Need help launching a telehealth program, or wondering what your state allows? There's a place for that.
Fourteen, in fact. They're called telehealth resource centers, 12 of which cover specific regions and two serve as national centers. Started in 2006 through a grant from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, part of the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration, they comprise a sort of clearinghouse for information on telehealth, offering advice and technical expertise on such issues as launching or expanding a program, reimbursement, state and federal polices and licensure.
Kathy Hsu Wibberly, director of the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center (MATRC), says they're not as well known as they should be, but they provide valuable resources. Her TRC, launched in 2011, is based at the University of Virginia Center for Telehealth and covers a vast expanse of eight states (Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, Delaware, New Jersey and North Carolina) and the District of Columbia.
[Slideshow: Alaska to Alabama, Guam to Georgia, all telehealth bases covered.]
Wibberly fields 20 to 30 calls a week from healthcare providers and other parties, some asking simple questions, others posing more complex queries that need to be researched. The most popular request is for information on program operations and development, with reimbursement and business models coming in second and policy issues ranking a close third. She has about a dozen specialists available to answer questions and access to more consultants if needed.
She says the larger health systems "get" telehealth, and many have programs in place and are looking to expand, but the smaller offices and clinics aren't sure how to get things started.
"I think there is still a perception that telehealth is brand new and that there is no evidence behind it," she says. "They also think it's very expensive, and that it requires a lot of technology."
And that's where the TRCs come in most handy.
Aside from answering questions, the MATRC also offers strategic planning for states – coordinating round-tables through a lead agency or organization and bringing in stakeholders to help formulate a 2- or 3-year plan. Like others, MATRC also hosts an annual telehealth summit; this year's conference on March 29-31 is expected to bring in 200 to 300 attendees.
The challenges, Wibberly says, are numerous. To maintain a good database, providers and programs around the region have to enter data about their programs, she says, and that's not always done on a consistent basis. And success comes competition – from other healthcare providers, for-profits and direct-to-home vendors. "In some cases they work well together and in other cases you wish they'd work better together," she says.
There's also high demand for training and webinars. Indeed, Wibberly should expect to be busy in the coming year, as more and more healthcare providers look to telehealth to help tackle issues ranging from cost to clinical outcomes to access for the underserved.
