Virgina Telehealth Network

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THE VIRGINIA OFFICE OF TELEWORK PROMOTION AND BROADBAND ASSISTANCE RELEASED THE FOLLOWING ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2010:

"To all Virginia Healthcare Providers:

On behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance, I ask healthcare providers to take a few minutes to complete this very important online survey on the use of broadband Internet service to support Healthcare IT.

Healthcare agencies, societies, and associations across Virginia are collaborating with the Commonwealth’s Secretaries of Health and Human Resources and Technology to promote the importance of this survey for Virginia’s healthcare sector.

In the survey, you will be asked questions about how you use broadband Internet service and how you use, or intend to use, Health IT applications. Your responses will help us identify gaps in broadband access and use, and help the Commonwealth target Federal and State broadband funding to support your Health IT priorities.

This survey can be completed quickly, answering only 15-20 questions depending on your provider type; you can access the survey by clicking the link provided below. Please complete the survey by November 5th.

I sincerely appreciate your participation.

Best Regards,

Karen Jackson
Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance
Commonwealth of Virginia"

CLICK HERE FOR ANNOUNCEMENT AND LINK TO THIS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT SURVEY

Join

SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC.

MEDVIRGINIA

THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HEALTH SYSTEM

LAUREL SHACKELFORD (GARZON) SHEPHERD, Ph.D, P.N.P.
Graduate Program Director, Nursing Administration
Associate Professor
Old Dominion University

OLIVERA MARKOVIC, M.D., PH.D.
President, Global Academy for Women's Health, Inc. (a nonprofit organization in Rockville ,MD)

EDIE MCREE BOWLES
Executive Director, Northern Neck Middle Peninsula Telehealth Consortium

(Map of NNMP Telehealth Consortium Area. Image provided with permisson of NNMP Telehealth Consortium. For more information click here.)

BECOME A MEMBER OF VIRGINIA TELEHEALTH NETWORK !

(A 501(c)(3) NONPROFIT PUBLIC CHARITY)

For details, including details about VTN's 'members only' social media/telehealth discussion "Ning" network, click on Membership Information. For a sample 'members only' VTN weekly newsletter click here.

By J.P. Auffret, Managing Director, Center for Advanced Technology
Strategy, and Vice Chair, NoVaRHIO

(Dr. Chris Chisholm on You Tube Talking About a High Risk OB Telemedicine Program)

Getting Started? Want Telemedicine Training Information? Click on ORGANIZATIONS

Examples: All of the Telehealth Resource Centers throughout the country have extensive information available to all online at no cost.

"Welcome to Virginia's Roanoke and New River Valleys." An entertaining and wonderfully done video. From The NewVA Corridor Technology Council. Click here to access video.

A Stroke -- in Your Twenties? Having a Stroke in Prime of Your Life is More Common Than You'd Think. "Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Many of the victims are eldery, but a third of those affected by stroke are under 65 --and sometimes much younger than that. "Elizabeth Gates, the daughter of prominent Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, is in her twenties and suffered a severe stroke just four months ago. And remarkably, she's now able to talk about it. Includes two video interviews." From CBS News.com The Early Show, September 2, 2010. Click here to access story.

CDC's Health Out Loud. A blog devoted to discussing best practices and questions about health communication, social marketing, and health marketing. Click here to access blog.

From the Kaiser Foundation. Health Reform Source. Entertaining and informative animated video “Health Reform Hits Main Street." September 25, 2010. Click here to access.

Case Western Reserve University: Case Center for Reducine Health Disparities has an extensive library of peer reviewed journal articles. Click here to access site. The Center also has a 2010 Health Disparities Class. Several of the lecture videos are available on line. To access click here.

"The Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media, a first-of-its-kind social media center focused on health care, builds on Mayo Clinic’s leadership among health care providers in adopting social media tools...The center will accelerate adoption of social media for health-related purposes, starting at Mayo and then within health care more broadly. Through this work, Mayo Clinic looks to help improve health literacy, health care delivery and population health worldwide." From The Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. The site has a You Tube video on the home page: "Socialnomics - Social Media Revolution Version 2." It's quick, eye opening, and will knock you off your feet if you are not already on board with the social media revolution. Click here to view it.

"CMS administrators urge telemedicine support." "Donald Berwick, the agency's current administrator, and Mark McClellan, who helmed the CMS during the George W. Bush administration, both voiced support for stronger collaboration between the CMS and the telemedicine community to reduce healthcare costs, improve the quality of medical services and expand care access to the underserved." From Modern Healthcare, By Jennifer Lubell. Posted: September 29, 2010. Click here to access article.

"Navy Veteran Battles Cancer with Telemedicine." "The "Virtual Tumor Board Pilot Program," uses advanced videoconferencing equipment to allow VA physicians throughout the South Central United States to confer about their patients' medical cases with cancer experts at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston.
Funded by the Rural Health and Telemedicine Office of the South Central VA Health Care Network, the program extends expert medical care to remote areas by allowing doctors to consult with each other via video monitors." From Texas Medical Center, October 1, 2010. Click here to access article.

"Mayo Stroke Telemedicine Program Expands to Rural Missouri." "Stroke telemedicine at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, a remote monitoring system to evaluate and treat stroke patients in rural communities, will soon advance beyond the boundaries of Arizona to serve patients in Missouri." From Mayo Clinic, September 29, 2010. Click here to access article.

"33 More ONC-ATCB Certified EHR." From EMR and HIPAA. Posted October 1, 2010. Click here to access blog posting.

"Beaconology for beginners: A chat with ONC's Aaron McKethan. From HealthImaging.com, September 7, 2010. Click here to access article.

"On the PHR Front…" Over the last couple of weeks or so, several things have happened in the PHR (or our preferred term, PHP – personal health platform) market that are note worthy." From Chilmark Research, October 1, 2010. Click here to access blog posting.

"HIT Trends Summary for September 2010."This is a summary of the HIT Trends Report for September 2010. From The Health Care Blog, October 1, 2010. Click here to access blog posting.

"Federal health IT coordinator completes nationwide system to assist doctors and hospitals in switching to electronic health records." From HHS, September 28, 2010. Click here to access news release.

"Content: Day 1 ATA (American Telemedicine Association) Mid-Year Meeting ... Priceless!" From MedTech-IQ. Posted September 28, 2010. Click here to access blog posting.

"Patient Safety and Health Information Technology." "The IOM will review the available evidence and the experience from the field on how the use of health information technology (HIT) affects the safety of patient care and make recommendations on how public and private actors can maximize the safety of HIT-assisted health care services. The IOM's final report will be both comprehensive and specific in terms of recommended options and opportunities for public and private interventions that may improve the safety of care that incorporates the use EHRs and other forms of HIT." From the Institute of Medicine. Click here to access article.

"ONC studying risks of de-identified patient records." "The Office of the National Coordinator has begun a study on how to overcome the privacy and security risks of using health information that otherwise has been stripped of its personal identifiers such as a patient’s name and address." From Government Health IT, by Mary Mosquera
Friday, October 01, 2010. Click here for article.

Indiana U., Health IT Get Centered. "Indian University's Bloomington campus is creating a new center to investigate vexing ethical, legal and social issues" that are emerging alongside information technology that is transforming health care." From nextgov, by John Pulley, October 1, 2010. Click here for article.

"National Pharmacy Organizations Announce Launch of Pharmacy e-Health Information Technology Collaborative." From TMCnews, October 1, 2010. Click here for article.

"Michigan Researchers Develop RFID-based Sensors to Measure Physical Activity." "The system would enable physicians or therapists to capture sophisticated data about an individual's expended energy, based on the movement, angle and relative position of three EPC Gen 2 RFID tags worn on that person's body." From RFiD Journal. Click here to access article.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Philadelphia Regional Office to Host HITECH Open Door Forum Call for Virginia Providers. The Philadelphia Regional Office of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be hosting an Open Door Forum call and webinar for providers in the state of Virginia on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 from 4:30PM to 6:00PM to present an overview of the definition of meaningful use as well as the Medicare and Medicaid incentive payment programs that are part of the HITECH legislation and final rule. The call will include participants from Virginia Health Quality Center (the regional extension center for the state of Virginia), and representatives from the state Medicaid agency who will be available to answer your questions. There will be ample time at the conclusion of the presentations for questions and answers regarding HITECH. Click here for more information include dial-in number.

“NANA” TECHNOLOGY™ COMPETITION AT GEORGE MASON WILL
HIGHLIGHT BEST NEW PRODUCTS FOR OLDER ADULTS. Competition to be held with Mature Market Resource Center at Fairfax Campus, .Friday, October 8, 2010. Judging for the Mature Market Resource Center’s second annual New Product and Technology Awards®--which recognizes innovative products and services for older adults and their families—will be held on Friday afternoon October 8, 2010, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University - Student Union Building I, Third Floor, Room B, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030. Click here for more information.

Virginia Telehealth Network Responds to FCC Proposed Changes in Rural Health Program. To access comments click here.

"Treating PTSD Using Telehealth." Robert Mayer, Chairman,NM Telehealthand Health Information Technology Commission September, 2010. Click here for slide presentation.

"Public Lecture: From euphoria to pragmatism." From lirneasia.net. Posted September 22, 2010. Article includes link to entire lecture: From Euphoria to Pragmatism: The experience and potentials of eHealth in Asia. Dr. Angelo Juan O. Ramos, MD, MPH Executive Director, Molave Development Foundation, Inc. Click here for article and link to full presentation.

"iPad tapped to screen birth defects." "After the iPhone for eye defects, an Indian start-up focusing on telemedicine technology has now tapped the Apple iPad as a screening platform for detecting foetal abnormalities.

The start-up, i2i Telesolutions, launched by a former senior executive at Texas Instruments India focuses on telemedicine software and services has partnered with an Indian hospital chain to provide an ultrasound platform designed to help reduce birth defects." From September 27 [26 US], 2010 eendia.co. Click here for article.

"Pa. docs use Web to help tiny patients miles away." Brief article about U.S. telehealth links to other countries. From the phillyBurbs.com, September 26, 2010. Click here for article.

InterSystems to provide HIE services for VLER project. "The U.S. Army awarded healthcare software provider InterSystems Corp. a grant to deploy its technology to set up health information exchange services among military and commercial healthcare providers across the Puget Sound, Wash., region. The area was recently chosen as the site of the Obama administration's fourth Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) community, following San Diego, the Norfolk-Tidewater, Va. region, and Indianapolis, Ind. [Bold added]." From HealthCareIT News, September 23, 2010. Click here for article.

"Privacy concerns hold back wider EHR adoption." "Researchers at North Carolina State University say that it's not cost or stubbornness that is holding back wider EHR uptake, but rather concerns about privacy from the general public." From FierceEMR. Click here for article.

PEJ NEW MEDIA INDEX: SEPTEMBER 13-17, 2010 ADVANCES IN SOCIAL NETWORKING KEEP TWITTER ATWITTER. From Journalism.org
Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. Click here for article.

"Telemedicine: improving the health care system through innovation (Canada)." Free four-page PDF briefing on the benefits and uptake of telemedicine, from the Montreal Economic Institute. Click on Telemedicine: improving the health care system through innovation. From Telecare Aware, September 21, 2010.

"FCC frees up white-spaces spectrum, addresses next generation of E-911." From RCR Wireless, September 23, 2010. Click here for article.

"Hyundai is donating $100,000 to the Maine Children's Cancer Program, part of a nationwide effort to help fight cancer in kids." "The donation is part of a national effort to battle childhood cancer by Hyundai Motor America and its dealers." From Kennebec Journal, September 23, 2010. Click here for article.

"House panel to examine new meaningful use rules." The House Science and Technology Committee on September 22, 2010 announced a subpanel hearing to be held the week of September 25, 2010 on Medicare's new "meaningful use" rules governing providers as they try to tap incentives for adopting electronic health records and other medical technologies. David Blumenthal, HHS' national coordinator for health information technology is one witness scheduled to appear. From The Hill: Healthwatch: The Hill's Healthcare Blog, September 23, 2010. Click here for blog.

"Five federal agencies want big robot technology advances: US funding robotic help in healthcare, security, agriculture and biology."Substantive blog article on NETWORKWORLD, Layer 8, from September 23, 2010. Click here for article.

Beacons for Better Health. A substantive blog article regarding the Beacon Communities. From Health Affairs, September 23, 2010. Click here for article.

"Bangor Beacon Community health care project to launch." From September 23, 2010 Mainebiz. Click here for article.

ONC Regulations FAQs: From The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology [20 Questions and answers]. Click here to access Q & As.

"WebMD Launches New Online Resource on Health Care Reform." From PR Newswire, September 23, 2010. Click here for article.

Governor McDonnell Recognizes 2010 Governor's Technology Awards Recipients – Virginia Localities, State Agencies, Courts, Schools and Universities Honored. Winners in the Category: Innovation in Local Government included the City of Virginia Beach for "Emergency Medical Services Electronic Medical Records and in the winners in the Category: Online, Not In Line include the Virginia Department of Health for "H1N1 Get One Solution." Click here for full announcement and list of all winners and honorable mentions. Click here for more information about the City of Virginia Beach's EMS EMRs.

USAC Connection: United Service Administrative Company High Cost & Low Income News September 2010: Provides information about
upcoming program deadlines, tips to help you ensure timely and proper filings, and other information. Click here for current issue.

Veterans Administration may loosen policy on physician use of commercial e-tools. From Government Health It, September 20, 2010. Click here for article.

A Special Report from iHealthBeat: HHS Funding Looks To Meet Challenges of Providing Health Care in Rural Areas: Experts discuss federal government investments to improve access to health care in rural areas. Click here to access the September 15, 2010 article.

San Diego County residents and visitors can access updates on the West Nile virus on their cellphones, due to a new county mobile website. From SignOn San DiegoNews. Click here for article.

"Tennessee Receives $11.6 Million Federal eHealth Grant." "In announcing the award, the Office of the National Coordinator highlighted two existing regional eHealth initiatives - the MidSouth eHealth Alliance in Middle Tennessee and CareSpark in Upper East Tennessee - that have been exchanging data since as early as 2006." From WDEF News 12, September 21, 2010. Click here for article.

"Self-Management Counseling for Patients With Heart Failure Does Not Improve Outcomes." A JAMA news release September 21, 2010. A news release regarding a study done at Rush University Medical Center. The news release is extensive and includes multiple videos. Click here to access news release. [VTN Note: Technologically a very cool news release - worth opening just to see it.]

"Mayo Clinic Transform 2010: Thinking Differently About Health Care: Talk by David Rose." David Rose is Chief Executive at Vitality. Click here for direct link to video. For information and a video about Vitality product "Glowcaps" click here.
Video

"Technology Trends Among People of Color." From Pew Internet: Pew Internet & American Life Project. September 17, 2010. Click here for article.

"ONC names third EHR certifier." "InfoGard, San Luis Obispo, Calif., has been named by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology as the third ONC-authorized testing and certification body as provided under the electronic health-record subsidy program of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." The not-for-profit Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology in Chicago, and the for-profit Drummond Group in Austin, Texas, were previously named. From ModernHealth care.com, by Joseph Conn. Posted September 17, 2010. Click here for article.

"Can Psychiatric Assessment Cross the Time Barrier?" An article about University of California, Davis research looking at the effectiveness of asynchronous telepsychiatry. From Psychiatric News September 17, 2010 Volume 45 Number 18 Page 7. Click here for article.

"Image Gallery: Wireless Telehealth Brings Medical Help To Those In Need."From InformationWeek April 27, 2010. [ VTN note: not recent news but some good images.] Click here for images.

"New Movi release means big things for health and education VTC implementations. [Note the following is from the Tandberg Blog and is provided by VTN for informational purposes only.] As a software solution coupled with a high quality camera capable of working with any laptop or desktop PC, Movi was an inexpensive, easy-to-install and flexible solution capable of enabling rapid adoption of VTC across even large organizations quickly and easily.

Unfortunately for many educational institutions that used Mac computers, the Movi solution wasn’t compatible with Mac. Also, doctors looking to utilize Movi for telehealth and telemedicine activities found it difficult without the ability to move the far-end camera (the camera on the patient’s side of the call).

Luckily, the newest version of Movi, Movi 4.0, was just released. This new Movi still delivers the same ease of installation and flexibility, but addresses the largest pain-points facing Movi users in education and healthcare." From the Tandberg Blog, September 17, 2010.

"Telemedicine Made Possible With Cisco Video Solutions on Valaam Island in Northern Russia." Click here for more information.

"Sprint Adds Calgary Scientific Medical Imaging App on Android Evo 4G" From eWeek.com: Health Care IT, by Brian T. Horowitz , September 16, 2010. Click on mHealth for more information.

Congressional Documents and Publications: Testimony from Dr. Marcia Brand, Deputy Administrator of HRSA: an overview of HRSA, the programs and the people HRSA serves. Also addresses the relationship between HRSA programs and certain bills under consideration by the Subcommittee. From insurancenewsnet.com. September 17, 2010. Click here for more information.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell Announces Taskforce Membership of Virginia Health Reform Initiative - Including Three Board Members of the Virginia Telehealth Network. Governor Bob McDonnell on September 14, 2010 announced the members of the six taskforces working in coordination with the Virginia Health Reform Initiative Advisory Council. The taskforces are: Medicaid Reform, Insurance Reform, Service Delivery, Capacity, Technology, and Purchasers. These taskforces will work to bring recommendations and information to the Advisory Council who will then provide recommendations to the Governor towards a comprehensive strategy for implementing health reform in Virginia. Like the Advisory Council, the work of the taskforces will go beyond federal health reform and recommend other innovative healthcare solutions that meet the needs of Virginia's citizens and government. From Virginia.gov.The three VTN Board Members are: Dixie Tooke-Rawlins , D.O., Dean and Executive Vice President, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine; Advisory Council Member, Co-Chair (appointed to the Capacity taskforce; Howard Chapman, Executive Director, Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems, Inc.
Dr. Karen Rheuban, Medical Director, Office of Telemedicine, UVA School of Medicine (both of whom were appointed to the Technology taskforce. For complete release click here.

California's telehealth network gets $14M boost. The new California Telehealth Network will receive a $9 million federal grant and additional $5 million in matching funds from some prominent California organizations: The participating organizations are: The National Coalition for Health Integration, United HealthCare, the California HealthCare Foundation and the University of California. The grant award will fund telehealth and eHealth equipment and training for health care providers implementing broadband-based technologies. From Healthcare IT News Wednesday, September 15, 2010, article by Bernie Monegain. Click here for article.

"The mHealth Alliance and the Millennium Development Goal Summit. Next week in New York City, world leaders and heads of business and development groups will convene for the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit. The MDGs set out ambitious targets for reducing disease and mortality worldwide by 2015. In addition to combating the most harmful infectious diseases for adults and children, the goals focus on ending poverty and hunger, improving maternal and child health, increasing access to education for all children, and promoting environmental sustainability.

Due in large part to the increasing ubiquity of mobile devices, technological innovation can accelerate progress in achieving the MDGs, especially for women’s health, which is crucial to the improvement of the overall health of developing nations. As mentioned in an earlier issue (Vol. 2., Issue 5) of mPulse, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently assembled the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. The Strategy will be launched formally during the MDG Summit." From UN Dispatch: Global News & Views - September 15, 2010, by Mark Leon Goldberg. Click here to access UN Dispatch. [VTN Note: VTN will be featuring more about the mHealth Alliance on the mHealth page.]

Massachusetts REC Selects GE as Preferred Vendor for their Centricity EMR Products. From EMR Daily News, September 15, 2010. Click here for article.

2010 mHealth Summit: The summit, organized by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health in partnership with the mHealth Alliance and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will be held November 8-10 in Washington, DC. Speakers to include: Bill Gates, Dr. Julio Frank, Dean of Faculty, Harvard School of Public Health. Click here for more information.

2010 Telestroke Survey [Regional Telestroke Initiative] Results Released. From Washington Stroke Forum. Click here for more information.

"Chronic disease and using social media for health." By Susannah Fox of the Pew Research Center. From medpageTODAY’S: KevinMD.com. To access this comprehensive blog article click here.

"RECs Support Critical Access and Rural Hospitals." On September 10, 2010 HHS provided 46 Regional Extension Centers with additional funding to assist rural critical access hospitals and rural hospitals (see Background on critical access hospitals) with less than 50 beds in selecting and implementing certified EHR systems. Some 1,655 critical access and rural hospitals in 41 states and the nationwide Indian Country, headquartered in the District of Columbia stand to benefit from this special assistance.
Including: VHQC (Virginia Health Quality Center): $84,000. From the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Click here for article.

"World’s first transcontinental anesthesia." From September 11, 2010 by Planet-Techno-Science. Great photos. Click here for article. For more information on this also click on "McGill team helps pioneer remote anesthesia."

"Robot Doctors: Future of Medicine? Neurologist John Wapham lives in Chicago, but he sees patients across the globe." From NBCChicago. [Includes a video.] Click here for article and video.

"Health IT: Unwired, Unadopted." From Nextgov, September 10, 2010. Click here for article.

"Zargis Signs Agreement to Provide Ontario Telemedicine Network With Remote Stethoscope Solution." From FierceHealthIt, September 10, 2010. Click here for article.

"Verizon Joins Board of Texas e-Health Alliance." Verizon will help develop a well-coordinated e-health policy to benefit Texas residents as a board member of the Texas e-Health Alliance, a nonprofit organization of health information technology stakeholders. From PR Newswire September 8, 2010. Click here for article.

"Mobile Devices to Transfer Healthcare: PricewaterhouseCoopers finds the annual consumer market for remote health monitoring devices and services could reach $43 billion." From InformationWeekHealth, September 10, 2010. Click here for article.

"Health IT group sets sights on NHIN road rules." "A new federal health IT advisory panel has set to work on setting up a means of governing the nationwide health information network (NHIN) in a way that will earn the trust of healthcare providers and consumers and expand its use by the health care community." From Government HealthIT September 8, 2010 by Mary Mosquera. Click here for article.

St. Jude Medical focuses on wireless patient monitoring. From MobileHealthWatch September 8, 2010. Click here for article.

The Evolution of Primary Care: Part 1. Posted on Justmeans September 8, 2010. Click here for article.

"PwC survey: Three in 10 Americans would track PHI with their phones."
FromHealthcareITNews, September 08, 2010. Click here for article.

ONC FACA Meetings Audios and Written Material Available. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Federal Advisory Committee (FACA) Calendar of Meetings and Audios and Written Material From Past FAC Meeting are Available Online. Click here to access.

"The Boss Is Robotic, and Rolling Up Behind You." From the New York Times, September 4, 2010. Click here for article, pictures and a video.

"Healing Rural Patients With A Dose Of Broadband." From NPR August 17, 2010. For article, photo and audio click here.

"HHS Awards $17 Million For Patient-Centered Research. Health IT will support studies that determine the most effective treatments and improve the nation's health, says Department of Health and Human Services." From InformatoinWeek Healthcare September 7, 2010 by Nicole Lewis. Click here for article.

Important Note for Virginia: Virginia's Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance: Online Survey for Businesses and Organizations and Online Survey for Households. Deadline September 14, 2010. Your response to these questions will help the Commonwealth understand how businesses, organizations, and individuals use and benefit from broadband. It will also assess the impact of Virginia broadband investments, identify gaps in broadband access and use, and ensure that Virginia has the necessary broadband capacity, services, and support to grow its economy. Click here for more information and link to surveys.

Video of Full Event Available: August 23, 2010: NoVaRHIO Launches Innovative eHealth Exchange with Inova Alexandria Hospital's Emergency Department. For more information about this two part project click on NoVaRHIO. For full video coverage of the entire event click here. (The video is a large file and may take a little while to load. It is worth the wait. The video quality is excellent.) (Note: for information about all three RHIOs or HIE's in Virginia (MedVirginia, CareSpark and NoVaRHIO) click here. For more about MedVirginia also see above on this page. For more about CareSpark click here to access a YouTube about CareSpark.

Telehealth Resources for PsychologistsInformation Available Online Includes Potential Clinical Applications, Relevant Laws, and Other Issues. From apapracticecentral.org by Practice Research and Policy and Legal/Regulatory Affairs Staff August 31, 2010. Click here for article.

"Applications of Telehealth for Hearing Care." From Audiology Today Sept.-October 2010. Click here for article.

"Thousands Of Returning Soldiers Face A New Enemy." However, the legacy of one of America’s longest combat missions will continue to affect the thousands of troops who came home suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries." from All Things Considered, NPR, Sepember 4, 2010. Click here for full article and audio.

Iowa Releases Broadband Market Assessment Report. This report provides a detailed review of the current state of broadband in Iowa. This initial assessment of the state’s broadband landscape was based on the data collected from the Connect Iowa mapping and planning initiative. From GOVMONITOR September 2, 2010. For article and link to full report click here.

Cincinnati, Detroit selected as final health IT pilot communities under innovative HHS Recovery Act Beacon Program. The below are excepts from the announcement. Click here for full announcement.

MGH Doc: 60 Percent Of Visits Could Happen Online. Very extension, thoughtful radio discussion among two Boston area physicians, one from Mass General and one from Boston Deaconess, regarding telemedicine. From Radio Boston: WBUR Public Radio Boston August 31, 2010, by Adam Ragusea. Click here to hear audio of program - then click on "Listen Now." [VTN note: There may be HIPAA privacy issues with Skype. This interview is provided for informational purposes only and is not an endorsement of any specific telecommunications application.]

The RAM Clinic: "Help for Remote Area." "Michael Harper, MD Medical Director of the remote clinic said “In the past several years, we’ve been able to bring some technology to this environment. One of our cardiologists was really surprised when he got an echocardiogram done in less than 15 minutes, which is not easy to do in some hospitals.”

"The high-tech care is helped in part by donations from the Verizon Foundation, which for the past eight years has provided an estimated $100,000 in grants and broadband connections for the Wise RAM. Verizon installed T1 broadband lines to enable volunteers to access the internet and send mammograms back to the UVA Medical Center." From another Federal Telemedicine News substantive article. Click here for the September 1, 2010 complete article.

Wound Study at George Washington University: "Physicians use photos from patients' cellphones to deliver 'mobile health.' "From the Washington Post August 31, 2010. Click here for article.

The Northern Neck of Virginia Struggles with High-Speed Internet. From Richmond-Times Dispatch August 29, 2010. Click here for article.

Telemedicine Links Between EMTs and Doctors to Improve Emergency Care. A detailed article about the system used at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. From azcentral.com. Click here for article.

Chronic Disease Screening and Detection: SANA and Narayana Hrudayalaya Partner to Launch an Open Source Telemedicine Platform. SANA, at MIT/Harvard, has developed an open-source telemedicine platform that allows structured medical assessments to be encoded onto smart-phones, interfaces with diagnostics such as ECG, Ultrasound and X-ray/CT-scanners, and enables two-way sharing of medical data between a central medical record database and the phone.

In an attempt to ensure early screening and detection of chronic diseases in India, Bangalore based Narayana Hrudayalaya and SANA (a research group at Harvard/MIT) are partnering to launch a mobile healthcare project.

India is experiencing a double burden of disease with persistent infectious disease coupled with increasing incidence of chronic disease like cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Unfortunately, due to lack of specialists care in rural areas, most chronic diseases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when treatment becomes complicated and expensive. From Nagaeshwar Patnaik, ET Bureau August 30, 2010. Click here for article.

Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services: Ohio Telehealth Webinar. Held August 25, 2010. Presentations: Telehealth Webinar; Direct Theray at CHC (Community Health Center), and Treatment and Technology Conference Presentation: "Deaf Off Drug & Alcohol." Click here for Power Point presentations.

The New Momentum Behind Electronic Health Records by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Dept of Health and Human Services. To read article in August 26, 2010 Kaiser Health News click here.

Rural Health Network Planning Grant Guidance Now Available from the Office of Rural Health Policy. Click here for more information.

The Engaged E-Patient Population. From the Pew Internet, August 26, 2010. To access full report by Susannah Fox click here.

Strategic Management Studies May Help HIT Regional Extension Centers RECs Help Providers. From HITECHWatch. Click here for article.

Chronic Disease in the Internet Age: Upcoming Presentation by Susannah Fox. See Calendar of Events: e-Patient Connections.

Mental Health Services for Veterans is a Focus of Texas A&M Counseling Psychology. Click here for more information.

Virtual Tumor Board Gives Navy Veteran Second Chance at Life. The South Central VA Health Care Network established a Virtual Tumor Board at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. Click on Cypress Times for August 25, 2010 article and photos.

Digital Divide Initiative in Washington, D.C.: Southeast versus Northeast Access to High Speed and Program to Bring High-Speed Internet to All. Click on Government Technology for August 24, 2010 article.

California to Deploy Nation's First Mass Mobile Alert System: California and Sprint Join Forces. Click on Government Technology for August 24, 2010 article.

Congratulations Virginia! HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Announced on August 23, 2010: More Than $32 Million in FY 2010 Funds to Increase Access to Health Care for Americans Living in Rural Areas. Virginia is Awarded Three Grants:

St. Charles Health Council, Inc., in Pennington Gap, is an Awardee of One Grant:

To view the announcement and for the link to the list of all awardees click here. For a summary of the awards click on the Federal Telemedicine News August 24, 2010 blog: Funding to Support Rural Health.

Vice President Biden Announces Recovery Act Investments in Broadband Projects to Bring Jobs, Economic Opportunity to Communities Nationwide - Including Three Awards in Virginia. August 18, 2010: Vice President Biden announced 94 Recovery Act investments in broadband projects that will create jobs and expand economic opportunities within 37 states. These investments in high-speed Internet infrastructure will help bridge the technological divide in communities that are being left in the 20th century economy and support improvements in education, healthcare, and public safety. Today's announcement, an investment totaling $1.8 billion, is part of a nearly $7 billion Recovery Act initiative. A complete list of projects receiving Recovery Act broadband grant awards today can be viewed in full here. From USDA Newsroom News Release. The Virginia awards (all from the Department of Commerce) are:

California Telehealth Network Launched. On Tuesday, August 17, 2010 the California Telehealth Network, the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) and the California Center for Connected Health Policy joined together to launch the California Telehealth Network (CTN.)
Propelling California as a leader in telemedicine, and providing an example nationwide for what broadband technology can do for healthcare services, CTN will allow patients in rural and underserved areas of California to receive the specialty care they need. CTN will connect more than 800 California healthcare facilities to a statewide and nationwide broadband network of healthcare and emergency services.
The $30 million project is funded by $22.1 million from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with $3.6 million in matching funds from CETF and other public and private entities. From the California Telehealth Network new Web site. Click here for a direct link to the Web site.

August 17, 2010 National Public Radio Story: Healing Rural Patients With A Dose Of Broadband. Click here for story and link to Podcast.

Rural Health Care Universal Service Suppport Mechanism: Proposed Rule. This was published in the Federal Register on August 9, 2010. Comments are due on October 8, 2010. Comments are available for public viewing on the FCC Web site as they are received. To find comments look under proceeding numbers 10-125 and also 02-60. For more information click on National News. To view the published proposed rule click here.

Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) To Map Broadband Usage in the Commonwealth’s Healthcare Sector. For more information click on Virginia News.

Intel and GE to Create a New Health Care Company. On August 2, 2010, California-based computer chip vendor Intel and Connecticut-based General Electric announced an agreement to create a new health care company, with each company holding a 50% share in the new venture, the Wall Street Journal reports (Clark/Glader, Wall Street Journal, 8/3). The new company is expected to develop new health care tools to promote independent living, chronic disease management, and assistive technologies. From August 3, 2010 iHealthBeat.

Stretcher-Mounted Telemedicine System Aids Critical Pediatric Care in Cincinnati: From July 26, 2010 Emergency Management. Click here for article.

Virginia Health Care Foundation Announces $1.5 Million in Grant Funds to 18 Health Safety Net Organizations Across the State. Click on Virginia News for details.

National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Releases State-by-State Report on Health IT Projects
"Because many health IT projects and health information exchanges are under way at various government levels -- many of them funded at least in part by the economic stimulus -- it can be overwhelming to encapsulate how these ventures are related and what people and organizations are in charge of them. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) seeks to give clarity on this complex topic with a state-by-state look at health IT programs and leadership in a report released Thursday, July 29, called Profiles of Progress 4: State Health IT Initiative. From Government Technology Jul 29, 2010, News Report. For full article click here. To access full report click here.

Teleneurology at New York Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The Susquehanna Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in New York has teamed up with the University of Rochester and Johns Hopkins University to offer patients a new telemedicine program.The treatment will allow patients with Parkinson's and other Neuromuscular disorders to receive therapy via telemedicine. From Fox 40 WICZ.com. Click here for full article.

The National Rural Health Association Submitted its Comment Letter to CMS Regarding Proposed Credentialing and Privileging Rule. The National Rural Health Association submitted its comment letter this week in response to CMS' proposed changes affecting Hospital and Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Conditions of Participation (CoPs) Credentialing and Privileging of Telemedicine Physicians and Practitioners. The letter expresses concern that the proposed rule's limited scope does not reach far enough to include accredited non-hospital telemedicine services. For more information and to see letter click here.

"U.S. Senate Panel Advances Funding for Western Montana Mental Health Project": The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee have passed legislation that will help start a new regional hospital network in western Montanna to help rural hospitals treat mental illness. The new Outpatient Mental Health Network will use telemedicine technology to connect St. Patrick Hospital doctors who specialize in mental health with emergency rooms at small hospitals around Montana. From an article in the July 31, 2010 The Clark Fork Chronicle, by Carolyn Bunce and Aaron Murphy. For full article click here.

For post traumatic stress disorders, almost 366,000 vets were treated in fiscal 2009. That number is also rising. There were almost 255,000 treated in fiscal 2006. Of course, during conflicts, there will be more PTSD – as estimated 30 percent of those who served in Vietnam, for example, experienced PTSD and 10 percent of those in the Gulf War did. (About 6.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some time in their lives.) And reaching vets once they leave urban areas with easy access to clinics is another problem. Petzel [Robert A. Petzel, Undersecretary for Health at the VA] said there is an increased use of private providers and telemedicine." From July 30, 2010 Baltimore Sun Blog. For complete article click here.

Sentara Hospital and Video Conference Patient Room: ipConfigure announced on July 28, 2010 that their flagship product Enterprise Surveillance Manager has been deployed by Sentara Hospital as a comprehensive patient remote conferencing solution.

Wireless-Enabled Telehealth Devices: FCC and FDA Join Forces. "The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have joined forces to help advance innovation and investment in wireless-enabled telehealth devices, which can improve the quality of a patient's health and reduce healthcare costs." By Nicole Lewis, July 27, 2010 InformationWeek.

Senators Push $50 Million for School-Based Health Care. From CQ HEALTHBEAT NEWS July 26, 2010 – 4:39 p.m. By Jane Norman, CQ HealthBeat Associate Editor. Information provided by the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care. VTN will be following this story closing and reporting on developments.

The "Virginia Senate Finance Committee Report on HIT Activities" and More Information About the Virginia HIT Regional Extension Center is Now Available on the Virginia Health Information Technology Spotlight.

USDA Seeks Public Comment on Distance Learning and Telemedicine Programs. The Power of Telemedicine web discussion is an extension of the USDA's Open Government effort and Rural Development's latest effort to encourage a more widespread use and understanding of telemedicine.

The Power of Telemedicine discussion will encourage the exchange of information, innovations and success stories involving the varied uses of telemedicine. This information is essential as Rural Development examines the Distance Learning and Telemedicine program (DLT) and works to improve program delivery to telemedicine practitioners, patients, institutions and others affected by this cutting-edge technology.