February 2015 
 

More snow is on the way to the northeast, but we are looking forward to a busy (and hopefully warm) spring! We begin a new season of conferences with the inaugural Connect. Care. Communicate. Conference in Las Vegas on March 9 and 10. The following day, we will be meeting with the National Telehealth Resource Centers and the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers to discuss telehealth's role in improving addiction treatment and recovery services. Several more conferences are scheduled for later in the spring, including HIMSS and ATA. We hope to connect with you at one of these! 

Earlier this month, we sent an update on legislation in New York with the Center for Connected Health Policy, including background on a bill recently signed by the Governor. We are excited to watch as legislation progresses in other states as well. This includes bills introduced in Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and others still to come. Of special note, there will be a public hearing for Connecticut SB 467 on February 23, 2015.

NETRC also recently announced that our 2015 Regional Telehealth Conference will be on September 23 and 24. We would love to hear what's important to you as we develop this year's theme and agenda. Please complete this short survey to help guide us.

As always, please contact us with any questions!

Sincerely,

The NETRC Team
Featured Webinar

National Telehealth Webinar Series

Presented by: Garret Spargo, Director, National Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center

The public found its mobile devices, cloud-based services, and corporate infrastructures under
highly visible attack this year. This presentation addresses the threats we faced, what this means
for telehealth organizations, and best practices for staying on top of a changing threat landscape.

TOMORROW, Thursday, February 19, 2015, 2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

 
Additional Webinars

 

Telehealth Index: 2015 Consumer Survey 

American Well

Thursday, February 19, 2015, 3:00 - 4:00 PM EST

 

Building a Business Case for Telemedicine
Avizia 

Presenters: Alan Pitt, Avizia Chief Medical Officer and Professor at the Barrow Neurological Institute and Kerrie Hora, Avizia Director of Business Development

Friday, Febraury 20, 2015, 10:00 - 11:00 AM EST

 

This Month in Telemedicine

American Telemedicine Association

Presenters: Jonathan Linkous, Chief Executive Officer and Gary Capistrant, Chief Policy Officer

Tuesday, Febraury 24, 2015, 2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

 

Funding for Collaborative Healthcare and Education

Polycom

Presenters: Cindy Morton, Chief Operating Officer, California Telehealth Network and Michelle Carlisle, Director of Distance Education, East Central Ohio Educational Service Center

Tuesday, February 24, 2015, 2:00 - 3:00 PM EST

 

Medicare Telehealth Policy
National Telehealth Webinar Series

Presenter: Aaron Fishback, Policy Coordinator, Office of Rural Health Policy (HRSA)

Thursday, March 19, 2015, 2:00 - 3:00 PM EST  

 
Upcoming Conferences

Language Access Network and Carenection
March 9-10, 2015, Las Vegas, NV

Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center
March 29-31, 2015, White Sulphur Springs, WV

DTC Telemedicine - What's Next: Policy, Innovation, and the Markets
The Robert J. Waters Center for Telehealth and e-Health Law
April 9-12, 2015, Washington, DC 

Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society

April 12-16, 2015, Chicago, IL

 

ATA 2015: Annual Telemedicine Meeting and Trade Show

American Telemedicine Association

May 2-5, 2015, Los Angeles, CA
 
RECENT TELEHEALTH NEWS
Content compile by Michael Edwards, NETRC Consultant
Telehealth Policy News

The Tennessean, Sen. Bill Frist, February 6, 2015

Last year, Tennessee became the 21st state to enact "telemedicine parity" legislation requiring that insurers reimburse licensed health care providers for services delivered remotely just as they would for in-person visits. Here U.S. Senator Frist, who is also a surgeon, argues that such policy change helps telemedicine fill the gap in the Affordable Care Act, namely that access to health insurance does not equal access to health care.

 

Is a phone call good enough for telehealth?

mHealth News, January 28, 2015

The Dallas-based telehealth provider Teladoc has been forced to stop delivery of telephone-based telehealth services in Texas, Idaho, and Arkansas over state laws or medical board actions that prohibit the telephone contact as the initial primary point of contact between doctor and patient. Other telehealth providers have generally steered clear of any confrontation by either declining to do business in certain states or by focusing on a video-based telehealth service.

 

Groups comment on draft bill to increase telehealth access

iHealthBeat, January 28, 2015

Several health care groups have submitted comments on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's draft telemedicine bill, called "Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare", which would allow broader reimbursement coverage if doing so addresses unmet medical needs or reduces costs. Among much support by health organizations, the American Hospital Association finds the proposal does not address technology limitations in the Medicare program nor how remote monitoring will be paid for.

 

How New York lawmakers smoothed a path for health care breakthroughs

Albany Business Review, January 5, 2015

The recent enactment of a law by New York State paves the way for parity in private health insurance reimbursement of health care services delivered by telehealth. This story provides a background on ongoing private health insurance initiatives in telehealth within the state and support of the law by Healthcare Association of New York State.

 
News on the Practice of Telemedicine

Healthcare Technology News, February 12, 2015

The School of Nursing & Health Sciences at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is teaming up with Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth to integrate training on telehealth into its curriculum for nurses and other health professionals.

 

The trends, policies and technologies driving telemental health adoption

Public Sector View, January 22, 2015

In the second of a two-part interview, Dr. Marlene Maheu, the Executive Director of the Telemental Health Institute, discusses the key trends and recent policy changes that are favoring a robust growth in the development and delivery of mental health services by telehealth tecnologies.

 

Top ten tech trends: Direct-to-consumer and alternative methods of telehealth take hold

Healthcare Informatics, January 21, 2015

Among the trends featured is the move of Google to join TelaDoc, MDLive, American Well, and others in bringing telehealth services to consumers in their homes or workplace. When someone searches for basic health information, Google will give the consumer the ability to connect with a doctor from respected health care organizations.
 
Major industry changes for telepsychiatry in 2015

Multibriefs, January 20, 2015

A respected telepsychiatry practitioner and leader identifies 10 trends in telemedicine and its policy environment and expectations for growth in telepsychiatry developments in the coming year. 
 
Telemedicine Technology News

Telehealth Push: CT providers want piece of $400M broadband fund

Hartford Business Journal, February 2, 2015

Like other non-profit health care organizations in Connecticut, Community Health Center, Inc, finds that its networks do not have adequate affordable bandwidth to support it uses for telemedicine and information technology. To address this need they have recruited 70 health care organizations to apply as a consortium for funding from the Federal Communications Commission for expanded broadband services.

 

FDA releases draft guidance for mHealth, wellness devices

iHealthBeat, January 20, 2015

FDA recently published two draft guidance documents that outline how the agency would classify low-risk general wellness devices and applications and propose risk assessment-based regulation for medical device accessories. 

 

The future of medicine is in your smartphone

Wall Street Journal, January 9, 2015

Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute, explains how the smartphone is starting to fulfill its capacity to help prevent medical crises such as from asthma, heart failure, diabetes, and suicide,  He projects they will soon revolutionize patient-centered care due to a combination of tracking of medical indicators from wearable sensors, access and contribution to medical records, and expanded options for communication and teamwork with providers.
 
Health Information Technology News

HHS, ONC announce grants to bolster interoperability, health IT

iHealthBeat, February 4, 2015

Recently the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released a draft of its 10-year nationwide interoperability roadmap. In support of this plan, the Department of Health and Human Services announce a new $28 million grant program, which will include funding for states to continue pursuit of state Health Information Exchange programs and to bolster HIT solutions by providers ineligible for the meaningful use programs.

 

Maine initiative uses EHRs to predict ED use, serious health issues

iHealthBeat, February 2, 2015

St. Joseph Internal Medicine in Maine is one of several health systems now exploring the use health data analytics and algorithms to predict when patients will visit emergency departments. St. Joseph is using a new tool developed by Maine's statewide Health Information Exchange, HealthInfoNet, to:predict risks of of a stroke, heart attack, or other serious medical problem from EHR data, thus guiding medical interventions to prevent the outcome.

 

Report: State innovation models plan to invest in health IT tools

iHealthBeat, January 23, 2015

Several states funded by the CMS' State Innovation Models initiative plan to invest more in health IT tools and services, according to analysis of the program by Accenture. Among the projects in two rounds of funding totaling over $900 million, 19 of the states plan to expand the use of telehealth, 15 plan to leverage electronic health records and patient portals, and 14 will invest in data analytics to improve population health.
 
Recent Telehealth Resources


Agboola S, Hale TM, Masters C, Kvedar J, Jethwani K. "Real-world" practical evaluation strategies: a review of telehealth evaluation. JMIR Res. Protoc. 3(4): e75, 2014 htm


Ali SF, Viswanathan A, Singhal AB,, et al.Partners Telestroke Network. The TeleStroke mimic (TM)-score: a prediction rule for identifying stroke mimics evaluated in a Telestroke Network. J. Amer. Heart Assoc. 3(3):e000838, 2014 htm


Center for Connected Health Policy. Remote patient monitoring research catalogue and quality assessment.  National Telehealth Policy Resource Center, Jan. 2015 pdf


Center for Connected Health Policy. State telehealth laws and reimbursement policies report: A comprehensive scan of the 50 states and District of Columbia.  National Telehealth Policy Resource Center, Feb. 2015 pdf


Connecticut Office of Rural Health. Telehealth in Connecticut: Perspectives from home health care providers.  State of Connecticut, July 2014 pdf


Coustasse A, Deslich S, Bailey D, Hairston A, Paul D. A business case for tele-intensive care units.  Permanente J.18(4):76-84, 2014 htm


Di Cerbo A, Morales-Medina JC, Palmieri B, Iannitti T. Narrative review of telemedicine consultation in medical practice.  Patient Prefer. Adherence 9: 65-75, 2015 htm


Landman A, Emani S, Carlile N, et al. A mobile app for securely capturing and transferring clinical images to the electronic health record: description and preliminary usability study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 3(1): e1, 2015 htm


Layton AM, Whitworth J, Peacock J, et al. Feasibility and acceptability of utilizing a smartphone based application to monitor outpatient discharge instruction compliance in cardiac disease patients around discharge from hospitalization. Int. J. Telemed. Appl. 2014: 415868, 2014 htm


Mbuagbaw L, Mursleen S, Lytvyn L, Smieja M, Dolovich L, Thabane L. Mobile phone text messaging interventions for HIV and other chronic diseases: an overview of systematic reviews and framework for evidence transfer. BMC Health Serv. Res. 15: 33, 2015 htm

 

N�gele H, Lipoldov� J, Oswald H, et al. Home monitoring of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators: interpretation reliability of the second-generation "IEGM Online" system. Europace, Jan 6, 2015 [Epub ahead of print] htm


Quashie RY, Lerman AF. The promise of telehealth for hospitals, health systems and their communities.  American Hospital Association, January, 2015 pdf


Thomas SM, Jeyaraman M, Hodge WG, et al. The effectiveness of teleglaucoma versus in-patient examination for glaucoma screening: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 9(12): e113779, 2014 htm


Wootton R, Bonnardot L. Telemedicine in low-resource settings. Front. Public Health 3:3, 2015 htm
About NETRC 
The NorthEast Telehealth Resource Center (one of 14 National Telehealth Resource Centers) aims to increase access to quality health care services for rural and medically underserved populations through Telehealth. Our service area includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont, but we are happy to help no matter where you are located.

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The NorthEast Telehealth Resource Center (NETRC) is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number G22RH22699 (Telehealth Resource Center Grant Program, Office for the Advancement of Telehealth in the amount of $325,000). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.