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NRTRC Telemedicine Conference 2012
The NRTRC will be hosting their first telemedicine conference, March 19-20 at the Crowne Plaza in Billings, MT. This conference will be a great opportunity for providers, administrators, directors, clinical and technical staff to come together and network with others from around the Northwest region. To learn more about his exciting new education opportunity or register go to the conference website at www.nrtrc-conference.com. We look forward to seeing you here in Billings next Spring!
Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center
The NRTRC provides technical assistance in developing telehealth networks and applications to serve rural and underserved communities.
Purpose:
The NRTRC leverages the collective expertise of 33 telehealth networks in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming to share information and resources and develop new telehealth programs.
NRTRC Services:
- Provide technical assistance for new programs and applications
- Increase exposure to telehealth as a healthcare delivery tool
- Improve access to specialty care through regional collaboration
- Develop information on best practices and telehealth toolkits
- Provide information and facilitate discussion of regional regulatory, policy, and reimbursement issue
News & Information
Google Helps Emergency Room Docs to Predict Flu Trends (posted: 1-19-12)
Google, the search-engine giant, may be able to help doctors anticipate when they’ll get a surge in the number of patients they see with flu symptoms.
That’s the new finding from a team of doctors, based in Baltimore, who relied on Google Flu Trends, a service that tracks the number of flu-related Internet searches by folks like you and me. In an article this month in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, those doctors, led by Dr. Richard Rothman, an emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine describe how data from Google Flu Trends stacked up against conventional systems to track the spread of flu.
Click here to continue reading
NRTRC Telemedicine Conference 2012 Giveaway
The NRTRC Telemedicine Conference 2012 is fast approaching and we’d like to give one lucky person a free pass to come. This giveaway is for one free registration to our conference. It does not include any of the travel costs. Entering is easy; simply leave a comment on the NRTRC blog post, “NRTRC Telemedicine Conference Giveaway” and please leave your name and your email address so we can contact you if you win. This contest will go from today, Jan. 11th through midnight (MST) Wednesday, Jan. 25th. The winner will be announced on Thursday the 26th via email. This will give the rest of you who didn’t win a chance to still sign up for the early bird registration that ends on Feb. 1st.
In the spirit of giving you lots of chances to win you can enter every day on the blog but you can also enter by liking us on Facebook and then leaving a wall post again with your email address or by tweeting “I’m entering the @NRTRC Conference giveaway” or something like that. Just remember to mention us in the tweet so we see it.
Here are the links to find us on Facebook and Twitter and our blog.
So to recap you have the chance to enter three times a day but just once per media, adding up to 45 chances to win!
Want more information on the conference go to www.nrtrc-conference.com
Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to network and learn with other telehealth professionals from around the Northwest region!
Telemedicine: Now it's a must (Posted: 1-10-12)
Driven by a desire to improve the quality of and access to care, health systems both large and small are tapping into the power of telemedicine at a feverish pace.
But clinical considerations aren't the only market forces driving adoption. Supply-and-demand economics, the utility and reliability of new wireless devices and cost pressures are also significant factors.
To read the full article click here
Announcing a New Grant Opportunity for NRTRC Members
The NRTRC is proud to announce a new grant opportunity for special projects available to all it's members. Grant awards will be up to $10,000. Deadline to apply is February 3rd! Click on the links below to learn more:
For infomation on becoming a member of the NRTRC contact Tom Brewer at tom@nrtrc.org or fill out the membership form.
Happy Holidays from the NRTRC Staff
USDA grants to support telemedicine in rural areas
Thirty-four states will receive more than $30 million in funding from the Department of Agriculture to improve access to healthcare and educational services in rural areas.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the funding from USDA Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Program on Dec. 8. Click Here to read the full article. Click here to view the awardees listing by state.
Real doctors, onscreen: VA program makes online house calls on vets (posted: 12-1-11)
A new pilot program will allow veterans in the Midwest to access behavioral health, oncology and post-operative care services wherever they have Web access. Using telehealth technology — a combination of streaming video, e-mail and text applications — the system is designed to help veterans in geographically remote areas or with mobility issues to conveniently contact clinicians and support services. Click here to read the whole story.
Three New Telehealth Resource Centers to Launch (posted: 11-10-11)
Three organizations are receiving grants of up to $1 million apiece to help expand the nation’s network of telehealth resource centers.
In September, the U.S Health Resource and Services Administration awarded Regional Telehealth Resource Center grants to groups based in Maine, Virginia and Indiana, with the goal to expand the network of centers that now covers the nation like an incomplete quilt.
Survey finds nurses are both mobile, social (posted: 11-7-11)
The nursing community is embracing mobile health devices and social media tools at a high level, according to a new survey.
The survey was conducted by Springer Publishing Company, which polled more than 1,000 nurses – the majority of which were nurse educators holding advanced nursing degrees – on their ownership and usage of mobile devices, their preferences for nursing and medical apps, and their social media use.
Click here to read the full article
Grande Ronde Hospital Honored for their Telemedicine Program
Grande Ronde Hospital Wins ECRI Institute's 2011 Health Devices Achievement Award
ECRI Institute recognizes rural critical access hospital in Oregon for excellence in health technology management and patient safety. To read the article click here
(posted: 10-20-11)
Upcoming Events
NRTRC Events Calendar
Network Profiles
The University of Wyoming's Center for Rural Health Research and Education (CRHRE)
The University of Wyoming’s Center for Rural Health Research and Education (CRHRE) has been working to spread the word about telemedicine and has taken the lead in significant pilot projects in Wyoming for several years. As a driving force behind Wyoming Network for Telehealth (WyNETTE), the CRHRE has been moving telehealth projects forward. We provided support of the construction of a 7-hospital network in the southeast portion of Wyoming four years ago.
Recent Updates
Education
January 27, 2012
Open Mic Recordings
January 27, 2012
Home
January 19, 2012
mHealth and Social Media
January 19, 2012
Telehealth Resource Centers
January 12, 2012
NRTRC RSS
Click here to subscribe to this feed.The Ehealth, Telehealth and Telemedicine Blog
Click here to subscribe to this feed.What We Will Be Doing in mHealth by 2015 or Before!
Did you know that as of Q3, 18% of U.S. residents under 18 had a smartphone? Or that the iPhone operating system for smartphones (OS) had 28% market share and Android had 43%? Ready for a glimpse into the future?Read a few sample predictions from a recent blog post by Arthur C. Clarke: By 2015, [...]
Reimbursement: Recent Legal and Marketplace Changes
Increasingly, the Technical Marketplace Changes Standard Therapy Models. FREE 1-hour Training Webinar (LIVE) Wrap up this year with an essential discussion of current events to predict next year’s focus on telemental health and online therapy. This month’s guest will be Tania S. Malik, J.D., Founder and President of COPEtoday. As Dr. Maheu’s guest, she will [...]
Telecare Aware Latest
Click here to subscribe to this feed.Staffordshire will continue to contract with Telecare Technology (UK)
Following an investigation into the other business interests of Telecare Technology's director Jamie Cole, after concerns raised by a family member of one of the users of its phone-based reminder service, a spokesman for Staffordshire County Council said "...we feel the benefits of the service to people and their carers still warrants the service's use where applicable."
Report from Staffordshire's local paper The Sentinel, with a highly misleading headline and at least one comment from the public that indicates a contrary opinion to concern about the 'Pick Up Artist' business. Hmm...On revisiting the item the comments appear to have been turned off...
Roundup of good and bad news items
Flagstaff hospital using remote patient monitoring Good one from the Washington Examiner (US).
Should nurses be at the forefront of telehealth? Good one in The Guardian, by David Barrett.
Why telehealth will transform care of Kent’s patients Good one from Kent (UK) which is quietly (these days) getting on with its telehealth mainstreaming.
Telecare charging plan dropped Good news from the Orkneys (UK).
Help at touch of a button scheme to be expanded Good news from Doncaster (UK).
Cumbria council defends its Careline funding axe Bad news from Cumbria (UK).
Wardens could be axed in sheltered housing Good or bad, depending on your perspective. Newcastle (UK).
No plans for telehealth in prisons Most abysmal Ministerial statement of the past few years. That Paul Burstow got away without being struck down by a thunderbolt is the best arguement for the non existence of a deity! (UK).
mobihealthnews
Click here to subscribe to this feed.iPad EHR startup DrChrono raises $2.8 million
DrChrono, which offers one of the first electronic health records (EHR) apps built specifically for the iPad, raised $2.8 million this week led by return-backer Yuri Milner, founder of DST Global, with participation from one of Google’s search quality leaders, Matt Cutts. The investment builds on the $650,000 Milner contributed to last summer. A month before that, [...]
Leveraging the frugal innovations of mobile health
In our recent video report, Mobile Health Challenges in 2012, Dr. Eric Topol, the Vice Chairman of the West Wireless Health Institute, had this insight: “Right now healthcare is incredibly expensive, but a lot of these new innovative technologies are frugal innovations. For the first time they not only fulfill unmet needs, but at lower costs,” [...]
Federal Telemedicine News
Click here to subscribe to this feed.Army's Health Technology
The Army lists soldier medical readiness as its number one priority and wants to do a better job of screening to keep today’s service members healthy. Currently, almost half of all non-deployable soldiers have suffered preventable musculoskeletal injuries. It has been found in studies, that those at risk for injuries can be identified by using an up-to-date screening process referred to as MP3.
The MP3 research team with faculty and students from the Army-Baylor University Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy and researchers from the University of Evansville, and Duke University are conducting a study through the Army’s Medical Department of Advanced Medical Technology Initiative (AAMTI) with TATRC providing $239, 547 in funds.
The Army by using hand held devices (Motorala MC75) and netbooks are able to speed up the assessments and screen 35-40 soldiers in less than 90 minutes. The soldier’s data is translated into a score and then sent to a computer that uses an algorithm to determine whether the soldier is at risk for musculoskeletal injuries and to what degree. If a soldier is found to be at risk for injury, prescribed corrective steps are taken under the supervision of an Army physical therapist to help decrease risk factors. With the data, the medical team is able to track the soldier’s performance throughout their career.
As for the development of other devices, Lt. Col Eric Drynan, Division Chief the Medical Information Systems Directorate at the AMEDD Center and School, reports that the Army is examining the future of several hand-held devices. Lt. Col Drynan is working with the IT system and radio platform experts to develop the operational architecture to enable a commercial hand-held device to be used in the field which would greatly help medics and behavioral health providers.
According to Drynan, the Army’s work on the next generation device seems to be moving in the direction of Android-based phones perhaps similar to the Android EVO that’s already available in the commercial market. The Army is setting up its own 3G network with mobile antennas which are now being tested.
Another initiative being studied is the Electronic Casualty Report (ECR). If a soldier in a convoy is hit by an IED, another soldier can provide buddy aid and then document the information in the ECR, which is part of the mission command system in every Army vehicle. The ECR is an electronic version of the Tactical Combat Casualty Care Card which is used to document care provided by first responders.
To meet the needs of telemedicine, a telehealth Integrated Process Action Team (iPAT) is looking at telehealth requirements and capabilities in the AMEDD from the operational tactical level to the generating force. The iPAT team is going to conduct a capabilities-based assessment to identify gaps in current capabilities document where telemedicine could provide solutions.
A Virtual Behavioral Pilot program initiated in 2009 tried several methods to provide behavioral care. These methods included face-to-face care, high bandwidth Video Tele-Conferencing (VTC), and low bandwidth Defense Connect Online. It was discovered that service members were really helped with VTC encounters.
As a result in December 2011, the Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii opened their Pacific Regional Medical Command’s Tele-Behavioral Health Center. So today, Tripler is providing healthcare VTC not only in the Pacific islands but as far away as Alaska, Texas, and Kansas.
Pilot Project Helping Veterans
Many veterans with some types of blood clotting conditions need to take blood thinners or anticoagulants. Warfarin, an anticoagulant is one of the most frequently prescribed drugs in the U.S. with more than 17.8 million prescriptions dispensed annually to prevent strokes or heart attacks. Once warfarin therapy begins, the International Normalized Ratio (INR) must be tested periodically to ensure the proper warfarin dosing.
To address the problem, a pilot project was funded by the VA’s Office of Rural Health, enabling the West Texas VA Health Care System to create a Telehealth Anticoagulation Clinic to help veterans currently taking blood thinners. The goal is to improve the clinical care received by veterans in rural and highly rural areas while developing a program flexible enough to handle the population shifts at multiple locations.
About 600 veterans within the 55,000 square mile primary service area of the West Texas VA Health Care System are enrolled in the telehealth clinic. Veterans routinely report to the West Texas VA Medical Center or to one of the Community Based Outpatient Clinics to have regular blood draws to check the INR levels monthly with results available to Dr. Jason Cornish, the Clinical Pharmacist in Big Spring. Then the results are sent to the veteran’s provider within 24 to 48 hours.
The Clinical Pharmacist discusses the results with the veteran at a different location using a telehealth unit. The patient and Clinical Pharmacist both use a computer screen during this communication and then adjustments are made to the veteran’s medication immediately if needed.
Although the Pharmacist managed anticoagulation clinic has only been in full implementation at distant sites for a few months, the results have been very successful. Significant improvements in INR control have been demonstrated at all the clinics and significant improvements have been demonstrated in decreasing the number of critical INR values.
