June 28 , 2018

 
Earlier this month, the Northeast Telehealth Resource Center was thrilled to host over 200 colleagues (representing all 8 NETRC states and from as far as Alaska, California, and Hawaii) at our 4th Annual Northeast Regional Telehealth Conference. With 36 speakers presenting 24 sessions, we discussed topics ranging from telehealth reimbursement and legal/regulatory considerations, to model programs such as Project ECHO, and clinical specialties that included telehealth for speech-language pathology and obesity management. 

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to making the conference a valuable experience (96% of attendees representing health care organizations who completed the post-conference evaluation [n= 70] said that the information/experiences they gained would help advance telehealth at their organization). We would also like to send special thanks to our Keynote Presenter, Laurie Poole, who shared lessons learned from the very impressive Ontario Telemedicine Network (check out their telemedicine promotional video), as well as plenary speakers Kenneth McConnochie (University of Rochester), Mary Zelazny (Finger Lakes Community Health), and Jonathan Neufeld (Great Plains Telehealth Resource and Assistance Center). If you were not able to attend this year, we hope to see you at our 2019 Conference or at one of the many great telehealth events coming up this fall.

Also this month, several telehealth-eligible funding opportunities were announced. This includes the Expanding Access to Quality Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Services Supplemental Funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers, HRSA's  Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, and expanded funding for the FCC Healthcare Connect Fund.

Finally, we are pleased to share that HRSA's Telehealth Resource Center (TRC) Program was selected as a  2018 Federal Health IT Innovation Award winner! It's a great honor for our program to be recognized for driving innovation and results across the Federal government. Thank you to the Director of the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT), Dr. William England, and our OAT Project Coordinator, Natassja Manzanero, for their leadership and support!

Please see below for our upcoming National TRC webinar, June telehealth news,  a nd a selection of recently published telehealth research and resources

As always, we're here to assist with any of your telehealth questions!

Sincerely,

The NETRC Team
800-379-2021
Upcoming Webinar Webinar
 
Innovation and Impact with Speech Language Pathology Telepractice
Thursday, July 19, 2018 at 2:00pm EDT

Hosted by the Northeast Telehealth Resource Center
Presented by  Michael Towey, MA, CCC-SLP, and  Nathan Curtis, MA, CCC-SLP, Waldo County General Hospital

Michael Towey and Nathan Curtis are two of the nation's most experienced Speech Language Pathology (SLP) Telepractitioners - join us as they share an overview of SLP Telepractice, highlight web-based approaches and how various clinical disciplines can re-purpose "off the shelf programs" and apps to make take-home virtual materials which allow children and families to extend treatment on their own devices at home and in other settings, and how these methods help improve engagement and outcomes. They'll cover bedrock clinical principles applied to telepractice and techniques to engage a variety of age groups. They'll also include clinician and e-helper competencies, coaching within telepractice, highlight key program results (NOMS), and share patient, caregiver and e-helper feedback.

June Telehealth NewsNews

The National Law Review, June 27, 2018
Connecticut has passed a law to allow  providers to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine for the treatment of psychiatric disabilities or substance use disorder, including medication assisted therapy.

mHealth Intelligence, June 26, 2018
The FCC voted unanimously to increase a rural healthcare fund designed in part to help providers improve and expand broadband capabilities to enhance telehealth and telemedicine services.
HLB News, June 21, 2018
This client alert summarizes two recent telehealth-related actions by the Office of Inspector General, including an Advisory Opinion for an FQHC look-alike proposal for providing free telemedicine equipment and services.
mHealth Intelligence, June 19, 2018
The American Teledentistry Association, launched in May, aims to be a resource for dentists and orthodontists who want to use telemedicine to expand their reach and treat underserved populations.
AMA Wire, June 15, 2018
The AMA Digital Medicine Payment Advisory Group has submitted three new Remote Physiological Monitoring codes to the CPT Editorial Panel.

mHealth Intelligence, June 12, 2018
New CMS guidance urges state Medicaid directors and healthcare providers to use telehealth and telemedicine platforms to tackle the nation's opioid abuse epidemic.

Healthcare Dive, June 4, 2018
Telehealth can improve healthcare quality, but success varies depending on where and how it's used, according to a report prepared by the  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The National Law Review, June 1, 2018
Effective June 11, 2018, all Department of Veterans Affairs health care providers will be able to offer the same level of care to all beneficiaries regardless of the beneficiary's or the health care provider's location.

Recent Telehealth Research & ResourcesResources
Powell RE, Stone D, Hollander JE. JMIR Med. Inform. 6(1):e10, 2018  
Scott Kruse C, Karem P, Shifflett K, et al. J. Telemed. Telecare 24(1):4-12, 2018

Quanbeck A, Gustafson DH, Marsch LA, et al. J. Med. Internet Res. 20(1):e37, 2018

Molfenter T, Brown R, O'Neill A, Kopetsky E, Toy A. Int. J. Telemed. Appl. 2018:3932643, 2018
Liddy C, Moroz I, Afkham A, Keely E. Annals Fam. Med. 16(2):120-126, 2018

Leveraging behavioral health expertise: practices and potential of the Project ECHO approach to virtually integrating care in underserved areas
Hager B, Hasselberg M, Arzubi E, et al. Psychiatr. Serv. [epub ahead of print], February 2018

Using ECHO clinics to promote capacity building in clinical supervision
Chaple MJ, Freese TE, Rutkowski BA, et al. Amer. J. Prev. Med. 54(6S3):S275-S280, 2018

Proposed competencies for providing integrated care via telepsychiatry.
Crawford A, Sunderji N, Serhal E, Teshima J. J. Tech. Behav. Sci. 2(1): 1-4, 2018

Telebehavioral health: The ROI for long-term care
Rossiter L, Austin W, Gammon J. Healthcare Financial Management Association, Feb. 2018