April 2022 Newsletter
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In this month’s UMTRC blog post Luke Wortley, Program Coordinator with the UMTRC & IRHA, discusses considerations for telehealth when working with patients with disabilities. A list of resources is also provided for readers to reference and utilize.
“From a population and public health standpoint, it is alarming that one in three adults with disabilities aged 18-44 years do not have a regular healthcare provider and have also reported having an unmet healthcare need due to cost in the past year.” - Luke Wortley
To check out the full blog click here.
During the month of April, we plan to release two new 'A Virtual View' podcast episodes. One will be focused on Artificial Intelligence and the other on Telehealth Innovation. If you haven’t listened to our latest episodes or are interested in the upcoming episodes, please listen to it here.
Read on to learn more about the UMTRC conference, upcoming UMTRC webinars/virtual office hours, other upcoming in-person conferences or events, and recent articles/research on telehealth and digital health.
-On behalf of the UMTRC Team
Cameron Hilt, MPH, Program Director
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News from the UMTRC
Telehealth Peer Group
The UMTRC will soon launch a Telehealth Peer Group which calls on providers, administrative staff, telehealth champions, and other professionals involved in telehealth programs in our region to connect and learn from each other. Success often comes from building strong relationships with those working towards the same goals. Join us to share and to hear best practices, lessons learned, challenges and more from those delivering telehealth in our region.
Dates for the Telehealth Peer Group meetings will be posted on our events page soon.
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Registration is OPEN for the UMTRC Annual Conference
4th Annual UMTRC Telehealth Conference
September 13-14, 2022 at the Gillespie Conference Center.
Don't wait! Exhibitor and attendee registration is open for the 4th Annual UMTRC Telehealth Conference!
Make your plans now and secure a spot.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a speaker proposal. The application is now closed. Those who submitted an application will be notified of the committee's decision via email soon.
Watch for the full agenda to be released soon!
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Resources from the UMTRC
A barrier to telehealth is any object, circumstance or situation that interferes, hinders or prevents someone from gaining access to and receiving the appropriate level of care through telehealth technologies. Overcoming these barriers is essential to increasing access to care and helping to improve patient health literacy.
The UMTRC has published this recent resource that addresses some of these barriers and possible solutions.
Barriers Faced in Receiving Telehealth Care
Check out more from our library of UMTRC and other trusted organization's resources HERE.
State of the Region: Reimbursement and Policy Updates
What's happening with telehealth policies in our region? The UMTRC would like to invite you to attend our 2nd quarter State of the Region meeting to get an update!
This quarterly presentation is for any stakeholders involved and interested in telehealth. The UMTRC will report on some of the most recent changes in both state and national telehealth reimbursement and policy.
The UMTRC’s region includes Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. We will provide an opportunity to engage with others in your region on questions related to telehealth reimbursement and policy, as well as, an open Q&A with the UMTRC staff. We hope you will join us!
State of the Region: Reimbursement and Policy Updates
Date: April 20, 2022
Time: 2:00 - 3:00pm EST
Location: Virtual
Register here: https://www.umtrc.org/StateoftheRegionApril
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Upcoming Webinars
The UMTRC partners have several webinars planned for the month. We hope that you can join them and welcome your requests for additional topics for future webinars.
A Starter Guide to Telehealth Billing Resources & Current National and Medicaid Reimbursement
Date: April 19, 2022
Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm Eastern
Presenter(s): Bryce Wray-Nelson, MPH, IRHA Program Coordinator
Objectives:
- Address common telehealth definitions, break down service types and their differences.
- Provide an overview of telehealth billing services on a national level.
- Break down the UMTRC’s state territory billing processes.
- Address COVID state guidelines where applicable.
Register HERE
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Virtual Office Hours
Open Q&A with the UMTRC
These virtual sessions are more informal and give you an opportunity to ask the UMTRC staff any telehealth related questions you may have in an open Q&A. These typically only last 30 minutes, instead of an hour.
Bring a beverage and your questions. We've got answers!
April 26, 2022 at 11:00 am EST
RSVP HERE
Save the date for future Virtual Office Hours as well:
May 19th (1:00pm - 1:30pm Eastern)
June 29th (11:30am -12:00pm Eastern)
Upcoming In-Person Conferences & Virtual Events
As we learn about regional and national webinars, trainings, and conferences on relevant topics we will post them on our website in the Events section of the UMTRC website.
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IRHA Spring Rural Summit
The Indiana Rural Health Association (IRHA) will host their Spring Rural Summit on April 12, 2022 at the Biltwell Event Center in Indianapolis, IN. Exhibitor space is SOLD OUT. Registration is open until April 8th.
April 12, 2022
Biltwell Event Center
Indianapolis, IN
A total of 6 hours of ACHE Qualified Education credits are being offered for this event.
Register HERE
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IRHA to Present Crossroads Program at HIMSS Event
IRHA staff members, Cameron Hilt, MPH & Cody Mullen, Ph.D., will present "How to Implement & Evaluate a Tele-Behavioral Health Program in Rural Indiana" at the HIMSS Indiana/Kentucky Chapter Virtual Spring Symposium!
The virtual event is scheduled for April 21, 2022. Registration is still open HERE.
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ATA2022 Annual Conference & Expo
May 1-3, 2022 in Boston, MA
Telehealth is a more essential part of healthcare than ever before! To make sure that high quality telehealth services remain available to patients and providers, NETRC is a proud partner of ATA2022 – the American Telemedicine Association’s 26th Annual Conference & Expo – taking place May 1-3, 2022 in Boston, MA.
The past few years have transformed healthcare in many ways, and it is essential for the U.S. to adopt the new innovations and solutions in telehealth we need. Leaders in healthcare and technology from around the world will be joining together at ATA2022 to plan the future direction of virtual care.
Come visit the UMTRC team during ATA2022! We'll be at the NCTRC Exhibit Booth (#917) throughout the event!
To learn more about ATA2022, visit: https://gotelehealth.org/ata-2022/
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2022 Michigan Rural Health Conference Stronger Together: Navigating a New Normal
UMTRC staff member, Jessica Devine, will be presenting for a breakout session titled “Telehealth and Beyond”. She will focus on tele-behavioral health and how to evaluate quality of telehealth programs.
You can look at the agenda for the upcoming conference here.
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Registration for the 24th Annual IRHA Rural Health Conference is OPEN!
The Indiana Rural Health Association's premier event will once again be held in French Lick, Indiana on June 14-15, 2022. Exhibitor and attendee registration is open now. Exhibitor space fills up quickly, so please register soon to reserve your spot! Hotel reservations can also be made now.
Find all of the information you need here: https://www.indianaruralhealth.org/annualconference
Student and Professional scholarship applications are available HERE.
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A Virtual View
We Surpassed 1000 Podcast Downloads!
We want to thank everyone who has tuned in to 'A Virtual View' podcast! Please continue to listen and suggest topics here.
Notes from a recent episode:
"I have seen so many programs that would say, we offer healthcare or we offer telehealth. And it's that “or” that really separates it and makes the program not as successful as the programs that say, Hey, we offer healthcare, and part of that is telehealth, it's the “and” or the “or”. I've had a lot of experience helping organizations really figure out this telehealth thing. And the organizations that were really successful were the ones that use the “and” rather than the ones that use the “or.” - Billy Sample, Lead Telehealth Advisor at Poly
This past month, UMTRC Program Director, Cam Hilt, talked to Billy Sample and Scott Simmons about their extensive experience in telehealth, the evolution of telehealth, how gaps in care are filled by utilizing telehealth, and how to make telehealth programs successful are discussed in detail.
Listen to the full "A Virtual View" podcast episode here.
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Recent Articles & Research on Telehealth & Digital Health
Remote patient monitoring improves access to care for Avera patients >>
By reimagining the technology it was already using, the South Dakota health system has also preserved supplies and earned high satisfaction.
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More Telehealth Data Urged Before Making Eased Rules Permanent
Bloomberg Law
Congress should get a clearer picture of how patients use telehealth before making pandemic-inspired relaxed rules permanent, Medicare advisers say. Lawmakers recently extended telehealth changes until five months after the end of the public health emergency is declared. This extension in the omnibus spending package eases telehealth advocates’ concerns about a “telehealth cliff,” or the abrupt cut off of coverage of most virtual care. Click here
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Empirical Support for Increased Demand for Telehealth, Telemental Health, Telebehavioral Health & Teletherapy
Telehealth.org
Reports consistently show that many people want to continue the option of having telehealth visits even after the pandemic. This article summarizes two studies that describe the importance and acceptance of what is variably referred to as telemental health, teletherapy, and telebehavioral health care delivery models. While telemental health and teletherapy are often used interchangeably, telebehavioral health stands on its own as a term used to refer to the telehealth delivery of either mental health or substance use services. Click here
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Social and Subscribe
Be sure to connect with the UMTRC on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube for information on where to find us at training sessions, conferences, and the like.
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UMTRC c/o IRHA
2901 Ohio Boulevard, Suite 240
Terre Haute, IN 47803
855-283-3734 extension 238
[email protected]
This newsletter was made possible by grant number U1UTH42522 from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS.