More than 10,000 health care professionals took part in VTN’s second annual survey to benchmark telehealth usage throughout Virginia. RICHMOND, Va., June 13, 2023 – A recent survey of Virginia health care professionals finds that eight in 10 (80%) providers using telehealth saw improvements in their patients’ continuity of care, and nearly nine in 10 […]
Read More… from Virginia Telehealth Survey Finds Growth in Provider Confidence
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There is a great need for behavioral and mental health services in Virginia. A Mental Health America report ranked Virginia 39th nationwide when it comes to the availability of mental health services for adults, with 125 out of 133 cities and counties in the state designated as Mental Health Professional Shortages Areas. To help expand […]
Read More… from VTN-Led Initiative Now Offering Free Telemental Health Services Statewide
Within medical circles, the pivot from in-the-office appointments to virtual ones via telehealth has proven for some to be tricky – both from a logistics standpoint and the ways in which health care providers interact with their patients. Here’s a rundown of what many providers have learned as they see more and more patients via […]
Read More… from Tips for Improving Telehealth for Your Patients
Each month, VTN highlights five articles sharing updates, announcements and the latest on telehealth in Virginia and beyond. This edition includes pending legislative updates that will impact Medicare, the growing industry of teledentistry, and telehealth programs that are bringing care to students at school. Increasing Telemental Health Access to Students According to the CDC, more […]
Read More… from In the News: Bringing Telehealth to Students
Each month, VTN highlights five articles sharing updates, announcements and the latest on telehealth in Virginia and beyond. This edition includes collaborative efforts in Southwest Virginia to increase access to telehealth, how virtual care may benefit the economy and legislative updates that will impact Medicare coverage. Southwest Virginia Library Creates a Telehealth Office Earlier this […]
Read More… from In the News: Investing in Telehealth Solutions
For most mental health providers, the COVID-era transition from in-person sessions to virtual ones was a challenge, even for those with clients who had ready access to broadband internet. Communicating through a computer or cell phone does not come second nature to all, especially when your client is five years old. When the world shut […]
Read More… from For Mental Health Therapy, “Meeting Kids Where They Are” Might Best be Online
Now that patients, health care workers and policymakers can widen the lens on telehealth’s impact beyond an emergency response, the benefits are innumerable. The latest equity and telehealth news round-up covers the new national suicide hotline, federal funding for expanded telehealth access, telehealth easing the burden of high gas prices and reducing antibiotic use in […]
We’ve spent a lot of time in these pages showcasing the many ways that physicians, mental health professionals and medical practices are employing telehealth around the commonwealth. We’ve documented the tectonic shift that took place at the outset of the pandemic, how the embrace of telemedicine provided a safe and effective lifeline between health practitioners […]
Read More… from The Future of Telehealth: Where Do We Go from Here?
As a push comes for a “return to normal,” it is apparent how valuable telehealth is for many populations. As medical professionals and policymakers determine a path forward they must address the barriers to access for certain populations and work towards an equitable future for telehealth. The latest equity and telehealth news round-up covers legislation […]
Read More… from Telehealth in the News: Telehealth as a Lifeline
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Telehealth can be challenging for those who aren’t familiar or comfortable with technology, but patients whose first language is not English face another set of barriers. Patients with limited English language proficiency (LEP) are historically less likely to visit the doctor and less likely to get preventative care services, regardless of health status, access to […]
Read More… from Improving Access to Telehealth for Patients with Limited English Proficiency
Even as the pandemic appears to be winding down, the effects and implications of the last two years likely will be felt for months, even years down the road. The healthcare industry, in particular, has found new avenues for reaching those in need, with telehealth at the forefront of those changes in patient care. The […]
In the fall of 2021, the Virginia Telehealth Network conducted a research initiative to better understand how the pandemic was changing the landscape of telehealth as well as pain points and needs of both providers and patients. Thanks to partners, including the Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Department of Health Professions and numerous association partners, […]
The staff and faculty at Germanna Community College have known for a long time that their students face non-academic barriers, many of which were exacerbated by the pandemic. That’s why advisors, faculty and staff have worked hard to provide holistic support to students. Over the last two years, there has been an increase in demand […]
Read More… from Virginia’s Community Colleges provide students with free, virtual mental health care
Not just Spanish, but Mongolian is no problemo At first blush, the story is a familiar one. Facing a national health crisis without the ability to see patients in person, a healthcare provider makes the predictable transition to telemedicine, and along the way, discovers that what seemed for a long time like a complicated, pie-in-the-sky […]
Read More… from In Arlington, Language Barriers No Obstacle for Telehealth
The past two years have been full of change, growth and learning as health care professionals, clinics and medical infrastructures quickly adapted to meet the growing demand for telehealth. Along the way, VTN has been hard at work to promote and enhance telehealth offerings across the commonwealth. Part of that work included a multipronged statewide […]
Telehealth isn’t going away any time soon. The last two years have allowed health care leaders to reflect on the implementation of telehealth across medical fields and determine how to best incorporate virtual care. The latest equity and telehealth news round-up covers bridging the digital divide with audio-only monitoring, strengthening digital strategies beyond the pandemic […]
Read More… from Telehealth Updates in the News: January 2022
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The lingering pandemic has for two years been the country’s most-pressing public health priority. But while COVID-19 has been the understandable focus during that time, the health issue that the virus eclipsed in attention has not gone away. Hospitalizations and deaths as the result of opioid overdoses continue at alarming rates. Since 2013, the leading […]
Like so many mental health practitioners, Dr. Michael Greelis made the transition to teletherapy a bit begrudgingly, recognizing that in the throes of a pandemic, you really don’t have much of a choice. A licensed professional counselor in Northern Virginia since 1995, his practice up until March 2020 had been exclusively a traditional one – […]
Curating the latest updates, news and announcements related to telehealth in the U.S. As organizations across the country continue to adapt to the pandemic’s ever-changing environment, finding resources that meet people’s health needs is critical. Telehealth has proven to be an invaluable tool for providers and patients. The latest equity and telehealth news round-up covers […]
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many physicians and healthcare organizations have turned to telehealth to address patients’ care needs. While critical to preventing the virus’s spread and preserving personal protective equipment, this move can exacerbate an equity gap in care for some. The federal government has implemented programs that provide more latitude for physicians […]
Read More… from Taking an Equity Lens to Telehealth in Your Practice
Curating the latest updates, news and announcements related to telehealth in the U.S. Telemedicine has proven to be a valuable tool for bringing care to underserved communities, but access to telehealth services can be influenced by many factors across the nation, like access to broadband. Efforts to address these gaps are being made to ensure […]
This past summer, the Virginia Community Healthcare Association (VACHA), the nonprofit organization that represents the interests of Virginia’s 30 community health centers (and look-alike centers), released research it had commissioned related to the use of telemedicine, especially how COVID-19 had affected its use. To the extent possible (since a great deal of data is not […]
Read More… from New Research Shows the Reality – and the Promise – of Telemedicine
When the Bay Rivers Telehealth Alliance (BRTA) was created about seventeen years ago, there was a pioneering spirit among the member healthcare providers serving Virginia’s Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck. At the time, the promise of telemedicine helping expand access to care and reducing health disparities was still more aspirational than practical. After all, there […]
While telehealth is an instrumental tool in expanding access to health care for underserved localities, demographics and others in need, it’s nearly impossible to conduct without access to broadband – for both providers and patients. And in today’s day and age, it is an essential need for quality living. That’s why the state of Virginia […]
Read More… from Expanding access to broadband in the Commonwealth
Image sourced from healthaffairs.org Curating the latest updates, news and announcements related to telehealth in the U.S. The landscape of telehealth is changing every day. The adoption of telehealth soared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has become an integral platform for healthcare. Laws have been updated to accommodate the changing landscape of telehealth. […]
How Virginia’s oldest free clinic transitioned to telehealth Richmond’s Health Brigade has a long history of meeting patients where they are. Created more than a half century ago in Richmond’s “Fan” district – a largely residential neighborhood that gave the community health clinic its first name – the former Fan Free Clinic became the first […]
Transitioning to virtual learning was tough on students, especially for students who had difficulty performing in the classroom. Students with limitations that impact their senses, coordination, executive functioning, communication and/or behavior can find remote learning even more of a challenge. It’s why Chesterfield County Public Schools, which provides Occupational Therapy services for its students, introduced […]
Read More… from Creating access to online learning via occupational teletherapy
Michelle Allen is an occupational therapist for Chesterfield County Public Schools and serves students privately through Treehouse Pediatric Therapy. In the school system, occupational therapists help students access their social and academic environments, which completely changed during the pandemic. “In an in-person classroom, we might be looking at positioning for seating or how students use […]
Read More… from OTs Help Chesterfield Students Transition to Teletherapy and Online Learning
For more than a quarter century, the Lackey Clinic has been providing free medical care to those in need in the Yorktown community. Founded in 1995 when local physician Jim Shaw and his wife Cooka began seeing patients from a Sunday school classroom at a local church, the clinic has grown significantly over the years, […]
Read More… from Free Clinic’s Transition to Telehealth Is Helping Grow its Practice
Dr. Sadiq Patel’s recent webinar on Telehealth Equity – part of the Virginia Telehealth Network’s series on Equity & Telehealth – provided a great deal of insights into the statistics surrounding the use of telehealth in the country. A NIMH postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Patel shared some telling – and sometimes […]
Read More… from Data on Telehealth Use During Pandemic Includes Some Head-Scratching Findings
Improving telehealth means ensuring there is equity at every level. Tools, technology and processes must be accessible and customized to meet the needs of all patients. The technology providers use also should offer enhanced options and have translation capabilities for those with a language barrier. Another way physicians can improve telehealth is by digitizing paper […]
Read More… from Equity in Telehealth: Addressing Areas in Need
As part of Virginia Telehealth Network’s commitment to serving those who need it most, we kicked off our Equity & Telehealth initiative with an introductory webinar led by Dr. Sadiq Patel, NIMH Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School within the Department of Health Care Policy. During this session, Dr. Patel introduced to our members […]
Read More… from Equity & Telehealth: An intro with Dr. Sadiq Patel
It was the spring of 2020, and Dr. Christian Bergman – like so many physicians specializing in the care of patients in the senior population – was concerned. Reports that COVID-19 was spreading quickly in Washington State and then New York, especially among older Americans, had him fearing a worst-case scenario. “If the virus […]
Read More… from Telehealth Provides Platform for Mutual Learning During Pandemic
There is a misperception that older adults are either uninterested in or incapable of using technological platforms for health care. However, most older people, 7 in 10, have and use a computer, smartphone, or tablet with an internet connection at home. While most older adults have access to modern technology, there is a limited reach […]
Read More… from Tips for Introducing Telehealth to Older Adults
The past year has brought many challenges – including new practice safeguards that for many limited how many patients could be seen in a day – as well as many opportunities. Many of our practices have embraced telehealth, new collaborations, and creative staffing models as we sought to meet our patients’ needs during this time. […]
Read More… from Physician and nurse practitioner collaborations are a win-win-win
The pace of what’s referred to as “digital adoption” – the embrace of online tools – has accelerated dramatically during the pandemic. According to research by McKinsey, consumers are driving digital adoption across their daily lives, from the way we shop and order food to how we communicate with one another. (Zoom, anyone?) One digital […]
Read More… from Early Telemedicine Champion Now Seeing Remote Services Taking Hold
When the Rockingham Free Clinic in Harrisonburg ceased operation at the end of 2020, and during a pandemic, local health care professionals stepped up to ensure those without access to healthcare would have their needs met. In April 2020, the Blue Ridge Free Clinic was established. Overall, the clinic is led by a very engaged […]
VCU’s Richmond Health and Wellness Program works to create equitable solutions for older adults. The topic of equity in healthcare – an evening-out of the playing field when it comes to access to care among all populations – has been a gathering concern over the past several years. While the Affordable Care Act has been […]
Read More… from Telehealth Sustains Momentum Toward Improving Health Equity
The public health emergency of the past year has impacted the delivery of healthcare services in profound ways, and perhaps none more so than how it has accelerated the adoption of virtual care – by both patient and provider. From diagnostic tools to preventive care, from mental health services to treatment, telemedicine has proven to be a safe, convenient and effective tool across virtually every practice area. […]
Read More… from Virginia policies catching up to momentum behind telemedicine
We have seen a glimpse of the future of health care during the pandemic this past year. Tools such as telemedicine and video platforms were quickly deployed to provide care to patients with chronic disease at their own homes in order to keep them from overwhelming hospital systems that have channeled all their resources to take care of the critically ill COVID-19 patients. […]
Those of you following the recently completed session of the Virginia General Assembly may have taken special notice of a bill having to do with nurse practitioners. Proposed by Del. Dawn M. Adams, herself a practicing nurse practitioner, H.B. 1737 – which passed by more than a three-to-one margin in the House – enables nurse […]
Read More… from General Assembly easing path to independent practice for nurse practitioners
The pandemic has engendered changes within healthcare at every level – from a relaxation of regulations by policymakers to the adoption of new protocols among healthcare providers to changes in behavior among patients. The question now – how much of this new normal will last once we are on the other side of the coronavirus? […]
Read More… from Too soon to be planning for post-pandemic? Likely not.
While telehealth has been around for years, it was something new for many healthcare professionals across the commonwealth, quickly obliged to adopt it when the pandemic and social distancing protocols began. A year later, the volume of telehealth claims in the southern region of the nation is up more than 1,000% from Dec. 2019 to […]
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VTN is pleased to release another webinar in our series of free webinars to provide information and education on telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Kathy Wibberly, Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center, will provide a webinar on funding opportunities within telehealth. As telehealth has become synonymous with health care, more providers are […]
VTN recently hosted a webinar with Joseph P. McMenamin, MD, JD of McMenamin Law Offices and VTN’s legal counsel, about reducing risk when providing telehealth during this unique time. View the webinar below: […]
Webinar: Discussion with Joseph P. McMenamin, MD, JD of McMenamin Law Offices and VTN’s legal counsel, about recent changes in the law as a result of COVID-19. View the webinar: […]
Register now for the 2020 MATRC Summit. April 5-7, 2020 Embassy Suites Charlotte – Concord Golf Resort & Spa […]
The Telehealth Guide has been updated for 2019. Click here for more information. […]
The 2019 Virginia Telehealth Summit Resources have been posted. Click here to view the 2019 Summit Agenda. Become a member to view other 2019 Virginia Telehealth Summit Resources such as presentations, presenter bios and other resources. […]