The Pharmacist / Fall-Winter 2023 / Volume 1 / Issue 1

THE PACESSETTERS
B Y D A N I E L P . S M I T H
WE’VE HAD
HE PACESE
TELEMEDICINE CLINICS REACHED THEIR AMBITIOUS ROLLOUT TARGETS
Before the pandemic forced a rise in telemedicine, UIC launched two telemedicine clinics with the Illinois Department
of Corrections and set a model for care that continues to expand and demonstrate wide-ranging benefits.
BECAUSE WE’RE
BEFORE THE PANDEMIC FORCED A RISE IN TELEMED
CLINICS WITH THE ILLINOIS DEPARTME
THAT CONTINUES TO EXPAND AND DEMONST
O
n
a warm and sunny Monday afternoon, Dr. Juliana Chan
begins a phone call by apologizing for her voice. It’s
weak and hoarse, the byproduct of a morning spent in
constant conversation.
Chan spent nearly four hours on Monday, October
2, virtually shuttling between 20 patients spread
across Illinois prisons as the head of UIC’s hepatitis C
telemedicine clinic run in partnership with the Illinois
Department of Corrections (IDOC).
“Twenty-minute visits with new patients and five-minute
follow-ups with those who have finished treatment,”
explains Chan, a clinical pharmacist and clinical
associate professor in the College of Pharmacy’s
Department of Pharmacy Practice.
Chan’s efforts, which began on Sunday with
appointment prep work that included inspecting patient
charts and preparing notes and will extend into Monday
evening with a concluding review of the appointments,
JULIANA CHAN
are involved and taxing. The telemedicine clinic requires
constant attention to detail and an earnest commitment
to collaboration with other health professionals,
including an on-site nurse as well as a remote physician
and social worker.
The work is also groundbreaking. One of the earliest
examples of a pharmacist-led telemedicine program,
the UIC-IDOC partnership has improved patient health
among a vulnerable population under the state’s care,
unlocked novel opportunities for UIC trainees, and
established a sustainable model for others to follow.
TRANSFORMING CARE
In early 2010, IDOC came to UIC seeking collaboration
and a better plan to tend to the healthcare needs of
those under its supervision.
At the time, individuals in IDOC custody were not
receiving any standardized care. Medical care, for
example, might be provided by a retired specialist or
generalist and attention to chronic conditions might be
best described as choppy.
TELEMEDICINE OFFERED A COST-EFFECTIVE AND
STREAMLINED WAY FOR IDOC TO ELEVATE ITS CARE
UIC-IDOC PARTNERSHIP HAS IMPROVED PATIENT
HEALTH AMONG A VULNERABLE POPULATION UNDER
8 THE PHARMACIST PHARMACY.UIC.EDU