Advisory Opinion No. 04-07
Issued: June 17, 2004 by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (OIG)

The Arrangement...  In 1992, the Health System began a school-based health center program for low-income children that now operates at 18 locations in rural counties. The Health System has enhanced the school-based health center program by constructing a telemedicine network (the "Telemedicine Network") to link school-based health centers (the "spokes") with various departments of the Health System, a family medicine residency training program, a behavioral health center, a community health department, and school-based health centers (the "hub sites"). Many of the children receiving services in the school-based health centers may be Medicaid or [state redacted] Children’s Health Insurance Program ("CHIP") beneficiaries or eligible for such benefits...Available at the OIG website.

For additional information on this Advisory Opinion, please see the summary provided by CTeL General Counsel, Bob Waters.
 
Advisory Opinion No. 99-14
Issued: December 28, 1999 by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (OIG)

The Arrangement... is a telemedicine network organized by Health System A and ten outlying rural facilities and funded in part through two TGP grants. Health System A is a [# redacted]-bed regional health care center located in City W, State X, serving over [# redacted] persons spread over [# redacted] square miles in [geographical designation redacted] State X and [geographical designation redacted] State Y. Health System A is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable institution consisting of the following subsidiaries: Health System A Hospital (a [# redacted]-bed general acute care hospital and U.S. Designated Regional Referral Center), Hospital B (an [# redacted]-bed psychiatric and chemical dependency facility), [names of subsidiaries redacted], and Health System A Hospital Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable institution whose mission is to support the health care services, research, and educational mission of Health System A. Health System A belongs to Network C, a national health care network. Health System A also participates in a physician-hospital organization with its medical staff and is developing a health maintenance organization to provide services in its service area.  In 1994, Health System A formed the Telemedicine Network with the stated goal of using telemedicine to provide better access to health care services for rural citizens at remote locations without the inconvenience or risks normally associated with travel or delays in treatment. Telemedicine Network's service area includes approximately [# redacted] residents in an area of approximately [# redacted] square miles. Telemedicine Network currently consists of Health System A (the "hub") and [# redacted] outlying rural health care facilities (the "spokes"), including [# redacted] hospitals and [# redacted] rural health clinics.  Available at the OIG website.