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CTeL
Brown Bag
Legislation
Update & Outlook
Thursday, Dec. 13
12:00 - 1:30 ET
Check out the Calendar
for the most
Up-to-Date
CTeL Happenings Another way to stay informed about issues facing telehealth.
Participation is FREE!
Register by email at video@choruscall.com or call 412-858-1390 to participate by video, audio, or the internet.
To attend the meeting in person, email your name and contact info to rsvp@ctel.org or call 202.230.5090.
Participation is FREE! But you must register!
Email your questions before and during the event to ctel@dbr.com.
Live | Video | Audio | Web
1500 K Street, NW 11th Floor
Washington, DC
Calendar | RSVP |
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Save the Date
6th Annual
Telehealth Leadership Conference
June 9-11, 2008
(Rescheduled from October)
The Telehealth Leadership Conference (TLC) is an opportunity for leaders and those interested in offering health care services across a distance to hear and interact with experts in telehealth, public policy, and health information technology.
More Information
Coming Soon
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The Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law, formerly the Center for Telemedicine Law is a proven leader in providing legal, regulatory, and public policy analysis on telehealth, e-health, and emerging technologies. CTeL keeps you informed about the latest telehealth and e-health news. Please join our mailing list.
Support the Center by becoming a member, being a sponsor, and attending our programs. Working together we can make difference!
If you know of someone who would enjoy receiving a copy of Inside Washington & Beyond, just let us know and we will be happy to send them a free subscription. Subscription
Brian Rothbart, Researcher
and Writer
JD Dobson, Editor
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Board of Directors
Dale Alverson, MD
Professor, Pediatrics
University of New Mexico
Jana Katz Bell, MPH
Chief Administrative Officer Center for Health & Technology University of California at Davis
CTeL Secretary-Treasurer
Jeremy Bonfini,
Worldwide Digital Health Policy Manager
Intel Corporation
Mary DeVany,
Manager
Avera McKennan Telehealth Network
Karen Edison, MD
Chair, Department of Dermatology and Medical Director, Missouri Telehealth Network
University of Missouri
Karen Rheuban, MD
Professor and Medical Director,
Office of Telemedicine
Univ. of Virginia Health Systems
CTeL Co-Chair, Washington Live! Brown Bag Series
Curtis Rooney, JD
President
Health Industry Group
Purchasing Association
CTeL Co-Chair, Washington Live! Brown Bag Series
Rob Sprang, MBA
Director, Kentucky TeleCare
Univ. of Kentucky Medical Ctr.
Joseph Tracy, MS
Vice President, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network
CTeL Chairman of the Board and
CTeL Co-Chair, Telehealth Leadership Conference
Robert J. Waters, JD
Telehealth and E-Health Law Chair, Government Relations Chair, and Partner
Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP
CTeL General Counsel and
CTeL Co-Chair, Telehealth Leadership Conference
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SEND PRESS RELEASES
Please help CTeL keep the telehealth community informed about the important happenings in our community by sending press releases and notices to CTeL at info@ctel.org. |
Thank you
to our Sponsors!
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November 2007 |
SAVE THE DATE
6th Annual
Telehealth Leadership Conference
June 9-11, 2008 | Washington, DC
Senator John Thune (SD)
and Mary DeVany, Avera McKennan, CTeL Board |
Rep. Jim Ramstad (MN) and Robert Waters, CTeL Counsel
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"This is one of the most
important meetings you will
attend all year."
Joe Tracy
Chair, CTeL
Lehigh Valley Hospital
& Health Network |
The Telehealth Leadership Conference (TLC) is an opportunity for leaders and those interested in offering health care services across a distance to hear and interact with experts in telehealth, public policy, and health information technology.
As an attendee, you offer your real world experiences to in-depth discussions on a variety of key topics, such as
regional health information organization (RHIOs),
pay for performance, licensure, reimbursement, disease management, malpractice, risk management, and home telehealth. Furthermore, you will foster and develop collaborative relationships within and between the telehealth and health care communities.
The conference focuses on methods of educating the public and private sectors on issues facing telehealth. This telehealth conference is different than others you may attend -- you will have an opportunity to actively participate in all of the sessions, which are specifically designed to allow ample time for participants to interact with speakers and network with attendees. The TLC attracts policymakers and policy shapers for this 3-day meeting, which concludes with a breakfast session on Capitol Hill.
What You Can Expect:
- Relevant and timely information on major telehealth issues.
- Commentary by telehealth thought leaders.
- Dialogue with new and old colleagues about the state of telehealth.
- Consensus building on next steps in addressing key issues.
Who Should Attend:
- Telehealth champions and advocates.
- Telehealth leaders, clinicians, administrators, and managers interested in advancing telehealth.
- Clinical and executive leaders who deliver or want to deliver telehealth services.
- Business leaders and professionals interested in creating or expanding telehealth networks.
- Industry professionals wanting to better understand policy implications of telehealth.
- Association staff interested in learning more about telehealth.
- Anyone interested in improving access to care.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Interested in sponsoring the 6th Annual Telehealth Leadership Conference? Contact us at 202.230.5090 or at info@ctel.org. We have a way for everyone to participate.
CTeL... A Leader in Providing Telehealth Public Policy Analysis and Solutions
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As of January 1, 2008 the Inside Washington and Beyond Newsletter will be for CTeL Members ONLY.
Membership benefits include the following:
- Inside Washington and Beyond Newsletter.
- Reduced fees for conferences and workshops.
- Guaranteed participation in our Washington Live! Brown Bags.
- Legislative Updates.
- Opportunity to submit materials for the National Telehealth Resource Center website.
Membership Dues
Membership dues for individuals are $175 per calendar year. Application Form.
Membership dues for Academic Institutions, Nonprofits or Health System Networks are $750 per calendar year and allow up to 3 individuals from the same organization to participate in programs at the same reduced rates. Application Form.
Membership dues for Corporations are $1,500 per calendar year and allow up to 3 individuals from the same organization to participate in programs at the same reduced rates. Application Form.
Sponsorship
- Logos are posted on CTeL website at www.ctel.org and hyperlinked to the homepage.
- Featured prominently in all CTeL promotional materials and events.
- Acknowledged during all meetings.
- Opportunity to distribute materials at CTeL events.
- And much more . . . .
Please email us at info@ctel.org if you are interested in becoming a sponsor.
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National Telehealth Resource Center Update
The National Telehealth Resource Center (NTRC) was created in 2006 through a grant from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in the US Department of Health and Human Services. NTRC’s mission is to advise, educate, and inform telehealth stakeholders and interested parties about the legal and regulatory issues facing telehealth. CTeL has created a website that will serve as the NTRC. The website will be publicly launched soon, but the site is up and can be viewed here. If you have any items you think we should include or ways we can make this site better, please email us at info@ctel.org.
Areas of Service
- Disseminating and analyzing key telehealth information and research on key legal, regulatory, policy, and legislative documents for HRSA grantees.
- Providing training, education, support and technical assistance through workshops and meetings to better inform and educate HRSA grantees.
- Providing tools, tips, facts, and techniques to support HRSA grantees.
Areas of Expertise
- Reimbursement
- Licensure
- Privacy, Security and Confidentiality
- FDA Regulatory Issues
- Telecommunications Legal and Regulatory Issues
- Credentialing and Accreditation
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A number of bills have been introduced in the 110th Congress that deal with telehealth, e-health, and related topics. Below is a recap of recent telehealth legislation. Actual bill language, cosponsors, and status can be found here.
| S. 2175 - A bill, introduced by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), that would use electronic health records (EHRs), telehealth, and other electronic communication to prevent acute asthma attacks. |
| S. 2182 - The Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act, introduced by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), would provide grants to help community mental health systems improve information technology and establish facilities for telemental health in rural and other medically underserved areas. |
| H.R. 3886 - A bill, introduced by Rep. Janice Schakowskey (D-IL), that seeks to optimize the delivery of critical care medicine and expand the critical care workforce through telehealth. This legislation would authorized $5 million in each fiscal year from 2008 through 2013 to carry out telehealth initiatives that would expand the delivery of critical care services in the rural inpatient setting through the use of telecommunications systems. |
| H.R. 4082 - The Long-term Care Quality and Modernization Act, introduced by Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), seeks to improve the quality and access of long-term care by expanding telehealth services to skilled nursing facilities. |
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The Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law has compiled a list of telehealth and health information technology legislation that has been introduced in the 110th Congress. CTeL updates this list regularly. This list is provided to CTeL Members free of charge. To view the list of bills that have been introduced on telehealth and health IT in the 110th Congress, please click here.
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FCC Announces that $400 Million Will be Spent for Broadband Telehealth Grants
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin announced that the Rural Health Care Pilot Program (RHCPP) would be funded at $400 million over three years, a higher number than previously expected.
House, Senate Appropriators Agree to Small Increase in Telehealth Funding
Senate and House negotiators have reached agreement on a compromise version of the appropriations measure to fund the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This measure as currently drafted includes a modest increase for the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT), a federal agency that promotes telehealth development and deployment. While short of the $13.8 million level the Senate had earlier agreed to during floor consideration of the Labor-HHS bill, $7 million represents approximately $200,000 increase over fiscal year 2007 levels for the telehealth agency.
Telehealth Technologies Could Save $4.28 Billion a Year in Health Care Costs
According to a new report from the Center for Information Technology Leadership (CITL), provider-to-provider telehealth technologies could save $4.28 billion in health care costs each year if they were widely adopted in four key settings. CITL examined the overall value of store-and-forward, real-time video, and a hybrid model that combined the two. "As the fees for face-to-face provider services continue to increase, the cost-benefit picture of telehealth improves—while bringing care to patients where they are and when they need it," said Joseph Kvedar, director of the Center for Connected Health.
Telehealth Leaders Tell Congressional Staff that Broadband is Key to Improving Health Care System
Telehealth leaders, during a congressional staff briefing, urged greater utilization of universal broadband for more efficient and effective health care and stressed the importance of remote patient monitoring for chronic conditions, according to a press release by the Alliance for Public Technology. The briefing was part of a series of events produced by the Alliance for Public Technology's Broadband Changed My Life! Campaign.
Continua Health Alliance Releases Guidelines to Increase Telehealth
Continua Health Alliance has released interoperability guidelines in order to promote telehealth, InformationWeek reports. Included in the first set of guidelines are “specification for transporting data, including wirelessly, from remote medical to cell phones, PCs, personal health records systems, and TV set top boxes to systems that can be monitored for medical abnormalities by health care professionals or other caregivers.”
Telepharmacy Targets Rural Patients in Wyoming
The University of Wyoming TriCounty Clinic in Wyoming has opened the state's first telepharmacy to help rural patients avoid traveling long distances to obtain their prescription drugs, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. Under the telepharmacy system, pharmacists in a remote location will choose the correct drug via computer and then dispense it through a vending machine. "We are having nine to ten patients a day who are not having to drive," said Dr. Douglas Parks, a family practice physician. "For a parent who comes in with a sick child, they don't have to bundle up the kid and drive 45 minutes to get medicine."
Rural Virginia Stroke Care Using Telehealth
Bath County Community Hospital in Virginia is going to be using a $1.1 million Health and Human Services (HHS) grant to buy teleradiology equipment that will connect neurologists at three medical facilities to treat rural stroke patients remotely, the News Virginian reports. The equipment will also allow for the transfer of CT, MRI and other scans. Part of the grant will also go towards purchasing a robot, RP-7, which will support the evaluation of stroke patients through teleconferencing. “A stroke neurologist using a laptop and joystick can turn the robot on and work with the physician assessing the patient,’’ said Cynthia Barrigan, executive director of the Virginia Telehealth Network. “This opens up a couple of avenues that are exciting and interesting,’’ said Dr. Rob McMahon of Augusta Medical Center, a neurologist and head of the hospital’s stroke team. “If we can improve dialogue, it will benefit the patient.”
University of California Building Telehealth Center
The University of California-Merced plans to create a telehealth center that will connect four rural health centers in the San Joaquin Valley with remote health care specialists and other state universities, the Fresno Bee reports.
The University of New Mexico is a True Innovator in Telehealth
The University of New Mexico Hospital has been a leader in the telehealth arena for the past 12 years and physicians around the world are looking to the hospital as a model for their own countries, according to the Albuquerque Tribune. Dale Alverson, professor, physician and medical director at the Center for Telehealth at UNM, said “the technology only reached a couple hundred patients in New Mexico in 1995. By 2006, it was available to more than 7,000.”
Canadian Hospital Using Robot
Cape Breton Regional Hospital in Canada is using a robot that allows brain surgeons to consult with doctors, nurses, and patients at another hospital in Canada, according to the Halifax Daily News. “This will enable us to save crucial time in making decisions for patients," said Ivar Mendez, head of Halifax's Brain Repair Center. Currently, these are the only two hospitals in Canada with this technology, but Mendez hopes that more hospitals will obtain this technology.
Rural Heart Patients Receive Treatment from Telehealth Center in India
The Narayana Hrudayalaya Institute of Medical Sciences, one of the largest telehealth centers in the world, in Bangalore, India is offering 24-hour video consultations for heart patients in remote locations throughout the world, BusinessWorld reports. The Narayana Hrudayalaya Institute provides services in approximately 19 countries and has treated over 12,000 patients, free of cost, in the last two years. The program is made possible through the sponsorship of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). |
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