

Please stay tuned later this month for the next in our series of Reimagining Healthcare conversations where Victor Bulto talks ways to improve access and affordability for patients.