Telemedicine, Telehealth, and the TIE

New Home Telehealth Primer Now Available on TIE

2008-07-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

A new Home Telehealth Primer has recently been published on the TIE's article section. The Home Telehealth Primer provides an overview and introduction to the use of telecommunications technology to provide care services to a patient in their home. It includes information on technology, patient assessment, and Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement polices.

The Telemedicine Information Exchange welcomes submissions of original articles on topics appropriate for this website. Possible subjects might include commentary on telemedicine/telehealth issues or policy, reports of current research projects, or new applications of telemedicine/telehealth.

Contributors Sought for Handbook on Knowledge Management in Telemedicine

2008-07-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

Writers working in telemedicine and knowledge management as researchers and practitioners are invited to submit book chapters for a handbook be published by IGI Global. The Handbook of Research on Knowledge Management in Telemedicine: Advanced Ethics, Policy and Regulatory Applications will cover a wide range of topics from early adopters of Telemedicine to the latest innovation and futuristic tele-robotic technologies.

The Overall Objectives of the Book:

The book aims to provide relevant theoretical frameworks and latest empirical research findings in the area. It is written for professionals who want to improve their understanding of the global significance of Telemedicine and apply it in their profession. Since Telemedicine is expected to provide a strategic thrust at different levels of the global information and knowledge society and bridge the knowledge gaps in developing nations, the book addresses the all important ethics, policy and regulatory applications in a detailed and comprehensive fashion.

The Target Audience is professionals and researchers working in the field of information and knowledge management in various disciplines, e.g. library, information and communication sciences, administrative sciences and management, education, adult education, sociology, computer science, information technology. Moreover, the book will provide insights and support decision-makers at local, regional, national and international levels to implement Telemedicine initiatives in their country to advance quality of healthcare, medical education and research and elevate the overall health and well-being of society and communities.

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

* History And Evolution Of Telemedicine
* Internet, Semantic Web And Telemedicine
* Telecommunications And Telemedicine
* Information Technology And Telemedicine
* Devices, Equipments, Instruments And Accessories And Telemedicine

Medical Applications of Telemedicine:

* Global Ethics And Telemedicine
* Local, National And International Policies In Telemedicine
* Total Quality Management In Telemedicine
* University- Industry Alliance In Telemedicine
* Tele-Robotics- Theory And Applications
* Biomedical Ontology: Theory And Applications
* Data mining Applications For Telemedicine
* Decision Support Systems For Telemedicine

Submission Procedure:

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit chapters by August 5, 2008 and will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. The book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global, www.igi-pub.com, publisher of the IGI Publishing (formerly Idea Group Publishing), Information Science Publishing, IRM Press, CyberTech Publishing and Information Science Reference (formerly Idea Group Reference) imprints.

Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) or by mail to:

Dr. Jayanth G Paraki
Telemedicine Research Laboratory, India
jparaki @ gmail.com

Or Dr. Lawrence Wasserman USA
Health Knowledge Management Consultant
Fortech1 @ usa.net

(Source: IGI Global Press Release)

Forthcoming Report Says Home Telehealth Market Is $5.6 Billion and Expected to Grow by 70%

2008-05-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

The home telehealth and remote patient monitoring market is currently close to a $5.6 billion level and will continue to grow at close to 70% for at least the next three to five years, according to a new strategic report published by Insight and Intelligence, a Mary Ann Liebert company. Insight and Intelligence interviewed industry leaders, conducted surveys, utilized government and other agency databases, as well as reviews of published literature to provide an in-depth look at the home telehealth and remote patient monitoring market segment of the telemedicine industry.

The healthcare provider market segment (companies that provide telemedicine services to health care providers) is represented by a number of small to medium-sized companies with average annual revenue of approximately $6.6 million. These companies' combined average revenue growth, however, is significant, approaching 72%. Consumer companies (defined as companies that provide services directly to the consumer) tend to be larger with combined average annual revenue of approximately $121.3 million. Their combined annual revenue growth is even more explosive than that of healthcare provider companies, with a combined average range of 118.5% to 193.5%.

The full report will be available in late June from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

(Source: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Press Release, May 22, 2008)

New Economic Analysis of Email-Based Telemedicine Available

2008-05-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

Email-based telemedicine has been reported to be an efficient method of delivering online health services to patients at a distance and is often described as a low-cost form of telemedicine. A new study by researchers at the Center for Online Health at the University of Queensland, Australia, finds that the service may be low-cost if the healthcare organization utilizes their existing email infrastructure to provide their telemedicine service. When the workload exceeded 5216 email consultations per annum, there were savings made when a purpose-written email application was used.

The full analysis was published by the open access journal BioMed Central and the full report is available for free download [pdf].

(Source: BioMed Central, May 22, 2008)

International Telemedicine Nonprofit Organization to Treat 30,000 Child

2008-05-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Medical Missions for Children charity (MMC) recently announced that will treat its 30,000th child via telehealth in June. The organization has created what it calls the Global Telemedicine & Teaching Network to enable U.S.-based doctors to consult with foreign pediatric physicians through a distance-medicine network called the Telemedicine Outreach Program so they can help diagnose and treat children worldwide. Technology also has allowed MMC to expand its services to include educational content for health care providers and patients in multiple countries.

Read more here.

Implementation of Home Telemonitoring for Chronic Disease: New Article on the TIE

2008-04-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

A new article on a case study for implementing a home telehealth program has recently been published on the TIE's article section. The article summarizes a study to query the sequence of medical professionals, hospital liaisons, quality controls, and home health nurses about the implementation of telemonitoring. It looks at what barriers stood in the way of a telemonitor protocol from becoming the standard of practice, and what changes where deemed necessary to implement this technology.

The Telemedicine Information Exchange welcomes submissions of original articles on topics appropriate for this website. Possible subjects might include commentary on telemedicine/telehealth issues or policy, reports of current research projects, or new applications of telemedicine/telehealth.

Telehealth Community Asked to Urge Congress to pass the Medicare Telehealth Improvement Act, S. 2812

2008-04-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

The telehealth community is asked to urge Congress to pass the Medicare Telehealth Improvement Act, S. 2812. This federal telehealth legislation was introduced on April 3 by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and is currently co-sponsored by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and John Thune (R-SD).

S. 2812 would expand the existing Medicare telehealth program in several important ways.

First, the bill would increase the list of eligible originating sites to include skilled nursing facilities, dialysis centers and community mental health centers. In addition to improving care in these facilities, there are significant cost savings achieved by avoiding transporting medically fragile patients.

Second, S. 2812 would expand the list of authorized providers in the Medicare telehealth program to include physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists and diabetes educators.

Finally, S. 2812 would improve the process of reviewing services to determine if they are appropriate for Medicare telehealth reimbursement by creating an advisory committee of practicing telehealth providers. Medicare would retain the final decision making authority, but they would have the benefit of the advice of actual telehealth providers.

Please contact your 2 U.S. Senators and urge them to co-sponsor S. 2812.

Still Time Left to Apply for Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant

2008-04-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

The deadline for applying for a 2008 grant for the USDA Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program (DLT) is April 14, 2008. The DLT Grant Program was authorized by the 1990 Farm Bill to provide grants to rural schools and health care providers. The DLT Grant Program is specifically designed to meet the educational and health care needs of rural America through the use of advanced telecommunications technologies. Paper copies of grant application must be postmarked and mailed, shipped or sent overnight no later than April 14, 2008 to be eligible for FY 2008 grant funding. Late or incomplete applications will not be eligible for FY 2008 grant funding. Electronic copies must be received by April 14, 2008 to be eligible for FY 2008 grant funding. More information and the FY 2008 DLT application materials may be obtained from and from the DLT website or by contacting the DLT Program at (202) 720-0413.

Please see the TIE's Telemedicine Funding News Page for the latest news about grants and other funding opportunities.

Telehealth Community Urged to Take Grassroots Action on OAT Funding

2008-03-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

Congress is currently in the process of drafting appropriations legislation to provide federal spending for fiscal year (FY) 2009, which will begin on October 1st of this year. Last year, the telehealth community galvanized a strong grassroots advocacy campaign in support of increasing funding for the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT). Hundreds of individuals and institutions contacted Congress urging that OAT funding be increased. These grassroots efforts resulted in the Senate voting to approve an amendment boosting OAT funding from $6.8 million to $13.8 million. While this increase was unfortunately not retained in compromise negotiations with the House of Representatives, the Senate vote was proof that Congress will act to support telehealth when they hear from constituents in their states and districts. Members of the telehealth community are urged to reach out to Congress and urge that telehealth receive the support it deserves. A $13.8 million budget for OAT will significantly advance telehealth in the United States. If you are willing to have your name added to the list of those supporting an increase in telehealth funding, please send an email to info@telehealthleadership.org including your name, title, organization, and address. This information will be used to add your name to the letter. Please also contact your two senators and urge them to add their names to a joint letter being circulated by Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Sen. John Thune of South Dakota urging that telehealth funding in the FY 2009 Labor-HHS bill be raised to $13.8 million. With the telehealth communities grassroots efforts, funding for this critical telehealth agency can be increased. (Source: Bob Waters, Partner and Chair, Telehealth, E-Health Law & Government Relations Groups Drinker, Biddle & Reath, March 21, 2008)

New Telehealth Industry Magazine Launches

2008-03-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

TeleHealth World is a new print magazine serving the rapidly expanding fields of telehealth, telemedicine, and connected healthcare. It is a comprehensive news and analysis resource for healthcare providers and technology providers who are leading today’s revolution in remotely monitored and administered healthcare, medical treatment and fitness/wellness enhancement. TeleHealth World helps professionals involved in telehealth, telemedicine and fitness/wellness keep abreast of the latest developments, innovations and market news, including new advancements and installations of telehealthcare and telemedicine systems. Learn how organizations are expanding their capabilities for remote diagnostics, patient monitoring, medical treatment, wellness programs and healthcare delivery.

Telemedicine and Telehealth Federal and Legislative Update

2008-02-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

A federal and legislative update for telehealth was published is now available on the TIE's article page. It gives a brief overview of current bills, congressional committees, subcommittees, federal agencies, and state legislation that involve telehealth. It was compiled by Carolyn Bloch, publisher of the Federal Telemedicine News.

2008 Telemedicine Meeting Schedule

2008-01-21T10:58:00.000-08:00

We've recently updated our calendar of telemedicine and telehealth meetings for 2008. If you're hosting an event, or if you know of a meeting that we've missed, please bring it to our attention.

Medicare Reimburses for Neurobehavioral Telehealth Exams

2008-01-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) recently announced in that the neurobehavioral status exam (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code 96116) has been added to the list of Medicare telehealth services. Previously, CMS determined that, if the eligibility criteria, and conditions of payment are satisfied, the use of a telecommunications system may substitute for a face-to-face, "hands on" encounter for consultation, office visits, individual psychotherapy, pharmacologic management, psychiatric diagnostic interview examination, end stage renal disease related services, and individual medical nutrition therapy.

When billing this code as a Medicare telehealth service, you must append modifier GT ("telehealth service via interactive audio-video telecommunication system"), and all other criteria for telehealth reimbursement under Medicare must be met as set forth in the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual (Publication 100-02, Chapter 15, Section 270) and the Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Publication 100-04, Chapter 12, Section 190).

HCPCS code 96116, neurobehavioral status exam, involves clinical assessment of thinking, reasoning and judgment per hour of a psychologist's or physician's time.

ATSP Teleconference on Medicaid and Home Telehealth to be held November 7th

2007-10-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Association of Telehealth Service Providers (ATSP) will present the issues and recent developments in the use of home telehealth within the Medicaid population. The teleconference will take place on November 7th at 1:30 pm Eastern. The teleconference is part of the ongoing ATSP TeleUpdates series that presents live audio conferences on important specific topics within the telehealth industry.

Home telehealth technology has been shown to be very effective with large populations needing frequent contact and management for usually multiple chronic diseases and conditions. Eighty-three percent of the Medicaid budget is devoted to persons living with chronic diseases and conditions. The excessive cost of more than $300 billion annually for the over 50 million Medicaid enrollees is a good reason to examine using home telehealth with this population.

Topics will include:

What is now being paid
What is working
What services are now provided
The research needed to convince Medicaid payers of the value of home telehealth

The conference will be hosted by Audrey Kinsella, MA, MS, Research Director, Information for Tomorrow Telehealth Services and will feature speakers involved with active home telehealth programs as well as experts on funding and research issues. More information is available at http://teleupdates.atsp.org.

Still Time to Register for ATSP Legal, Regulatory, Federal Activity Update

2007-05-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

There is still time to register for ATSP legal, regulatory, and federal update for telehealth. This event will take place on May 24th at 2pm Eastern. This innovative teleconference will provide an overview of recent legal and regulatory developments affecting telehealth and telemedicine providers. It will also provide an update on federal telehealth activity in both the agencies and on Capitol Hill.

Topics will include electronic health records and electronic prescribing regulations, liability issues, licensure, reimbursement, data privacy and security, and pending federal and state legislation.

The ATSP TeleUpdates are a series of live audio conferences that focus on a specific topic within the telehealth industry. They consist of an interactive phone bridge and Internet based PowerPoint slides and handouts that may be downloaded. The events are designed for maximum interaction; attendees are able to ask questions and make comments. More information will soon be available on the ATSP Teleupdates website at http://teleupdates.atsp.org.

New White Paper on Telemedicine Available

2007-04-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

First Consulting Group has recently released a new white paper, which we excerpted in our last Telemedicine News Update. The paper, entitled Telemedicine in the Ambulatory Setting: Trends, Opportunites and Challenges, reviews the opportunities for providers in the two main areas of telemedicine: remote consulting and home monitoring and discusses some of the considerations in getting started. You can read the excerpt on the TIE here, or download the complete pdf of the paper from First Consulting Group here.

Question: What is the Market for Telehealth? (Update)

2007-04-03T12:59:00.001-07:00

In our last post, we pointed out some of the TIE's resources for finding the market on telehealth and briefly talked about some of the difficulty in coming up with a specific number for the overall market value for telemedicine.

Well, a new article caught our eye this week that states that states that "the telemedicine market is expected to grow to $1.83 billion by 2010, according to a Parks Associates’ research analyst". The complete article can be read here.

Question: What is the Market for Telehealth?

2007-03-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

As a telehealth association, this is a question the ATSP gets asked quite frequently. The answer, of course, is never simple. In many ways, the term "market for telehealth" is a vague phrase whose very definition can be changed depending on what sort of numbers the researcher is looking for.

Take the most basic telehealth example of a nurse consulting a patient over the phone: Does the market include the hardware (the two telephones), the transmission fees (the phone call charges), the infrastructure (the phone lines), the health care knowledge and labor (the Nurse), the specialized training (the nurse's telephone triage training), all or just some of these things? Depending on what you want to count in this example, the market number can range greatly.

Still, that's not to say there hasn't been some good research efforts into finding the size of the market. If you are looking for this number, you might start with the TIE's Telehealth and Telemedicine Market Links, which feature direct links to multitude of reports about the size of the telehealth industry.

As always, if you know of more recent reports or research into this question, please let us know and we'll add them to the TIE.

ATSP TeleUpdates: Legal, Regulatory, & Federal Update for Telemedicine

2007-03-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

The ATSP is excited to announce that the next teleconference in its TeleUpdates series will provde a legal, regulatory, and federal update for telehealth. This event will take place on May 24th at 2pm Eastern.

This innovative teleconference will provide an overview of recent legal and regulatory developments affecting telehealth and telemedicine providers. It will also provide an update on federal telehealth activity in both the agencies and on Capitol Hill.

Topics will include:

electronic health records and electronic prescribing regulations,
liability issues,
licensure,
reimbursement,
data privacy and security, and
pending federal and state legislation.

The ATSP TeleUpdates are a series of live audio conferences that focus on a specific topic within the telehealth industry. They consist of an interactive phone bridge and Internet based PowerPoint slides and handouts that may be downloaded. The events are designed for maximum interaction; attendees are able to ask questions and make comments.

More information will soon be available on the ATSP Teleupdates website at http://teleupdates.atsp.org.

Telemedicine State by State Map

2007-03-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

One of the favorite features on the TIE is our State Telemedicine Map. Simply click on the state to see a summary of licensure, reimbursement and programs data that we have for the state. To find this map again, click on the Telemedicine for Professionals link on the front page of the TIE. From there, click on the Telemedicine & Telehealth (State by State) link to get to the map.

Informed Consent and Evaluation Forms

2007-03-09T16:05:00.000-08:00

Let's face it: running a telemedicine program involves a lot of paperwork. Instead of creating the necessary forms anew, it might be helpful to examine some other programs' work. The TIE provides links to examples of:

Be sure to check out our Telemedicine 101 section for resources on starting and running a program. We are, of course, always looking for more examples of forms. If yours are available, let us know and we'll add them to our lists.

Question: I'm looking for telemedicine programs in my state...

2007-03-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

One of the main inquires we get at the TIE is about contacting or finding local programs. The TIE maintains an active program database that contains a good amount of info on programs, such as their location, demographics, clinical applications, equipment types, contact information, and more. Here is a list of the programs, sorted alphabetically by state.

To generate this page or to find other telemedicine programs in your part of the world, visit the TIE's active program database. To browse programs in your state or country:

Click on browse recently added programs, this will bring up a page of worldwide programs that are alphabetical by name.
To filter the list by location, locate the yellow "browse programs" box, then click on the options for "filter: U.S." to list programs by state or "Non-U.S." for international programs.
Click on "Sort: Location".
Click the Browse button.

A quick note about the Active Program Database: This database is not, by far, a complete listing of telemedicine programs. Instead, it is a listing of programs that, due to our solicitations or their volunteering, have filled out one of our program surveys. We would always like to have more programs listed in this database. Having a listing of active programs allows for collaboration, information sharing, and exposure and attention to the good work that you are doing. If you are part a program that is not listed, please take 10 minutes and fill out our online survey. Thank you.

All the Telehealth News That You Can Use

2007-02-27T15:22:00.000-08:00

Our Telehealth and Telemedicine News page is one of the most popular parts of the TIE. Updated every two to three weeks, it contains a good round-up of what is going on in the world of telemedicine. The TIE also contains sub-news pages that highlight specialized information. Now linked to from the front page, these sub-sites are:

And, if that is not enough news for you, be sure to check out our News Links to various sites around the Internet that are also publishing current information about telemedicine. Aside from our article page, we are always happy to consider printing press releases or original pieces for our News Updates. Contact us via our feedback form for more information.

Rebooting the TIE Blog

2007-02-27T15:10:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the new TIE blog! After much consideration, we are re-launching this blog to highlight some of the features and resources that are contained on the Telemedicine Information Exchange but which can be tricky to find. We'll also be answering some of the questions that we get asked on a regular basis. We also hope to highlight some of the current events going on in the world of telemedicine and in the offices of the ATSP. So please check back often and let us know if there is any particular topic you'd like us to address.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Email

2005-12-13T20:48:00.000-08:00

I sent an email today to the CDC staff asking them about how they run the site. My questions were:

What is the development environment?
What is the hosting environment?
Do you use any content management products? If so, please specify the name of the software or tool.
Is site development and site maintenance provided for in-house via regular CDC staff or contracted out?

We'll see if they are more responsive than the NCI.