Indian Hill High School junior Eshaan Gandhi is no stranger to the field of medicine. His parents are both physicians, so Gandhi was aware of issues within the healthcare system that evolved during COVID.
“The COVID pandemic affected everyone in many ways,” said Gandhi. “Due to the local and state mandate, my parents started seeing patients via telemedicine. Physician offices were short staffed, healthcare workers were being diagnosed with COVID by the day, many of whom were unable to return because of isolation restrictions.”
Gandhi said he heard his parents discussing patients in need of talking to physicians, getting refills for medications, and staying in the loop with their health-related status. The situation inspired him to think about ways he could help through communication. With the assistance of a team of TriHealth physicians, and through the volunteer service department at Bethesda North, Gandhi started to make an impact.
“I soon learned about Epic, an electronic medical record database that has an app called MyChart which could help with the problem at hand,” said Gandhi. “The main issue with MyChart was that many people did not know how to navigate it. Over time, I learned how to use the app and started teaching patients one-on-one at Bethesda North Hospital.”
Gandhi said he received feedback from multiple physicians that the education program led to significant improvement in communication between the physicians and patients at Bethesda North.
“I still continue to do MyChart education even to this day, and I am getting ready to launch extensive education campaigns in community places like churches and community centers,” said Gandhi. “Trihealth will help open opportunities for student volunteer work in medical settings.”
Photo caption: Indian Hill High School junior Eshaan Gandhi teaching a lesson on how to use the MyChart system.