Matt Lyon

Director, MCG- Center of Teleh

Matt Lyon

Director, MCG- Center of Teleh

Professor

Academic Appointment(s)

Medical College of Georgia
Department of Emergency Medicine

Other Duties

J. Harold Harrison Distinguished Chair Telehealth, Emergency Medicine

Associate Dean for Experiential Learning, MCG Academic Affairs, Curriculum

Bio

Bio: Matt Lyon, MD, is the J. Harold Harrison, MD, Distinguished University Chair in Telehealth and Professor of Emergency Medicine. He serves as Associate Dean for Experiential Learning, Director for the MCG Center for Telehealth and the Executive Director of the Center for Ultrasound Education for the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. He also serves as the Virtual Care Service Chief at AU Health. Dr. Lyon is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology (Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering) and of the Medical College of Georgia (MD, 1999). He completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia in 2003.

Dr. Lyon is a well-established clinician, educator and researcher. He has a national reputation as an educator on the clinician use of ultrasound and is a frequent national and international speaker. Much of his research has focused on clinical applications of ultrasound and sickle cell anemia. He has pioneered several new applications for ultrasound, including use of ultrasound for volume resuscitation in critically ill patients, use of ultrasound for respiratory complaints and for traumatic brain injury assessment. His brain injury assessment using ultrasound is experimentally and clinically oriented, receiving federal grant funding and yielding several patents. He has extensive collaborations with industry to bring new devices to the market for brain injury assessment and is currently working with Space X on novel diagnostic tools for Space Flight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome.

Continuing on work that began in the early 2000’s, Dr. Lyon was charged with creating an integrated ultrasound education training program for undergraduate and graduate medical education for the Medical College of Georgia. In October 2016, he was named the Executive Director of the Center for Ultrasound Education. The mission of this Center is to utilize ultrasound as an educational tool, providing a cognitive scaffolding to improve medical education. His curriculum is fully integrated into the 4-year curriculum for all 920 medical students at MCG, as well as approximately 350 postgraduate medical residents from a wide range of specialties at Augusta University Medical Center. The Center provides education to residency programs across Georgia, supporting the Center’s mission. His efforts have produced a novel, nation-leading educational experience for MCG learners across the state. Dr. Lyon also conducts a nationally accredited, post-graduate fellowship training program for clinician performed ultrasound (Advanced Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship) with up to 3 fellows per year.

Beginning in 2018 with funding through a USDA telemedicine grant, Dr. Lyon began a telemedicine program between AU Health and 5 rural Georgia emergency departments, the Tele-ED program. This program aids rural emergency physicians in decreasing transfers to larger cities for time sensitive treatments. The telemedicine system includes the remote use of ultrasound for diagnosing a wide range of emergency conditions and aiding in the rural clinician in the performance of high-risk, low-volume procedures. During the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, Dr. Lyon helped initiate a telemedicine screening program that screened over 20,000 citizens in Georgia and South Carolina for appropriate COVID testing. Since that time, he has helped AU Health expand its telemedicine ecosystem to ambulatory and specialty services and created a medical student telehealth clinic to decrease hospital readmission of patients with chronic medical conditions. The Tele-ED program has been expanded to include inpatient care (Tele-Critical Care) and now includes 16 rural hospitals across Georgia, supporting rural hospital viability and patient centered care. With the importance of telehealth demonstrated by the COVID pandemic, telehealth education will be critical for future doctors. Dr. Lyon has the responsibility of incorporating telehealth into the Medical College of Georgia educational curriculum.

  • (706) 721-2920
  • (706) 721-2030
  • CJ CJ-3101

Education

  • MD, Medicine Medical College of Georgia, 1999

  • BS, Mechanical Engineering Georgia Institute of Technolog, 1995

Certifications

  • Advanced Emergency Medicine Ultrasonography Focused Practice Designation ACEP, 2022

  • Fellow, American College of Emergency Physicians ACEP, 2006

  • ABEM American Brd of Emergenc Med, 2004

  • Diplomat of the American Board of Emergency Medicine ABEM, 2004

  • PHY GA Composite State Board, 2002

  • Physician GA Composite State Board, 2002

  • American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers 2003

Awards & Honors

  • J. Harold Harrison University Chair for Telehealth Medical College of Georgia, 2022

  • Pandemic Activation & Acceleration award American Well, 2020

  • Integration Clinical Champion - Telemedicine American Well, 2019

  • Teaching Excellence Program Award Augusta University, 2019

  • Finalist, Excellence in Research Award American Physical Therepy Association, 2017

Teaching Interests

Emergency and Clinical Ultrasound
Sickle Cell Disease
Emergency Procedures
Traumatic Brain Injury

Scholarship

Selected Recent Publications

  • Clinical Outcomes of a Newly Instituted Hospital at Home Program During the COVID19 Pandemic, 2023
    Journal Article, Academic Journal
  • Development of a Telemedicine Screening Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2022
    Abstract
  • Rapid initiation of nasal saline irrigation to reduce severity in high-risk COVID+ outpatients., 2022
    Journal Article, Academic Journal
  • Ambient Temperature Effect on Prehospital Intravenous Fluid in a Humid Subtropical Climate, 2022
    Journal Article, Academic Journal
  • Implementation of a Telemedicine Student Clinical Experience, 2022
    Journal Article, Academic Journal

Research Interests

Emergency and Clinical Ultrasound
Sickle Cell Disease
Emergency Procedures
Traumatic Brain Injury

Department Service

  • MCG, Emergency Medicine Clinical Competency Committee 2014 - 2023

    Role: Committee Member
  • MCG, Emergency Medicine Program Evaluation Committee 2014 - 2023

    Role: Committee Member
  • MCG, Emergency Department Academic Executive Committee 2010 - 2023

    Role: Committee Chair
  • MCG, Emergency Department Resident Committee 2010 - 2023

    Role: Committee Member
  • MCG, Emergency Medicine Research Committee 2006 - 2023

    Role: Committee Member

University Service

  • PCL Oversight 2023 - Present

    Role: Attendee, Meeting
  • MCG, COC Assessment Committee 2022 - Present

    Role: Committee Member
  • MCG, Curriculum Oversight Committee 2022 - Present

    Role: Committee Member
  • AU, Educational Technology Advisory Committee 2021 - Present

    Role: Committee Member
  • AU, Experiential Learning Leadership Committee 2021 - Present

    Role: Committee Chair

Professional Service

  • Wellstar MCG Health - Ambulatory Operations Committee 2023 - Present

    Role: Committee Member
  • AUHealth Telemedicine Transfer Committee 2021 - Present

    Role: Committee Member
  • AUMA Operations Committee 2021 - Present

    Role: Committee Member
  • AUHealth, Infection Prevention Committee 2021 - Present

    Role: Committee Member
  • SGEA Regional Meeting 2019 - Present

    Role: Other

Public Service

  • Georgia Tech Club of Augusta 1997 - Present

    Role: Member
  • Georgia Legislative Session 2023

    Role: Other
  • Georgia Legislative Session 2016

    Role: Other
  • Georgia Legislative Session 2015

    Role: Other
  • Georgia Legislative Session 2014

    Role: Other