Greetings Northwest Region:

United States Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care Examines Telehealth's Vital Role for Medicare Beneficiaries Nicki Perisho, NRTRC Director, emphasized the significance of recent leniencies in telehealth regulations and urged the Subcommittee to consider making the relaxed rules permanent for Medicare beneficiaries.   In her testimony, Perisho highlighted the historical healthcare challenges faced by Americans in rural and frontier areas. Perisho stressed importance of eliminating geographical restrictions for where telehealth visits originate, preserving audio-only telehealth visits, expanding provider types and ensuring payment parity for telehealth visits.

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NRTRC 2024 Conference Update The abstract deadline has been extended until Nov. 30, which is also the last day for early bird registration!

Today, Nov. 16 is National Rural Health Day! Join NOSORH and the NRTRC in honoring healthcare providers, communities, and organizations dedicated to addressing the healthcare needs of rural America. Explore the Power of Rural celebration at powerofrural.org.

The Calendar Year 2024 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule has been released! The 2024 Physician Fee Schedule rule finalizes several pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities, including paying higher non-facility rates for telehealth visits and continuing to permit distant site practitioners to use their currently enrolled practice location through 2024 when providing telehealth services from their home. Check out the article from mHealth and watch for a formal summary of rules as they relate to telehealth and for updated NRTRC resources.

NEWS

Fall 50 state policy update — The Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) is releasing its Summary of state telehealth policy changes for Fall 2023. Also available is a summary chart showing where states stand on many key telehealth policies. Connected Healthcare Strategies to Boost Rural Access, Digital Equity: Organizations must ensure that medically underserved populations are not left behind, and health equity remains top-of-mind as connected healthcare efforts proliferate nationwide. Fact Sheet: President Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence: The Executive Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world and more. Telehealth and Broadband: Broadband is needed for many telehealth visits. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) offers Mapping Broadband Health in America, an interactive map showing the intersection of health and broadband. An open comment period seeking feedback on mapping broadband for maternal health closes Nov. 20. 2023 National Telehealth Conference Summary and Sessions: If you missed HRSA’s National Telehealth Conference, you can now view sessions on-demand. The meeting kicked off Telehealth Awareness Week and featured speakers from federal agencies and other telehealth experts who examined the importance of integrating telehealth into standard care. New Telehealth Privacy Resources: The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released two resource documents for providers and for patients to help explain to patients about privacy and security risks to their protected health information (PHI) when using telehealth services and ways to reduce these risks.

Events to Bookmark in 2023

November Telehealth in Libraries: This webinar will explore how libraries are becoming hubs for telehealth, offering innovative programs, resources, and services that connect individuals to healthcare professionals, promote wellness, and bridge the digital divide. Nov. 16, noon-1 p.m. Trailblazing Healthcare Education: Digital Innovation, Telehealth, and Training: The session will discuss the importance of incorporating telehealth training into healthcare education programs, and how this can prepare students to deliver high-quality care in a digital age. We will also examine the benefits and challenges of telehealth training, as well as the latest tools and resources available to educators to create effective telehealth training programs. Nov. 21, 1 p.m-2 p.m. December 2023 ISfTeH Global Connections for Sustainable Telehealth Conference: This event is for everyone interested in the latest developments in telehealth. CEOs, healthcare executives, government officials, global stakeholders, physicians, and other healthcare providers will have the opportunity to network and discuss the sustainable expansion of telehealth in national and international markets, Dec. 3–4. CTRC Office Hour – Payment and Regulatory Update for 2024: Advancing Equitable Access to Digital Health: This session will provide 2024 Medicare & Medi-Cal Telehealth and Remote Physiological Monitoring coverage updates, featuring expanded coverage for RPM and Social Determinants of Health Screening. Dec. 19, 1 p.m.–2 p.m.

Do You Provide Health Care or Services via Telehealth?

NRTRC's Find Telehealth is available to help patients and providers find in-person and telehealth care along with locations to have telehealth visits. TAPs can be viewed by turning on the TAPs button on the map.  Click Here to Update Information on your Practice  Click Here to Add a TAP

Check out NRTRC’s   End-Of-The-Telhealth-PHE Checklist Critical Access Hospital Telehealth Guide The Chronic Care Management and Principal Care Management Implementation Document Telehealth Services and Codes table

Northwest Regional State Telehealth Website Links Alaska Collaborative for Telehealth and Telemedicine Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Montana Telehealth Alliance Telehealth Alliance of Oregon Utah Telehealth Network Washington State Telehealth Collaborative Washington State Department of Health Wyoming Telehealth Network

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.  Emergency Declarations: Utah is the only state in the Northwest Region still under an emergency declaration because of the COVID pandemic. It is set to expire when the national PHE expires. PHE ENDED MAY 11, 2023  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.

Telehealth Triumphs Our partnership with the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers brings an important dimension to our mission, and we are pleased to offer a robust platform to amplify and support the TRCs’ critical work implementing telehealth programs in rural and underserved communities.   From Telehealth Awareness Week to regional TRC events around the country, together we are creating opportunities to advance telehealth education and expand access to needed virtual care services. Experts from the TRCs are actively involved in our Special Interest Groups (SIGs), adding valuable perspective, expertise and real-world insights to a variety of projects and publications. And we are thrilled to feature the TRCs at our Nexus annual conference, fostering broad collaborations with our members and industry stakeholders, and adding their voice to pivotal discussions.  We applaud HHS and HRSA for their foresight and commitment to building sustainable telehealth programs and improving health outcomes for rural and underserved communities through the work of the TRCs. The ATA is privileged to partner with the consortium, and we look forward to expanding our work together.  Ann Mond Johnson, CEO, the ATA

NRTRC on YouTube NRTRC’s 2022 11th Annual Telehealth Conference video sessions are free to view. If you were unable to attend, or want to watch your favorite sessions again, visit NRTRC’s YouTube page.

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”