Facing a sobering assessment of the health disparities experienced by residents of Southwest Virginia – a region that holds some of the highest mortality rates in the country – a coalition of organizations has developed a comprehensive plan for improving regional wellbeing. Called the Blueprint for Health Improvement and Health-Enabled Prosperity, the 42-page report identified […]
Read More… from Southwest Virginia’s “Blueprint” for a Healthier Future Includes Focus on Telehealth
True patient care goes beyond an exam room, diagnoses, or treatment plan. Social drivers of health have a profound impact on a person’soverall wellbeing, and factors like access to nutritious food, stable housing, reliable transportation, and economic stability often determine how successful a treatment plan will be. To support providers, community health workers, educators, and […]
Read More… from Online Tool Helps Providers Address Social Drivers of Health for Patients
For many families, accessing timely health care isn’t as simple as making an appointment. Working parents may struggle to take time off, transportation challenges can make doctor visits difficult and long wait times for appointments can mean kids may go without the care they need. These barriers are especially tough on families with school-age children, […]
Read More… from School-Based Telehealth Clinics Launch in Hampton and Harrisonburg
During the 2024 Virginia Telehealth Network Summit, Bay Rivers Telehealth Alliance (BRTA) received the inaugural VTN Innovator Award for its work to expand access to behavioral health care in the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck regions of rural Virginia. The VTN Innovator Award celebrates the unique and groundbreaking ways health care providers, clinics, and organizations […]
Read More… from Bay Rivers Telehealth Alliance Receives Inaugural VTN Innovator Award
Earlier this year under the leadership of House Speaker Don Scott, the Virginia House of Delegates launched the Select Committee for Rural and Small-Town Health Care to study challenges faced by rural counties and small towns in accessing quality health care. The committee is tasked with developing actionable recommendations by November 15, 2024, that will […]
As part of ongoing efforts to monitor the impact of telehealth on Virginia’s patients and health care providers, the Virginia Telehealth Network (VTN) conducts a periodic “Benchmarking Telehealth Usage in Virginia” survey of actively practicing licensed health care providers across the Commonwealth. This research effort offers context regarding Virginia’s current and future needs with virtual […]
Birth in Color Telehealth Listening Project Report Cover Photo. Source: Birth in Color Like many states, Virginia has vast deserts when it comes to OBGYN and reproductive health care, causing disparities in access to care for many. To gain a comprehensive understanding about the effectiveness in using telehealth in reproductive and maternal health care, reproductive […]
Read More… from Successes and barriers in virtual reproductive health care in Virginia
Across the country, Substance Use Disorder (SUD) continues to be one of the most prevalent challenges faced by many: in 2023, 15.35% of Americans were reported to be battling substance use disorder according to data from Mental Health America. Of those, 93.5% did not receive any form of treatment. Stigma, cost, and geographical barriers have […]
According to the Virginia Department of Health, stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in Virginia. Most stroke patients do not arrive to the hospital in time, leading to increased death and permanent disability. UVA Health’s SCOPES (Strengthening Community Paramedicine and Emergency Services) program aims to bridge the gap by enhancing telehealth capabilities of […]
Q&A: w/ Heather Anderson, Virginia Department of Health When the Virginia State Office of Rural Health began taking steps toward updating the Commonwealth’s Rural Health Plan, it took a step back to ask a foundational question: What is a healthy community? The answer to that query has helped to shape the 2022-2026 Virgina Rural Health […]
Read More… from The Role of Telehealth in Virginia’s Rural Health Plan
Nicole (Nikki) Kemp, NP-C of Bernard Healthcare Center in Rocky Mount, Va. is providing hope for her patients by talking openly about how important mental health care is to meeting the overall health needs of her patients. Earlier this year, Bernard Healthcare Center began offering free teletherapy to eligible patients of the clinic through the […]
During a recent VTN webinar Senator Barbara Favola shared insight on the current state of telehealth legislation in Virginia and where the legislature could take us in the future. She is a champion of human rights and an advocate for increasing access to quality care in Virginia via telehealth. “The General Assembly has really embraced […]
Read More… from Sen. Favola Shares Current and Future State of Telehealth in Virginia
Felecia Smith’s primary job is to help ensure that individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing can get access to information. Her main objective for becoming a Virginia Telehealth Network member is to educate health care providers of their obligations to Deaf and Hard of Hearing patients and the ways in which their practices […]
Read More… from Enhancing Telehealth for Patients who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
As we approach the end of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, it’s important to reflect on the breadth and depth of mental health issues across the country. Virtually every adult agrees the country is facing a mental health crisis, as nearly a third of U.S. adults report feelings of depression and/or anxiety. Younger generations […]
Read More… from Mental Health Awareness Month: Increasing Mental Health Resources
Two days before a proposed rule change by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulating the prescribing of controlled substances via telemedicine was set to take effect, the agency issued a temporary rule to extend COVID-era telehealth prescribing flexibilities for another six months, through November 11, 2023. Apparently, the DEA was listening. The agency received some […]
Read More… from Tele-Prescribing Flexibilities Extended Just Ahead of PHE Expiration
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) released Virginia’s first State Telehealth Plan in 2021 to promote an integrated approach to the introduction and use of telehealth services in the Commonwealth. By law, the Plan includes provisions for the use of remote patient monitoring services and store-and-forward technologies as well as the promotion of the inclusion […]
Tooth decay is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. Untreated cavities can lead to pain, infection, missed school time, and even trouble eating, talking, or socializing. Despite the importance of oral health, not all children have equal access to dental care. But now, new advances in virtual dentistry is helping change that. […]
Read More… from How Virginia Health Catalyst is Expanding Teledentistry in Virginia’s Public Schools
The spike in Medicare claims for telemedicine appointments drew the attention of federal watchdog agencies. Regulators wanted to be sure that billing practices in the telehealth realm were following prescribed guidelines, especially given the fact that so many providers were still relatively new to telemedicine protocols. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) undertook […]
Read More… from Federal Audit Shows Telehealth Providers Complying with Medicare Billing Practices
Telehealth served not only as a solution for Bradley Free Clinic, and many other clinics and providers, to be able to see existing mental health patients during the onset of the pandemic, but it allowed Bradley to support its community when the demand for mental health skyrocketed. In just over two years, Bradley increased its mental health […]
Read More… from Supporting Roanoke’s exploding demand while growing recourses
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
In the New River Valley region, one out of six people don’t have access to regular transportation. Additionally, the area isn’t abundant with medical or dental providers, and many practices don’t accept Medicaid, specifically in the dental field. To help address these issues, the Community Health Center of the New River Valley (CHCNRV) launched a […]
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 […]
By now you’ve heard the story about the healthcare provider whose world turned topsy-turvy during the pandemic, only to realize that employing telehealth into their practice could transport them into a world approaching normalcy. Then, two years later they come to realize that telemedicine has so many advantages that they decide to make it a […]
Read More… from Expanding and Integrating Care through Telehealth
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 […]
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. 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
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 […]
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
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
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
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