It wasn’t a lack of internet. It was a lack of guidance. A lack of trust. A lack of someone to sit beside you and say: “Let’s do this together.”
That’s what I learned leading the pilot year of the American Medical Student Association’s Digital Rural Health Corps, a student-led initiative aimed at closing the digital health literacy gap in underserved parts of Ohio. As future physicians, we often talk about innovation. But what I witnessed through the stories shared by our volunteers in community centers, pharmacies and farmers markets wasn’t about technology — it was about connection. It was about being the bridge between patients and a digital system they didn’t feel invited into.
Our pilot reached five counties marked by high health disparities in Ohio. We trained over 200 medical and pre-medical student volunteers as digital health navigators and embedded them directly in the community. Their goal? To help people understand and use online tools that have become second nature to us — like patient portals, prescription refills and telehealth visits. For many older adults, these tools weren’t just unfamiliar – they were intimidating.
The data we collected was telling: 94% had internet access, but one in three couldn’t refill a prescription online and more than 20% had never accessed their electronic health record. Even for those who used electronic health portals, they often relied on a family member to log in. Many community members shared the same concern: how do we know which online health information to trust?
In short: digital access didn’t mean digital engagement.
And yet, something powerful happened. With just one conversation, one hands-on demonstration, things changed. People enrolled in MyChart. They asked questions. They tried again. These small shifts mattered — because digital health isn’t just the future of care, it’s the present. If we don’t act now, the divide will only widen.
Jennifer Waterman, the membership and wellness director at the Highland County YMCA — where our students were deployed — described the impact better than I ever could:
“There are many challenges — and then to add IT [information technology] on top is another one. Many people in their 60s lack confidence beyond Facebook or feel it’s too hard to learn another app. But when they understand what’s possible, it opens their eyes. A telehealth second opinion changed my husband’s entire treatment plan. Just one virtual visit helped him see there were options.”
This initiative taught me that closing the gap isn’t just about policy or broadband, it’s about showing up. Listening. Teaching. And making sure the digital revolution in healthcare doesn’t leave the most vulnerable behind. It’s about embedding health literacy into medical education — now, not someday. It’s about empowering students to lead, to innovate and to advocate at the ground level.
We’re now building a national blueprint for student-powered digital health engagement. And the best part? It’s replicable. AMSA chapters across the country can adapt this model to their communities. We’re developing a Train-the-Trainer program to ensure sustainability. And we’re just getting started.
Medicine is changing. But if that change isn’t inclusive, it’s not progress.
This project reminded me of the kind of physician I want to be: not just someone who understands the latest technology, but someone who makes it make sense to the people who need it most.
Be the first to comment