El Paso nonprofit receives $200K grant for digital health literacy
Gabrielle Lopez
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — As more health information is stored online, an El Paso nonprofit received a $200,000 grant Tuesday to create a lesson plan to teach people how to manage their health information.
Texas Mutual Insurance Company and its health affiliate, Texicare, gave Borderplex Connect the grant.
The El Paso Community Foundation said internet access in El Paso and the Borderland area is uneven. Just in the county, 28% of households earning less than $20,000 don’t have an internet subscription due to cost or connection barriers.
As some of the healthcare people access is online, such as digital appointments and patient portals, EPCF said not having access can limit how people track their care and costs.
Additionally, not everyone understands how to use the internet or modern technology.
With the grant money, Texicare’s CEO, Meredith Duncan, said the nonprofit can teach people how to manage their health information responsibly.
“These programs help teach people how to use technology, how to access their health information and how to make sure they are doing it in a safe way,” said Duncan.
According to a news release, the program will teach people how to use patient portals, set up digital appointments (also known as telehealth) and avoid scams.
Additionally, health workers can use an educational series to train others on using digital health portals.