September 2021 Newsletter
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3 More Years!
We are thrilled to announce that the UMTRC, along with 13 other telehealth resource
centers, has received funding to continue our efforts for at least another three years. Thank you Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)!
And
https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/story/44600153/telehealth-resource-center-lands-dollar1m-grant
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Save the Date 4th Annual UMTRC Conference
The UMTRC staff are excited to announce that the 4th UMTRC Annual Conference will be back in South Bend, Indiana on September 13-14, 2022, at the Gillespie Conference Center.
We look forward to seeing everyone in person again next year!
Based on survey results from this year’s conference, some attendees said they had a very hard time choosing which session to attend this year. In response, several of our speakers from this year’s conference have agreed to reprise their presentations in webinars over the next couple of months. Be sure to check out our webinars schedule here.
Check out our website for the pictures from the 2021 conference.
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Request for Primary Care Provider Feedback
Researchers from the MedStar Health National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare are conducting interviews with primary care physicians to understand their experience with telehealth during COVID-19. They are looking for physicians (primary care providers) from community health centers, and small and mid-size practices to participate in a 45-minute phone interview. The study is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and study results will help improve telehealth technology design, development, and implementation. If you are willing to participate in the interview, please email Julia Sheehan at [email protected]. Participants are compensated with $150 gift card for the interview.
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Telehealth Frequently Asked Questions
The UMTRC has a whole list of FAQs on our website. But the newest trend in FAQs is:
“Will Medicare continue paying for audio-only services after the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) ends?”
The Federal PHE for the COVID-19 pandemic was extended for another 90 days on July 19, 2021. The telephone visits and audio-only telehealth codes of telehealth CPT codes 99441 (5-10 minutes), 99442 (11-20 minutes), and 99443 (20-30 minutes) are retroactive to March 1, 2020 per the Telehealth.hhs.gov website, for the duration of the COVID-19 PHE.
In the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed Physician Fee Schedule for Calendar Year (CY) 2022, CMS discussed continuing audio-only services for mental health services, and for FQHC and RHCs. For more details, check out the Center for Connected Health’s Proposed CY 2022 Physician Fee Schedule Fact Sheet.
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UMTRC Podcast: Remote Patient Monitoring
"We're going to see them (RPM programs) used for patients with chronic conditions. Chronic care management is a huge opportunity for RPM." - Eric Wicklund
In episode 18, Eric Wicklund, lifelong journalist and senior editor for mHealth Intelligence, talks with us about the future of remote patient monitoring in a post-COVID world. Tune in below!
You can access our podcasts through our website or subscribe to them on your favorite podcast platform! New episodes are typically released on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month. If you have a suggestion for a future topic, or would like us to interview you, please complete the form at Podcast Inquiry.
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Upcoming Webinars
The UMTRC partners have several webinars planned for the month of September. We hope that you can join them and welcome your requests for additional topics for future webinars.
"How to prepare patients for the telehealth experience"
Date: September 8, 2021
Time: 12:00pm Eastern
Presenter(s): Sandi Wagner, RN, MBA, BSN, Network Director of Telemedicine for Lutheran Health Network located in North Indiana
This presentation will identify the key principles and topics essential to prepare the patient for their telehealth encounter. Provide tools and a knowledge of barrier removal prior to scheduled visits to reduce failed encounters in the ambulatory setting. In addition proper techniques and essential needs to prepare the patients in the facility settings for their upcoming telehealth encounter.
RSVP HERE
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"You can lead a horse to water, but what if they don't know how to drink?: Customer Technical Support in Virtual Care"
Date: September 29, 2021
Time: 12:00pm Eastern
Presenter(s): Ally Hunter, Virtual Care Consultant for Henry Ford Health System
With telemedicine becoming a standard offering to patients, customer technical support is vital to the long-term adoption and success of virtual visits. Digital literacy levels vary among our customers. This spectrum of technology knowledge and comfortability impacts both the patient/caregiver and provider experience with virtual care. In order to maintain and increase adoption, ensuring customers are adequately informed, prepared for and supported in conducting the appointment is critical. A comprehensive strategy should include proactive (outreach to assist the patient in being fully set-up pre-appointment) and reactive support tactics (patient calls health system to receive real-time technological customer support).
RSVP HERE
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Virtual Office Hours and Telehealth Awareness Week
This month we will celebrate the first annual Telehealth Awareness Week™ with our Virtual Office Hours. Telehealth Awareness Week™ will be celebrated September 19-25, 2021. This is a landmark event created by the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) that will highlight and reinforce the central role that telehealth now plays in the delivery of healthcare services.
Join in the social media fun and celebrate Telehealth Awareness Week™ by using #TelehealthAwarenessWeek and #TelehealthIsHealth in your posts.
Our September Virtual Office Hours will be:
COVID-19 and the Delta Variant: A Brief Review of Current Evidence
Date: September 20, 2021
Time: 1:00pm-1:30pm EST
Location: Videoconference
Hosted by:
Amnah Anwar, IRHA Senior Director/ Epidemiologist
Taylor Kenyon, IRHA Program Director
Join us to learn more about recent advances in our understanding of the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Delta variant and its implications to mitigation efforts.
Telehealth Policy + Reimbursement in IL, IN, MI, OH: Where Are We Now?
Date: September 23, 2021
Time: 1:00pm-1:30pm EST
Location: Videoconference
Hosted by: Becky Sanders and Kathleen Livingston
The last 18 months held an abundance of change with telehealth policies and reimbursement practices, due to COVID-19 state of emergency. As new state and federal legislation is passed, some of the state-of-emergency rulings are here to stay for the long term, while others have expired. Join us to discuss telehealth practices in a post state-of-emergency space.
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UMTRC 2021 Stakeholder Calls
As a grant-funded organization, the goal of the Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center (UMTRC) is to provide technical assistance to assist individuals and organizations in our region who are interested in telehealth. One of the ways that we do this is through our quarterly stakeholder calls, where we focus on policy and reimbursement changes for the states in our region: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. We invite you to join us for the jam-packed update to the quarterly state of telehealth in our region! These typically occur on the 3rd Wednesday of each quarter (January, April, July, and October). Anyone may register and participate in any of the calls. Check out our events for more information, and to register for each specific call.
Here are the remaining 2021 stakeholder calls dates:
Wednesday, October 27th from 3-4pm EST
More info can be found here: https://www.umtrc.org/events/stakeholder-meeting/
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Upcoming In-Person Conferences & Virtual Events
As state Public Health Emergencies (PHEs) start to sunset throughout the region, there are a mix of virtual and in-person conferences available. As we learn about regional and national conferences, we will post them on our website in the Events section of the UMTRC website.
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2nd Annual Don Kelso Golf Classic
The 2nd Annual Indiana Rural Health Association (IRHA) Don Kelso Golf Classic presented by Aware Recovery Care will be held on Wednesday, September 15, 2021 at The Trophy Club in Lebanon, IN.
Golfing Fees:
Team - $300 (team of 4)
Individual - $75
New this Year!
The IRHA .5k run/walk/crawl sponsored by USI!
Registration is now open! Get your team together! Sponsorship opportunities are also available on the registration page.
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2021 MPCA Annual Conference
Date: September 26 - 28, 2021
Location: The Lansing Convention Center, Lansing, MI
The UMTRC is proud to be exhibiting at this event. We hope you will stop by and see us!
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Educational Opportunities
Through the WhiteBark Health Academy, the IRHA provides educational offerings through an online platform that focus on training and continuing education (CE) for health professionals, as well as courses for healthcare facility administrators and staff. We encourage you to review the site and take advantage of this educational opportunity, which include several related to Telehealth: https://whitebarkhealth.academy.reliaslearning.com/
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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.