Telehealth Programs

Objectives: The purpose of the Telehealth Network Program (TNGP) is to fund programs that demonstrate how telehealth networks improve healthcare services in rural communities. The current cohort is aimed towards promoting rural Tele-emergency services by enhancing telehealth networks to deliver 24-hour Emergency Department (ED) consultation services via telehealth to rural providers without emergency care specialists. The National Telehealth Resource Center Program (NTRC) and the Regional Telehealth Resource Center Program (RTRC) are designed to expand the availability of technical assistance in the development of telehealth services, leveraging the experience of mature programs with expertise in providing and implementing telehealth services. The Licensure Portability Grant Program (LPGP) supports state professional licensing boards to carry out programs under which licensing boards of various states cooperate to develop and implement state laws and related policies that will reduce statutory and regulatory barriers to the provision of health care services through telemedicine technology. The Evidence-Based Direct to Consumer Telehealth Network Program (EB-TNP) current cohort supports the use of telehealth networks to increase access to behavioral health care, primary care and acute care services in rural and frontier communities. While the Evidence-Based Telehealth Network Program seeks to expand access to services for rural patients, the primary goal of the program is to demonstrate how healthcare systems can increase access to healthcare services by utilizing Direct to Consumer technologies and conducting evaluations of those efforts to establish an evidence base for assessing the effectiveness of Direct to Patient telehealth care for patients, providers, and payers. The Telehealth Centers of Excellence (COEs) assess specific telehealth uses, operate as incubators to pilot, track and refine telehealth, examine the efficacy of telehealth services in rural and urban areas and explore new telehealth applications for telehealth research and resources. The programs focus on the delivery and impact of telehealth across diagnosis based projects, numerous care settings and telehealth education and incorporate wide ranging technology and modalities to advance telehealth. Telehealth Technology-Enabled Learning Program (TTELP) purpose is to connect specialists at academic medical centers with primary care providers in rural and underserved areas, providing evidence-based training and support to help them treat patients with complex conditions in their communities. TTELP recipients will develop telehealth technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models (such as Project ECHO, ECHO-like models, distance learning, tele-mentoring, clinical decision support, and other emerging models in the field), and share freely accessible tools and resources that are adaptable to culturally and regionally diverse populations to provide training nationwide to facilitate the dissemination of best practice specialty care to primary care providers and care teams in rural and underserved areas. Telehealth Broadband Pilot (TBP) Program aims to assess the broadband capacity available to rural healthcare providers and patient communities and to improve their ability to participate in telehealth services through cross-agency collaboration. The National Telehealth Resource Center for Technology, Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center (TTAC), will implement the TBP in four state community locations, including Alaska, Michigan, Texas and West Virginia. TTAC will also work to improve rural communities’ access to broadband and telehealth services through existing funding opportunities and grant programs. The Rural Telehealth Evaluation Center (RTEC), a Telehealth-Focused Rural Health Research Center will evaluate the TBP program across all participating communities, including conducting broadband and data analysis.