Greetings Northwest Region:

Telehealth 101 Online Training is Now Live: The NRTRC is offering a Telehealth 101 online training course at no cost. For those new to telehealth, or looking for a refresher, this course provides information on how to create and grow telehealth programs. This course offers tools, tips, and lessons learned when setting up a telemedicine program. This course provides 1.75 hour of CME credit. To register, click the “Professional Development” link on the home page of the NRTRC website.

NRTRC Virtual Office Hours: Office hours for the month of March have been canceled. Please see the events section for educational opportunities in the month of March, and stay tuned for a new Office Hours registration link in April.

Telehealth News: The NCTRC Annual Report: In 2020, the NCTRC assisted and educated thousands of stakeholders across our communities, states, territories and nation. In particular, the coronavirus pandemic caused a spike in demand for telehealth technical assistance, information and training. Read the annual report here.  Ensuring Quality in the Era of Virtual Care: Physicians and patients have substantially increased virtual care visits because of COVID-19 pandemic and a relaxation in federal telemedicine regulations, Data show that in April 2020, 13 percent of all medical claims were telemedicine visits. Washington State Lawmakers Consider Audio-Only Telehealth Guidelines: A bill in the Washington legislature would require coverage of audio-only telehealth visits, but opponents say telehealth visits by phone are not secure. AHA Tells MedPAC to Take its Time on Telehealth Coverage Recommendations: The American Hospital Association supports the elimination of geographic site restrictions and coverage for audio-only services, but it says more time is needed to study and set long-term telehealth reimbursement policy. States Make Progress with Telehealth Reimbursement Laws: More than 43 states and the District of Columbia have laws addressing telehealth coverage, but only 22 states have laws addressing telehealth reimbursement. Mobile Health Clinic Addresses Racial Health Disparities and Care Access: A $3.8 million donation to the Mount Sinai Health System will help create a mobile clinic to address racial disparities in urology care in New York. For Medicare Patients, Race Has Greater Impact on COVID-19 than Telehealth: A study by Xtelligent Healthcare Media found that even though Black Medicare patients are better at following Coronavirus safety guidelines, they are still more likely to contract the virus than White Medicare patients.

Upcoming Events & Webinars:

Resilience Skills for Healthcare Professionals (5/5 Part Series): University of Utah Health will offer the fifth event of a five-part series for nurses and other clinical staff who are at risk for anxiety and workplace stress. March 4 at 3 p.m. MST. NCTRC Telehealth Hack - Rehabilitation Services and Early Intervention: The COVID-19 pandemic created a significant barrier for patients needing rehabilitative services. This presentation will cover experiences with therapies delivered via telehealth, tips and best practices for implementing telehealth, and strategies for successful reimbursement. March 10 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. APNA Utah Chapter Conference 2021 (Virtual): Psychiatric Care: A Year in Review: Nurses and advanced practice providers will discuss current legislative issues, strategies to help person experiencing domestic violence, implementing telehealth as a treatment strategies and cultural competency awareness. March 12, 9:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. MST. Strategies to Deliver High Quality Telehealth in Rural Communities: The NRTRC and Comagine Health are hosting a discussion about expanding and sustaining telehealth in rural settings. March 17 at noon, MDT. NCTRC Telehealth Hack - Behavioral Health Services & Early Intervention: This training will help early intervention and infant mental health therapists gain new skills to support early intervention work within the virtual therapy space. March 24, 11 a.m. PDT.   2021 Pediatric Mental Health Symposium: Montana Access to Pediatric Psychiatry Network (MAPP-Net) presents the Pediatric Mental Health Symposium. The event will include local and national speakers on how to serve kids with behavioral healthcare needs. The registration fees are low, and continuing eduction credits are available. March 25 -27.

Telehealth Resources: Professional Development Online telehealth training courses  Emergency Declarations by state for the Northwest Region Updated legislation and regulations for the Northwest Region Grant Funding Opportunities: FCC COVID-19 Telehealth Program: Deadline: TBA Health Center Program Service Expansion - School-Based Service Sites: Deadline: March 22   USDA Rural Community Development Initiative: Deadline: March 22 Evidence Based Telehealth Network Program: Deadline: April 2

Share Your Stories: Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center (NRTRC) and the Washington State Coalition for Language Access (WASCLA) partnered to host a webinar on Feb. 11, to introduce the topics of telehealth and language access services. During the webinar, panelists explained how communication challenges were met, what some of the ongoing issues are, and the benefits of telehealth that merit being made permanent. In addition, first-hand reports were shared from hospital systems in Yakima, Southwest Washington, and metro Seattle, as well as examples from an early childhood development program and communication services for deaf and hard-of-hearing clients.  The NRTRC played an important role in helping WASCLA facilitate the webinar and outline the agenda. With more than 70 participants from across the country, this webinar put the challenges and opportunities of language access to the forefront of people’s minds. Both the NRTRC and WASCLA recognize that building connections between community-based organizations and the telehealth sector is vital to achieve health equity goals.   WASCLA is an education and advocacy organization that works to eliminate language barriers to essential services in Washington and nationally, with health and health care as a major focus. Soon after the pandemic struck, WASCLA began hearing about serious problems for residents with limited English proficiency and for deaf and hard-of-hearing people related to to the COVID-19 response. The NRTRC, WASCLA and the National Technology Telehealth Assessment Center will hold a webinar on language assistance services and telehealth platforms.March 16, 2021. For more information, see the WASCLA website at www.wascla.org.

Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center “This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under G22RH31114, Coronavirus Telehealth Resource Center’s Grant Program 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.”