Background: The Jackson Free Clinic (JFC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit which provides free medical, dental, pharmacy, rehabilitation, and social health services to uninsured persons. Founded in 2001, JFC is owned and operated by volunteer students from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) with the assistance of volunteer providers from UMMC and the Jackson community. Following the implementation of an electronic health record system in 2020 and spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, JFC established telehealth services to reach patients and teach students how to conduct medical visits remotely more easily.

Telemedicine is a growing modality for providers and patients to connect. According to a National Center for Health Statistics study in 2022, 37% of adults reported using telemedicine in 2021. Patients at JFC frequently cite transportation as a barrier to health access; an internal survey conducted by our Social Health Clinic teams found that 39% of our patients need assistance with transportation. Coupled with limited clinic space and valuable patient free time, these roadblocks to health management are ameliorated with telemedicine’s ability to meet patients where they are. With the increasing popularity and need of telemedicine, medical students are expected to be proficient at conducting telemedicine. However, medical students at UMMC encounter few opportunities to hone their skills.

Methods: To address these issues, JFC acquired grant funding from the American Academy of Family Physicians and the RH Green Foundation to establish its first telehealth clinic. We spent $3,186.61 to purchase 3 “telehealth booths” which included a partitioned desk, desktop computer with camera, and a microphone headset. Student clinicians were required to create a free Doximity profile and use JFC’s phone number to video call patients. Students conduct video and/or audio calls with patients, discuss their plan with an on-site resident or attending physician, and document the encounter. Encounters are documented on athenaOne EHR, a free electronic health record by Athenahealth. Data was collected for medical and psychiatry telehealth encounters via athenaOne report builder.

Results: From June 1, 2021, to July 30, 2023, JFC students have conducted 597 telehealth visits resulting in a 14% increase in patient volume. Patients were nearly 2.5x less likely to no-show to telehealth appointments compared to in-person visits (8.7% vs 21.6%). Telehealth visit times were on average 50% shorter than in-person visits (71 minutes vs 142 minutes). JFC telehealth clinic allowed 150 medical students to conduct a telemedicine visit for the first or second time.

Conclusions: These data demonstrate that an investment of less than $3,200 can improve patient care and add efficiency to a non-profit free health clinic. Free health clinics can affordably and easily integrate telemedicine into clinic operations to add patient volume, enhance patient compliance, shorten visit times for patients, and prepare future health professionals to utilize telemedicine.