Program-Specific Updates
We look forward to an exciting fall for Telehealth Network Program grantees. In addition to the program-specific updates highlighted below for Evidence-Based Telehealth Network Program (EB TNP) and Telehealth Network Grant Program (TNGP) grantees, we have some additional events coming up.

Webinar: "Telehealth Network Programs: Connecting to Resources and Supports to Advance Telehealth Initiatives"

Join us on Thursday, December 2 from 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET to connect with and hear from some of the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)-supported organizations and initiatives that provide a range of resources and expertise to assist you in the implementation of your telehealth projects. Speakers from the Rural Health Information Hub, the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers, and Rural Telementoring Training Center will share an overview of their initiatives, expertise, resources, and tools available for you to apply in support of your telehealth efforts.

This webinar is for both EB TNP and TNGP grantees. Please save the date and stay tuned for registration information next week.

In addition to the above webinar, the technical assistance (TA) team is currently in the process of planning webinars for each grant program. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.

Evidence-Based Telehealth Network Program (EB TNP) Updates 

Monthly Calls
In October, everyone participated in Introductory TA Intake Calls and the initial drafting of Technical Assistance Action Plans. Starting in November, grantees will begin regular monthly TA calls with their TA Consultant and Project Officer. These monthly calls serve to keep everyone connected around your EB TNP efforts and ensure that TA is responsive to emerging needs and issues related to the implementation of your grant efforts. The calls are an opportunity to share updates from FORHP/OAT and the TA team and discuss project progress, accomplishments, challenges and issues, and support needs. 

EB TNP Communities of Practice
Quarterly Communities of Practice peer groups are beginning in November for grantees. They represent an opportunity to participate in a facilitated learning exchange with peers based around relevant and timely telehealth topics of interest. You should have recently received a calendar invite with the date and access information for the groups that you selected. For those that you join, please accept the calendar invite to help us keep track of attendees. If you did not have a chance to sign up for any of the groups or have any questions, please reach out to Sherrie Williams, TA Consultant, at swilliamslcsw@gmail.com. The following is the schedule for the calls:

  • Direct to Consumer Telehealth - November 15, 2021, 2:00 - 3:00 PM ET
  • Data & Evaluation - November 17, 2021, 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET
  • Tele-Behavioral Health - December 1, 2021, 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET

OAT Grantee Directory
All new EB TNP grantees should have recently received a template from HRSA/OAT to be completed for the directory with additional guidance and timeline for completing it. The final compiled OAT Grantee Directory document will provide a brief snapshot of each of the EB TNP grantees in the cohort, along with each of the other current OAT-funded initiatives, and is a resource for you to use in connecting with and learning about other telehealth programs.

Telehealth Network Grant Program (TNGP) Updates 

Year 1 Performance Improvement Measurement System (PIMS) Reporting 
Reporting recently closed on October 15 for your full Year 1 PIMS measures (Sept. 1, 2020 – Aug. 31, 2021). Your OAT Project Officer and TA Provider will be reviewing your recently submitted PIMS reports. Time will be dedicated during upcoming monthly calls in November and December to debrief the PIMS reports, including addressing any questions or items for additional clarification from your report. 

TNGP Communities of Practice Calls  
The next round of calls will take place in October/November. These groups continue to meet quarterly and are driven by the interests and needs of participants in each group. If you are interested in joining a group but are not yet involved with one, please reach out to your TA Provider. The following is the schedule for the calls (all calls are 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET): 

  • Behavioral Health - Tuesday, October 26
  • Emergency Medical Services - Thursday, October 28  
  • Stroke - Wednesday, November 3 
  • Open Forum (This quarter’s topic – Getting feedback from patients/providers: methods, findings, and follow-up) - Tuesday, November 10  
  • Data Collection & Outcomes Measurement - Tuesday, November 16  

Be on the lookout for communications from TNGP TA providers with more information on these upcoming groups. 
Resources, News, and Other Updates
The California Telehealth Resource Center recently published a Remote Patient Monitoring Toolkit to help providers improve remote patient monitoring for better, more equitable care. The searchable toolkit provides tips for providers to tailor a remote patient monitoring program to meet the needs of each unique practice. Building these programs now allows providers to be better positioned as technology becomes more integrated into health care and as care moves toward blending virtual and in-clinic care. Click here to access the toolkit.
 
As many of you work closely with rural communities, you may find this article about the development of a telehealth intensive care unit that treats COVID-19 patients at a small Alabama rural hospital beneficial. The article dives into the financial and staffing challenges facing hospitals, and the process of developing telehealth capacity to connect rural patients to physicians in urban hospitals. Click here to access the article. 

Health care and philanthropic leaders across the country are beginning to support programs that use telehealth as equity tools to address disparities in health for certain populations. This article focuses on the development of one of these initiatives in Massachusetts. The project, Navigating Hypertension, is designed to reduce health disparities for Black patients with poorly controlled hypertension by increasing outreach and engagement virtually. Click here to read the full article. 
Upcoming Events
Nov. 3, 2021, 11:30 am – 12: 30 pm ET 
Please join the final webinar in the IPRO Quality Improvement Network-Quality Improvement Organization’s educational series Telehealth Practice Innovations During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Director of Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center, Kathy Wibberly, will lead this session looking at best practices and lessons learned from the past year of normalizing telehealth and discuss how to prepare for the sustainability of telehealth use in the future of health care.
Nov. 8, 2021, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. PT 
Please join the Arizona Telemedicine Program as they host a virtual conference providing an in-depth look at the clinical applications of a telehealth program. This conference will benefit individuals or groups who have some telehealth experience and are interested in expanding their services. During this single-day event, attendees will learn best practices for providing healthcare services to ensure remote patients receive the best and least expensive access to healthcare.
Nov. 9-10, 2021, 8:30 am – 12:30 pm ET 
Please join Palmetto Care connections as they host their ninth annual Telehealth Summit of South Carolina. This two-day virtual conference will focus on a variety of telehealth topics delivered by local, state, and national speakers. Topics include improving telehealth marketing strategies, using digital literacy to combat social isolation for seniors, remote patient monitoring billing and reimbursement, and more. 
This digest is brought to you by the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT)
and the Telehealth Network Programs Technical Assistance Team.