Southern Indiana Business Report
TERRE HAUTE — An Indiana organization that’s helping to champion telehealth expansion in the Midwest has received a major grant. Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center, a program of Daviess County-based Indiana Rural Health Association, is being awarded $325,000 in federal money annually for the next three years from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
“The need for and expansion of telehealth literally exploded during the 2020 lockdown and COVID-19 crisis,” said Cara Veale, CEO of the Indiana Rural Health Association. “The UMTRC has played an important role in helping hospitals, clinics, physicians and medical professionals institute and bring high-impact telehealth operations up to speed.”
The UMTRC is one of 12 regional and two national telehealth resource centers — one for policy and one for technology — funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ and HRSA’s Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, which is part of the Office of Rural Health Policy.
“The pandemic year was a transformational time for telehealth services, as telehealth went from an emerging alternative to a dominant solution for the delivery of certain types of healthcare, including urgent situations,” said Becky Sanders, UMTRC program director, “Telehealth as a market accelerated from a few million dollars annually a decade ago to an incredible $10 billion in 2020.”
She added the industry is expected to more than triple in size the next few years to approach $40 billion in service value.
Telehealth is recognized as critically important at the federal level. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra outlined the importance of telehealth when he announced the new three-year grants. “Telehealth is crucial to providing convenient and sustained care for patients,” he noted.
HRSA Acting Administrator Diana Espinosa added, “Telehealth expands access to care and is a vital tool for improving health equity by providing timely clinical assessment and treatment for our most vulnerable populations.” She went on to say that the new funding will help drive the innovation necessary to build clinical networks, educational opportunities, and trusted resources to further advance telehealth.
“UMRTC has positively impacted hospitals and clinics in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio since its inception over a decade ago,” said Veale. “The UMTRC staff recently hosted the third annual UMTRC Conference, featuring telehealth experts from around the country who disseminated important information about telehealth administration and expansion.” The UMTRC also regularly offers popular webinars from telehealth professionals and experts in how to improve and elevate telehealth.
“UMTRC is truly a recognized and important authority on telehealth adoption, delivery, compliance and reimbursement in today’s world of complex healthcare delivery,” Veale commeted.
For more information, visit https://www.umtrc.org/.