NRTRC November 2022 Newsletter

The NRTRC is offering a practical and interactive course to learn how to apply a well-established framework to systematically improve telehealth services, using quality improvement principles.

Build skill and knowledge and come away with resources to bolster or implement your own telehealth QI trainings.

Space is limited to 35 spots.

Early Bird Cost $125

Session 1: The Model for Telehealth Improvement. January 19, 2023, Noon - 1:30 p.m. M.T.

Session 2: PDSAs - The Heart of Improvement and Data - Your Telehealth Performance Enhancer. February 16, 2023, Noon - 1:30 p.m. M.T.

Session 3: Telehealth Process Improvement Mapping. March 16, 2023, Noon - 1:30 p.m. M.T.

Early Registration

The 2022 Northwest Regional Telehealth Survey: Results are here!

Review the 2022 data to see the trends, opportunities and challenges facing telehealth stakeholders in the Northwest. This is the 3rd Annual NRTRC telehealth survey.

The 2022 Fall State Telehealth Laws and Reimbursement Policies Report by The Center for Connected Health Policy, (CCHP) is now available. This bi-annual report is a summary of the current status of telehealth policy in the states with these new updates taking place between July and early September of 2022.

National Rural Health Day (NOSORH)

The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) sets aside the third Thursday of every November to celebrate National Rural Health Day (NRHD).

HRSA is celebrating National Rural Health Day on Thursday, November 17. This year’s theme is “Advancing Behavioral Health Equity in Rural Communities.”

Join HRSA on November 17:

1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Join in a discussion with HRSA Administrator, Carole Johnson, and other HHS leaders to hear about what the federal government is doing to increase behavioral health equity in rural communities, including substance use treatment.

For more information and a schedule of events,

visit the HRSA National Rural Health

FCC To Release New Broadband Maps

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it will unveil a pre-production draft of new broadband maps on November 18, 2022.

This version is the first release of the map required by the Broadband DATA Act and will begin an ongoing, iterative process that will improve the data submitted by providers by incorporating challenges from individuals and other stakeholders.

For more information about the Broadband Data Collection

News You Can Use

Epidemiology of 30,000 Pediatric Urgent Care Telemedicine Visits in the Era of COVID-19. Telemedicine and e-Health. October 2022. As we continue to better understand relevant quality metrics and outcomes around telehealth, the conclusions of this article provide additional insights into the need to escalate to in-person office visits or trips to the emergency department. The authors’ conclusions are: “In this large series of telemedicine visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer than 10% required escalation to an in-person office visit and fewer than 1% required escalation to an ED.”

Clinician Preferences for Current and Planned Future Use of Telemedicine. Telemedicine and e-Health. September 2022. Conclusion: “Telemedicine continues to be widely utilized by clinicians, particularly those who are confident in their ability to examine patients over video, and who can troubleshoot issues that arise on the platform.”

Patient Preference for Telehealth Background Shapes Impressions of Physicians and Information Recall: A Randomized Experiment. Telemedicine and e-Health. October 2022. Full text of this article is not freely available, but the conclusions are intriguing: “A physician's telehealth background can have measurable impact on patients' telehealth experiences, suggesting a need for careful background selection and design.”

Upcoming Events & Webinars

SEARCH 2022: The National Telehealth Research Symposium will showcase connected health efforts, strategies, and partnerships, specifically those that focus on the research of telemedicine, telehealth, eHealth, mHealth, and other healthcare technologies. Nov. 16–18.

UMTRC Webinar - Improving Quality of Life through AI Utilization for Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis: Even after onset of painful symptoms, many patients experience life-threatening delays in diagnosis of ovarian cancer. As artificial intelligence becomes more ubiquitous in all aspects of life, there are opportunities to utilize it in diagnosis of ovarian cancer to extend life and improve quality of life. Nov. 29, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

2022 RHAU Conference: The Rural Health Association of Utah is very excited to announce the 2022 RHAU Conference: "Returning to Thriving." This event will be held in the Gardner Ballroom at Utah Tech University on Thursday, Dec. 1.

2022 EDGE Policy Conference: The American Telehealth Association's EDGE2022 Policy Conference is focused on the latest in state, federal and international telehealth policies. This year’s conference will take a practical look forward into the next phase of telehealth adoption and explore what’s necessary to overcome policy obstacles. Dec. 7–9.

Do you provide health care or services via telehealth?

NRTRC's telehealth services finder is available to help patients and providers find in-person and telehealth care. Please review your clinic's information or complete the 2022 intake form to ensure that information on your practice and your services is up to date. Click here to update the information on your practice.

Northwest Regional State Telehealth Website Links

Telehealth Resources

Telehealth Tools and Resources: Find up-to-date telehealth tools & resources.

Professional Development: Visit NRTRC's catalog of online telehealth training courses.

The Telehealth Resource Centers have gathered resources specific to Federally Qualified Health Centers. Examples include a Critical Access Hospital Telehealth Guide and a webinar on Telehealth Essentials for FQHCs.

Emergency Declarations: Utah and Washington are the only states in the Northwest Region still under emergency declarations because of the COVID pandemic.

Updated legislation and regulations: Keep up with regulations and proposed legislation for the states of the Northwest Region.

Research: current research opportunities, research articles and survey results.

Grant Funding Opportunities

Refer to the funding page on the NRTRC website for updated grant opportunities.

Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center

“This publication was made possible by grant number UiUTH42531-01 from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS”