TELEHEALTH BEAT
HTRC's monthly telehealth bullein
Distance counseling in higher education
The Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA) recently published a guide for colleges and universities considering implementing a telemental health, or distance counseling program, in their institution. Distance counseling uses technology to connect mental health professionals and patients separated by distance. Distance counseling has a number of unique advantages including equalizing access to students who may not be able to ask off work or drive to an in-person session. It can also increase clinical capacity and make mental health more accessible.

“The purpose of the guide is not to be a how-to document. With the case of telemental health it is changing every day. The technology is changing every day, the best practices are changing every day. The document instead was designed to guide institutions through the steps that they can use to make an intentional decision about whether offering telemental health services is right for the institution and for its various constituencies,” said Dr. Tina Alessandria during the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers’ webinar about these new guidelines, hosted by Heartland Telehealth Resource Center.

The guidelines cover practicing across state lines, maintaining HIPAA requirements, proper insurance coverage and many of the other benefits, limitations and practical considerations when it comes to distance counseling within higher education institutions. 

“The Higher Education Mental Health Association has done a phenomenal job providing a really useful resource for university and campus settings,” said Dr. Larry Long, director of Counseling and Educational Support Services at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Long shared about some of the challenges of providing distance counseling in a campus located mere blocks away from the state line, but said some of these challenges have been alleviated as guest practice laws have proliferated over the past two years.

For more information about distance counseling in a university or college setting, consult these resources:

Or, contact HTRC at 877-643-HTRC.
EVENTS
Telemedicine: A Provider's Prospective
HTRC Webinar
June 4, 2019
12-1 p.m.

This month you'll hear about how the Ellsworth County Medical Center started their telehealth program through a partnership with the Hutchinson Clinic. Now they are offering 37 specialties through telehealth and have seen improved outcomes in their patients!

Upcoming webinars:
July 2 - Preventing Provider Burnout through Telehealth
August 6- Telehealth Technology Showcase

National TRC Webinar:
School-Based Telehealth Center of Excellence
June 20, 2019
1-2 p.m. CDT

Hosted by: Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center
Presented by: Amanda Martin, MHA

The Center for Rural Health Innovation is working in collaboration with the Mid Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center and the School Based Health Alliance, in order to compile and distribute a registry of telehealth programs across the country. This presentation will offer an early view of the online tool as well as highlight the challenges of determining what is a best practice and what is the exact scope of this field.
 
SAVE THE DATE
Telehealth Alliance of Oklahoma Telehealth Summit
August 27-28, 2019
Norman, Okla.

Save the date for the Telehealth Alliance of Oklahoma (TAO) Telehealth Summit August 27-28 at the Norman Regional Health System in Norman, Okla. Registration information will be posted on the TAO website: https://taoklahoma.org/ .
 
NEWS
ECHO superhub
Oklahoma State University (OSU) Center for Rural Health has recently been designated as a Project ECHO Superhub. There are ECHO Superhubs across the country that serve as an implementation team for new hubs. Earlier in the evolution of Project ECHO, all training had been performed by the flagship ECHO at the University of New Mexico. ECHO Superhubs train and support new and existing hubs in their respective regions. Another HTRC partner, Missouri Telehealth Network, was designated as an ECHO Superhub in 2016.