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MEDVIRGINIA

THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HEALTH SYSTEM

LAUREL SHACKELFORD (GARZON) SHEPHERD, PhD, PNP
Graduate Program Director, Nursing Administration
Associate Professor
Old Dominion University

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.

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WEEKLY BLOG

AUGUST 23, 2010 (on vacation August 30,2010)

“There’s An App For That”

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

(Photo Provided Courtesy of Dr. J.P. Auffret)

VIRGINIA TELE-STORIES/DOCUMENTARIES

(A Nurse Practitioner in the Saltville Medical Center Showing a Retinal Digital Camera Image.

mHEALTH

(Click on the following to see an informative and entertaining video example: A TEDMED presentation: Eric Topol: The wireless future of medicine)

HOME TELEHEALTH & REMOTE MONITORING

TELEHEALTH INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON INTERNET SHARING SITES (YOU TUBE AND OTHERS)

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

CURRENT FEATURE TOPIC: TELEMENTAL HEALTH

(Larry Merkel, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, University of Virginia (on video screen) demonstrating telepsychiatry.) (Image Credit: C. Lewis, UVa)

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Recent Peer-Reviewed Articles Arranged by Speciality

(Photo Provided Courtesy of N. Herendeen, MD, U. of Rochester)

TECHNOLOGY WATCH

Getting Started? Want Telemedicine Training Information? Click on ORGANIZATIONS

Examples:

• The Southwest Telehealth Resource Center has an extensive online video library available at no cost. Examples of videos include: Evaluation, business, facility design, video and data communication, basics on how a network is set up, and barriers.
• The Great Plains Telehealth Resource & Assistance Center has information on its Web site regarding what you need to get started, including a telehealth/telemedicine toolbox.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

(Staunton, VA site of the December 9 and 10, 2010 Virginia Rural Health Association Conference: Generating Ideas for Rural Health)

MISCELLANEOUS: ITEMS THAT DON'T FIT NEATLY IN THIS WEB SITE

"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.

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

(See Virginia News and National News for more news. For articles and resources regarding the "Meaningful Use" regulations, click on National News.)

(Updated September 2, 2010)

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 eonomy. Click here for more information and link to surveys.

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 annoucement. Click here for full announcement.

The two awardees announced today, Greater Cincinnati HealthBridge, Inc. in Cincinnati and Southeastern Michigan Health Association in Detroit, join 15 other projects selected in May for the Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program.  The other communities that previously received Beacon program funding include Tulsa, Okla.; Stoneville, Miss.; Brewer, Maine; Danville, Pa.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Indianapolis, Ind.; Spokane, Wash. New Orleans, La.; Rochester, Minn.; Providence, R.I.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Concord, N.C.; San Diego, Calif.; Hilo, Hawaii, and Buffalo, N.Y.  Beacon projects are expected to initially create dozens of new jobs in each of the communities paying an average of $70,000 per year for a total of over 1,100 jobs up-front, while accelerating development of a nationwide health IT infrastructure that will eventually employ tens of thousands of Americans. 

The Greater Cincinnati HealthBridge, Inc. - $13.8 million over three years – HealthBridge will serve a 16-county area spanning three states surrounding greater Cincinnati. Under the Beacon program, HealthBridge and its partners will use its advanced health information exchange program to develop new quality improvement and care coordination initiatives focusing on patients with pediatric asthma, adult diabetes, and encouraging smoking cessation.

The Southeastern Michigan Health Association (SEMHA) - $16.2 million over three years – The SEMHA and its partners in the greater Detroit area will use health IT tools and strategies to prevent and better manage diabetes, which today affects a large percentage of residents of the city of Detroit.

MGH Doc: 60 Percent Of Visits Could Happen Online. Very extension, thoughful 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.

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.

GE Foundation Awards $2 Million to Louisiana Public Health Institute. The GE Foundation announced on August 24th a $2 million grant to the Louisiana Public Health Institute to increase access to school-based health centers in New Orleans. From Philanthropy News Digest.

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:

Virginia Department of Health is an Awardee of Two Grants:

Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex) $327,097; and

Flex Rural Veterans Health Access Program: $296,667

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

Rural Health Workforce Development Grant Award: $200,000

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.

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 Press Release Click Here. For more information about NovVARHIO also click on Virginia Health Information Technology Spotlight.

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:

• Citizens' Telephone Cooperative VA $9,237,760;
• County of Rockbridge VA $6,993,399; and
• Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative VA $10,023,247.

For details regarding Virginia awards click on: Virginia News.

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.

"More Vets Getting Mental Health Care, More Need Care:

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.

Northern Neck