TAMPA, FL (June 16, 2022) – The USF Tampa General Physicians (USFTGP) has named Matthew Cantonis as its senior vice president of operations.

Launched in January 2022, USFTGP supports the administrative functions of the clinical practices of both the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Tampa General Medical Group (TGMG). The creation of the organization follows nearly two years of transition planning since announcing the broadened affiliation in July 2020.

Matt Cantonis

Cantonis, who is a seasoned operational leader with more than 20 years of experience that includes inpatient and outpatient, service lines, and population health, joins USFTGP from San Diego, CA, where he worked for Scripps Health since 2011, most recently as assistant vice president for Clinical Service Lines and Accountable Care for Scripps Health.

“I am thrilled to welcome Matt back to Tampa, and to have him join our outstanding USFTGP senior leadership team,” said Mark G. Moseley, MD, president of USFTGP and vice dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “His extensive operational experience will be a great fit for our new organization, and I am confident that he will help us achieve our goal of building a world-class physician practice infrastructure.”

“Raised in Tampa Bay, and after over a decade in San Diego with Scripps Health, I am honored to return to the region supporting USF Tampa General Physicians,” Cantonis said. “The organization is uniquely positioned to improve the quality, access and coordination of care within a community I love and make a meaningful difference in the lives of the patients it serves.”

Through coordinated services, USFTGP will help drive growth, improve quality, and increase access to world-class, academic medical care across the community, as well as serve as a recruiting tool for leading academic physicians from across the country. The new organization will further elevate the national reputation of both USF Health and TGH, which will help attract additional research dollars and support the economic engines of Tampa Bay’s health market.

USFTGP includes 1,400 team members who serve and support physicians employed by USF Health and TGMG, providing practice infrastructure, clinical management, and related operational and administrative support services. USFTGP also works with private practice physicians on staff at Tampa General to offer purchased services and management services through the new organization.

TAMPA, Fla (April 8, 2022) – The board of directors for the USF Tampa General Physicians has named Mark G. Moseley, MD, MHA, FACEP, the first president of the newly formed academic medical group.  Dr. Moseley will assume the new position April 11, 2022.

“Dr. Moseley is the perfect person to serve as the president of USF Tampa General Physicians. With his deep familiarity of the faculty practice plan and decades of experience in academic health and clinical operations, Dr. Moseley will bring immense value to the role at this critical juncture,” said Charles Lockwood, MD, senior vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “As USF Tampa General Physicians grows, Dr. Moseley’s vision and exemplary leadership will be needed to further our mission of providing unparalleled patient care to our region.”

“Dr. Moseley is the natural choice to become the inaugural leader of our new organization, one of the state’s largest academic medical groups,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. “Under Dr. Moseley’s leadership, our physician groups will be more strategically aligned, allowing for enhanced collaboration between our organizations as well as our private practice physicians. Together, we will be able to increase access, improve quality and decrease costs for our patients, ultimately benefiting the Tampa Bay community, the state and beyond.”

Launched in January 2022, USF Tampa General Physicians is a new organization providing management and support services for the physicians of both USF Health and TGMG. The creation of the organization follows nearly two years of transition planning since announcing the broadened affiliation in July 2020.

Moseley joins USF Tampa General Physicians after having served at USF Health for over five years, most recently as the chief clinical officer for USF Health, associate vice president for USF Health, and vice dean for Clinical Affairs in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. He will retain his academic titles and teaching roles at USF Health.

Through coordinated services, USF Tampa General Physicians will help drive growth, improve quality, and increase access to world-class, academic medical care across the community, as well as serve as a recruiting tool for leading academic physicians from across the country. The new organization will further elevate the national reputation of both USF Health and TGH, which will help attract additional research dollars and support the economic engines of Tampa Bay’s health market.

“I am humbled by the opportunity to be a part of this first chapter of USF Tampa General Physicians,” Moseley said. “Our team members will help to power our physician practices, and provide high reliability, world-class services to our physicians, providers, and patients. USF Tampa General Physicians is the tangible manifestation of the power of TGH and USF Health working together in unison, aligned and united in advancing academic medicine and its benefits for Tampa Bay.”

In his new role at the helm of USF Tampa General Physicians, Moseley will lead the approximately 1,400 team members who have joined USF Tampa General Physicians and serve and support physicians employed by USF Health and TGMG, providing practice infrastructure, clinical management, and related operational and administrative support services. Moseley will also work with private practice physicians on staff at Tampa General to offer purchased services and management services through the new organization.

Moseley joined USF Health in January 2017 to oversee the clinical operations of the faculty practice group and all clinical care that takes place at USF Health, build strategic hospital partnerships, and lead other key areas, including quality, safety, risk, and patient experience. He is also a professor in the Division of Emergency Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine of the Morsani College of Medicine and holds a courtesy appointment as professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management within the USF Health College of Public Health.  He also is a member of the medical staff at Tampa General.

An Ohio native and alumni of the Ohio State University College of Medicine and College of Public Health, Moseley is the first graduate of OSU’s combined five-year MD/Master of Health Administration dual degree program. He completed a residency in emergency medicine at Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Del., serving as chief resident in his final year of training. Moseley came to USF from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, where he served in numerous leadership capacities for 12 years.  Moseley was a core academic faculty member, medical director of the Emergency Department, and vice chairman for Clinical Affairs in OSU’s Department of Emergency Medicine.  His senior leadership roles at OSU were as assistant chief operating officer, medical director for Patient Flow Management, and medical director for Utilization Management.

In the video above, USF Health leaders and frontline workers look back on the successes, challenges and emotions they experienced while dealing with an incredibly challenging year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Their stories include developing testing supplies now used around the world, creating programs aimed at treating vulnerable populations and helping rapidly develop and roll out vaccines against the disease, which Dr. Charles Lockwood, MD, Dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine said “rivals the moon landing.”

USF Health College of Nursing vice dean Denise Maguire, PhD, administers a vaccine shot.

USF Health and TGH patients will provide more complete medical records through the MyChart patient portal in advance of a new federal rule change.

Tampa, FL (Nov. 9, 2020) –Tampa General Hospital and USF Health are now giving patients easier access to their clinical notes, lab results, imaging results and much more via the MyChart patient portal in anticipation of the ONC Cures Act Final Rule (21st Century Cures Act). These changes will give patients greater and faster access to their health information and empower them to be in charge of their health data.

Patients of USF Health and Tampa General Hospital will have this expanded access through their MyChart patient portal accounts.

“This is good news for our patients,” said Mark Moseley, MD, MHA, CPE, FACEP, chief clinical officer and associate vice president for USF Health. “It allows patients to be engaged with their own health care, and access to their medical records is critical to doing that.  While we have always provided our patients with access to lab and test results, we now provide more complete records, including completed notes, and are providing it faster than we have in the past.”

The goal is to provide patients with this greater access in a more automated manner using the Epic MyChart portal and smartphone app, with careful checks and balances in place to assure timely and accurate release of medical information.

“Studies show that when patients have more information available, they are more likely to take action to improve their health,” said Laura Haubner, MD, interim chief medical officer at Tampa General. “We’re pleased to be able to improve access for our patients and help empower them with more knowledge about their own health care.”

This change expands the types of medical records patients receive to include sections of the medical records referred to as notes. This can include notes from consultations, discharge summaries, history and physicals, procedures, and progress notes, as well as imaging narratives, laboratory report narratives, and pathology report narratives.

“Open notes will allow us to partner with our patients in truly unique ways,” said Nishit Patel, MD, associate professor in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and chief medical informatics officer for USF Health and Tampa General Hospital. “With this new effort, notes will evolve from being tools that just document a visit into critical resources that patients can reference after an appointment to help them better understand their diagnosis and treatment plan. Patients can also more easily engage their loved ones to help them achieve their health care goals. The note becomes the ultimate after-visit summary.”

Tampa General Hospital and USF Health began releasing via MyChart expanded clinical documentation related to visits with either organization on Nov. 2, the original implementation date planned for the federal rule change. Once physicians complete the notes and documentation associated with USF Health appointments, TGMG appointments or TGH inpatient care, those details will automatically be sent to the patient’s MyChart account. This more complete documentation will include lab results, imaging results, and pathology results, along with completed notes related to visits with USF Health or Tampa General providers. There is no charge for the release of records within MyChart.

The federal rule change has now been delayed until April 2021, but TGH and USF Health were prepared for the original Nov. 2 implementation date and proceeded with plans to implement the change on this date.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a lasting impact on the way we live, work and interact. Watch Dr. Bryan Bognar, vice dean of the Morsani College of Medicine Department of Medical Education, discuss USF Health’s medical education successes and challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is having a lasting impact on the way we live, work and interact. Watch Dr. Terri Ashmeade, chief quality officer at USF Health, discuss patient safety in the clinics.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is having a lasting impact on the way we live, work and interact at USF Health. Watch Jacqueleen Reyes Hull, Ed.D, assistant vice president for administration at USF Health, discuss how daily life has changed for faculty and staff.

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USF Health medical student Tampa Hutchens discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected medical education and what students and USF faculty have done to keep their medical training on track.

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USF Health Dean of the Taneja College of Pharmacy Dr. Kevin Sneed discusses the role pharmacists play in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Sneed stresses how pharmacists are helping find promising treatments, connecting with patients virtually to go over their medication regimens and further strengthening the healthcare sector’s approach to fighting the pandemic.

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USF Health Dean of Public Health, Dr. Donna Petersen, discusses the importance of public health especially during pandemics like COVID-19. Dean Petersen stresses the importance of following CDC guidelines — washing hands thoroughly, wearing a mask and maintaining social distance — to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19. Dr. Petersen leads the COVID-19 Task Force and lays out plans to reopen USF to students, faculty and staff.

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Nurses protect the health and well-being of patients every day and play an integral role in our nation’s health care system. In the latest USF Health Brief, Dr. Usha Menon, interim dean of the USF Health College of Nursing, discusses the challenges and changes nurses and nurse training face during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Dr. Stephen Liggett, USF Health associate vice president for research, discusses how COVID-19 has changed how research is conducted and the types of conditions researchers work.

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Dr. Deborah DeWaay, USF Health associate dean of undergraduate medical education, discusses the current and long-term changes in medical education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Dr. Mark Moseley, USF Health’s Chief Clinical Officer, discusses how physicians and other health care providers are using telehealth services and technology to remotely care for patients, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In the first USF Health Briefs, Dr. Charles Lockwood, Dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, talks about how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our way of life and access to health care, the lessons the virus is teaching the medical community, and how long it may take before we can safely mingle in large groups again.

USF Health is expanding care within its digestive diseases program, creating a new center focused fully on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The USF Health Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center – the only one of its kind on the West coast of Florida – includes a team of experts providing comprehensive, personalized care to help patients manage this incurable disease and improve their quality of life.

Central to the IBD Center is multidisciplinary care, pulling expertise from a range of specialties to help treat and manage various comorbidities IBD patients may experience. And, as this region’s only academic physician group, USF Health is able to offer the newest treatment options and clinical research.

“Our IBD team is comprised of expert gastroenterologists, advanced colorectal surgeons, and specialized nurse practitioners who work collectively to address the various needs of our IBD patients” said Renée Marchioni Beery, DO, assistant professor of medicine and medical director of the USF Health IBD Center.

“What sets this team apart is its intense focus on IBD as a complex and multifaceted disease that often requires care from multiple providers across different specialties. We approach complex medical and surgical issues, provide high-quality continuity of care, and house a growing research program with clinical trials and data registries that offer the latest advances in the field.”

IBD affects nearly 2 million Americans and encompasses two main conditions, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The disease is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract with periods of relapse and remission.

Expanding the IBD program builds upon USF Health’s established strengths in its nationally renowned Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition. The new Center will continue to care for complex IBD cases, including those associated with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, perianal disease, pouchitis and cuffitis, and ostomy-related complications.

Combining experts from multiple specialties, the USF Health IBD Center team includes expert gastroenterologists, leading colorectal surgeons, advanced practice providers, and specialized dieticians, who provide guidance on medical and surgical interventions, nutritional counseling, ostomy care, social services, and other resources to address and manage the needs of the whole person.

“The concept behind creating our Center is to provide a true medical home for these complex patients,” said Mark Moseley, MD, MHA, CPE, FACEP, chief clinical officer for USF Health and associate dean for Clinical Affairs at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

“Our goal is to ensure that patients never need to leave Tampa Bay to receive the highest quality care. Our experts have the requisite experience and expertise to care for IBD patients in an academic environment that supports education and the discovery of new therapies for these challenging diseases.”

Many patients suffering from IBD will find the need to consult with a surgical specialist, known as a colorectal surgeon. Surgical procedures are sometimes necessary to relieve conditions that are not adequately managed by medication alone. The multidisciplinary team in the USF Health IBD Center has extensive knowledge in IBD-related surgical procedures and interventions, as well as years of practice dedicated to complex IBD cases, and thus provides individualized care toward optimizing timing of surgical intervention.

“At USF Health, we have a team of colorectal surgeons who have specific expertise in managing the surgical aspects of IBD,” Jorge Marcet, MD, professor of surgery and director of Colon and Rectal Surgery in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and co-director of the USF Health IBD Center with Dr. Marchioni.

“Our highly trained surgeons are experts in minimally invasive surgical procedures that reduce pain and hospital stay, and enhance the recovery of patients so they may return sooner to healthier, more productive, and happier lives. The surgeons and gastroenterologists of the USF Health IBD Center, along with other members of the team, meet regularly at the IBD Multidisciplinary Conference to discuss and coordinate patient care. Working in a multidisciplinary team setting, we are better able to understand and manage the intricacies of care and to offer the best possible outcomes to our patients.”

In addition to advanced clinical care, the Center will house a robust research program, offering cutting-edge clinical trials to better understand and manage IBD, and to speed innovations that will help more patients on their paths to wellness.

Among many other attributes for the clinical team is the fact that USF Health’s partner and primary teaching hospital, Tampa General Hospital, is ranked #22 in the nation for gastroenterology and GI surgery by U.S. News & World Report.

USF Health is already a leader in other digestive disease-related areas, including advanced endoscopy, small bowel/lower gastrointestinal motility, liver disease, and the Joy McCann Culverhouse Center for Swallowing Disorders – all of which support the efforts of the IBD Center and its patients.

The USF Health IBD Center team draws physician referrals from around the United States for patients who have not found relief from past treatments for their digestive issues. IBD is a complex disease and often requires care from multiple providers in different specialties, Dr. Marchioni said.

“Patients in our program are able to have continuity of care as we work closely and collectively with the colorectal surgeons, both in clinic and during our conferences,” she said.

“The Center will provide patients with the resources they need to successfully manage their conditions and maintain a healthy quality of life. Our patients are the core of our program, the heart of all that we do. As such, we strive to create individualized treatment plans focused on overall wellness with our patients’ priorities at the forefront.”

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Facts about inflammatory bowel disease

• IBD includes two main conditions, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The disease is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract with periods of relapse and remission. IBD may also manifest symptoms outside the bowel involving the eyes, skin, and joints.
• Common IBD symptoms include persistent diarrhea, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding/bloody stools, weight loss, and fatigue.
• The exact cause of IBD is unknown but relates to the immune system responding incorrectly to various triggers, including environmental triggers, causing dysbiosis of the gut microbiome and gastrointestinal tract inflammation in genetically predisposed hosts.  As there is a genetic component, someone with a family history of IBD may be increasingly likely to develop this condition.
• IBD hits nearly every demographic – the old and the young, male and female, all races, and all socioeconomic groups.
• IBD should not be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), despite sharing some similar symptoms. However, patients with IBD may have IBS overlap. IBS is not caused by overt inflammation, and the tissues of the bowel are not damaged the way they are in IBD. Treatment of IBS and IBD are therefore different.
• Celiac disease also has similar symptoms to IBD, but the cause of celiac disease is known to be very specific – it’s an autoimmune disease characterized by an inflammatory response to gluten, a protein component of most grains including wheat, barley, rye and triticale. Symptoms of celiac disease typically resolve after starting a gluten-free diet.
• IBD is diagnosed using a combination of upper/lower endoscopic procedures with biopsies and imaging studies (abdominal MR enterography or computed tomography). Stool samples are also collected to make sure diarrheal symptoms are not being caused by an infection, and bloodwork is ordered to assess for inflammation, anemia, and/or vitamin or mineral deficiencies.
• Treatment for IBD varies and can include medications, such as aminosalicylates, corticosteroids (in the short-term), immunomodulators, biologic agents and small molecules that have been approved for use in this population. There are also recommended IBD healthcare maintenance items and vaccinations to prevent acquisition of common infections, which are both particularly important in immunosuppressed patients. Severe IBD may require surgery to remove damaged portions of the gastrointestinal tract, although advances in medical treatments have helped to decrease or delay the need for surgical interventions.

This new partnership will offer comprehensive pediatric surgical services for patients in the Tampa Bay community.

Tampa, FL (July 14, 2020) – Tampa General Hospital and USF Health are teaming up with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg to expand pediatric general surgery services at Tampa General Hospital’s Children’s Medical Center. This collaboration will serve to enhance the comprehensive pediatric services already offered at TGH and will provide expanded access to pediatric general surgery interventions for patients and their families.

“We are excited to partner with a world-class pediatric care partner like Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital,” said John Couris, Tampa General Hospital’s president and CEO. “By partnering, we are bringing pediatric general surgery experts from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital together with the TGH Children’s Medical Center team and the pediatric specialists from USF Health and our private practice physicians to create a collaborative environment in which innovative ideas and best practices are shared, our students learn, and our youngest, most vulnerable community members benefit.”

In the new agreement, pediatric general surgeons from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital will provide services to TGH in the areas of pediatric general surgery consultations and procedures, pediatric trauma surgery and prenatal counseling and intervention. In addition, the pediatric general surgeons will work with the TGH team to develop clinical protocols to ensure the highest degree of quality and patient safety related to pediatric general surgery. “We are honored to serve Tampa Bay area families who have pediatric general surgery needs,” said Thomas Kmetz, president of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. “This collaboration with TGH not only expands our specialized pediatric general surgery services but improves access for children throughout Hillsborough County and beyond using the expertise of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital’s pediatric general surgeons.”

In addition to the partnership around pediatric general surgery, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital pediatric general surgeons will open a comprehensive Pediatric General Surgery Clinic on the campus of Tampa General Hospital – inside the USF Health South Tampa Campus – where patients and families can be seen for pre and post-surgical care and other necessary follow-up appointments.

“When a family hears their child must have an operation, pediatric general surgeons are not only counted on to provide unique expertise and quality care for little ones, but also to comfort the families who are understandably stressed and worried,” said Paul Danielson, M.D., Chair of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Department of Surgery. “The Johns Hopkins All Children’s team has extensive experience in pediatric surgery and trauma care and expanding our relationship with TGH will bring great benefits to children in need throughout the community.”

The new partnership provides additional learning opportunities for medical students and graduate medical education trainees to learn from the pediatric general surgeons from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital while consulting with and treating patients at Tampa General Hospital.

“The new relationship ties us closer together and will help demonstrate the power of academic medicine to the Tampa Bay community,” said Dr. Mark Moseley, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “We are all committed to delivering world class care through the academic medical center at TGH, but also to train the next generation of healthcare professionals and make discoveries through research that translate to the bedside.  Our shared commitment to academics makes us unique.”

The partnership between Tampa General Hospital, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital allows for the continued pursuit of excellence in clinical outcomes, quality and patient satisfaction in the field of pediatric surgery. Tampa General Hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital both earned recognition in U.S. News & World Report’s best hospital rankings. TGH was named the top hospital in the Tampa-St. Petersburg Metro Area and Johns Hopkins All Children’s had the most children’s specialties ranked in Florida for the 2020-2021 list.

Drawing on the expertise of regional physicians, including experts from USF Health, U.S. Rep. Ross Spano recently hosted a discussion about the impact telehealth could have during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Rep. Ross Spano (FL-15) hosted a roundtable discussion at USF Health’s Morsani College of Medicine downtown Tampa June 2, with medical professionals, including USF Health doctors, on how COVID-19 has changed telehealth. From left, Dr. Mark Moseley, Dr. Nishit Patel, Dr. Eva Crooke, Rep. Ross Spano, Dr. Charles Lockwood and Dr. Chris Pittman.

Called How Telemedicine Can Help w/COVID-19, the roundtable conversation was held June 2 in the newly opened USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in downtown Tampa.

The event offered an exchange of ideas for how telehealth is impacting patient care during the current COVID-19 pandemic and while patients follow stay-at-home guidelines, and telehealth’s place in future health care offerings once COVID-19 dies down or there is a vaccine.

The physicians represented a range of specialties, offering a better sense for the areas of health care that could make the best use out of telehealth.

Roundtable participants included:

• Eva Crooke, MD, the Women’s Group. Her specialty is obstetrics and gynecology.
• Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine. His specialties are obstetrics and gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine.
• Mark G. Moseley, MD, MHA, CPE, chief clinical officer for USF Health. His specialty is emergency medicine.
• Nishit Patel, MD, FAAD, associate professor and chief medical information officer. His specialty is dermatology.
• Chris Pittman, MD, Vein 911. His specialties are radiology, and venous and lymphatic medicine.
• S. Rep. Ross Spano, Representative of the 15th District since 2019.

What they said…

Dr. Charles Lockwood: “We’ve learned a lot about its limitations and a lot about its potential… It needs to stay because I think it has a place.” On the downside of telehealth: “There’s always the risk of missing something. We depend so much on clues that are often very hard to define. Might be the expression on a patient’s face, it might be a physical exam finding. So you miss that, literally, that physical contact…It’s up to the physician to understand the limits of the technology.”

Dr. Mark Moseley: “One of the things I think is a concern is that it doesn’t apply equally to all specialties. For a practice like psychiatry it works really well. In fact, I think they’re seeing more patients now through telehealth than what they did before. Some specialties like dermatology or ophthalmology, where it’s a highly specialized field or there are parts of the physical exam that require special equipment, just aren’t quite as good. So, it gets to the issue of use cases and if you pick a good use case for the technology the technology enables you to do that. If you pick a poor use case, then that clearly is a risk. Because you might assume you’re able to do everything but you can’t… We’ve learned a lot during that period of time (since telehealth) and some of it is learning what we can and can’t do. And realizing you’re going to have to pick the right use for it. It’s a tool for us, no different than a stethoscope or something we have in our specialties. But if we use the tool incorrectly, that’s when the risk comes in.”

Dr. Nishit Patel: “For dermatologists, one of the things that we do a lot of is skin cancer monitoring for melanomas and for other things. That’s one of the things that, in order to do a really good job, you have to get high-quality photos, and use a special magnifying lens to look at it… Some guidelines exist but with the whole country moving so quickly to telehealth, we’re going to get a lot of good literature out of this to try and expand on what are the appropriate diagnoses and appropriate cases (for telehealth). And the other thing that really important to mitigate some of that potential risk is being able to have the fluid situation between seeing a patient in telehealth and if you need to see them in person. If you already have that existing relationship, you can say why don’t we have you come in …Having that existing relationship for not only telehealth visits but also with a continuum to in-person care.”

Dr. Eva Crooke: “It will definitely not replace what we do in the office. It’s a good adjunct where we can utilize it in addition. It definitely makes for a lot better efficiency. We noticed that as probably the biggest piece in our practice where we can see more patients, they’re satisfaction rates on wait times, without any other piece of their satisfaction scores, is a huge difference. So I think it will be used as a tool intertwined into the way we practice right now, assuming we can keep the barriers minimal.”

Dr. Charles Lockwood provided Rep. Ross Spano with a tour of the new building, which opened in January 2020.

Photos by Allison Long, USF Health Communications.

In the latest USF Health Brief, Dr. Mark Moseley, USF Health’s Chief Clinical Officer, discusses how physicians and other health care providers are using telehealth services and technology to remotely care for patients, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current coronavirus outbreak is not preventing USF Health patients from seeing their providers.

As the pandemic grew last week and most of Florida shifted to working remotely – and many health care facilities halted in-person patient visits – USF Health quickly ramped up its telemedicine capabilities across the faculty practice.

At home, a USF Health patient connects with Jen Farrant, administrator with USF Health Family Medicine.

The effort launched on Monday March 16 and by Friday March 20 most clinics had initiated components of telehealth. From that point on, teams of support staff contacted hundreds of patients to move in-person appointments into telehealth appointments.

“Within a matter of days, our patients were able to get the care they needed using technology to connect with our specialists,” said Mark Moseley, MD, MHA, chief clinical officer for USF Health and chief medical officer for the USF Health faculty practice plan.

“This type of patient experience – using remote capabilities to care for our patients – has been on our horizon for a long while. The current COVID-19 outbreak and the crisis our country is experiencing pushed telehealth to the forefront. Our team did a tremendous job of responding to this adversity and to push forward a functional solution in a little over a week. Simply amazing.”

And patients are accepting this new format, relieved to be able to maintain connections with USF Health providers, he said.

USF Health has been poised for telehealth, but federal guidelines for use was limited. Due to COVID-19, the U.S. Congress lifted restrictions on reimbursement for telehealth through Medicare, opening the technology to widespread use when patients are limited in traveling to get medical care.

Family Medicine administrator Jen Farrant helps a patient connect with USF Health.

While not every patient appointment can be done virtually, most can or at least can be initiated in that capacity with in-person follow up appointments planned.

“There are still conditions and symptoms our patients are experiencing that warrant coming to our clinics,” Dr. Moseley said. “We will still see patients in-person who have urgent medical needs. However, a telehealth appointment for most patients will meet their needs, while mitigating the risk of being out in public during this epidemic outbreak. It’s a prudent starting point for determining the best next steps.”

USF Health, along with the rest of the university, was already using a program for conducting business and academic meetings remotely. Called Microsoft Teams, the program is fairly intuitive, offering both video and audio interaction, and supported by many options for sharing documents, scheduling, and follow up details.

The experience has been well received by patients, said Renée Dubault, chief operating officer and associate executive director of Business Operations for USF Health.

“Patients are saying they are grateful we are making it available and appreciate the option to continue with their care with our specialists,” Dubault said. “Our staff has embraced our expansion of telehealth and the ingenuity that has come about to build this up so quickly has been terrific.”

Most of USF Health’s clinical specialties have added this telehealth component. Visit the USF Health telehealth page for more details. And to find out if your appointment can happen through remote telehealth, contact USF Health at 813-974-2201.

Photos by Freddie Coleman, USF Health Communications and Marketing.