Category: Current Affairs

New Telehealth Resource Collection

May 25, 2021

The Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC), a program of the National Rural Health Resource Center (The Center), has created a specialized collection of telehealth resources.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines telehealth as the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support and promote long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health, and health administration.

Telehealth is especially critical in rural and other remote areas without the full range of health care services and providers. The types of telehealth services have expanded over the past 20 years to increase access to health care. The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated both the use and acceptance among patients, providers, and payers.

This collection of resources is tailored to the use and coverage of telehealth by rural providers. Within the collection are current and timely resources from federal agencies and organizations with a rural focus. Content is reviewed and updated regularly as relevant resources are published, and telehealth regulations change

Save The Date: 7th National Telehealth Summit

7th National Telehealth Summit
October 4-5, 2021
Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Miami Beach, FL

Telehealth today is revolutionizing healthcare delivery through improved patient outcomes, reduced costs, and the ability to deliver the right care at the right time. Telehealth is continuing to advance and expand across the nation and globally, resulting in exciting, innovative and specialized new programs that are transforming patient centric care. Many organizations have embraced Telehealth and others are quickly following suit and planning to develop and implement their own Telehealth platforms.

Telehealth is at the forefront of today’s healthcare, and it is rapidly transforming the way traditional healthcare delivery is provided. It achieves the tenets of value-based patient driven care, enhances patient satisfaction, engagement and outcomes, and reduces healthcare spending. Telehealth and virtual care are evolving at a rapid pace and is facilitating changes in reimbursement and policy.

This is the only conference on Telehealth that will equip you and your organization with exciting and innovative practices, case studies and tools to succeed with implementing telehealth programs, expanding existing platforms, while reducing healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes.

President Biden Announces New Actions to Deliver Masks to Communities Hit Hard by the Pandemic

As part of his National Strategy to defeat COVID-19, President Biden announced a new effort to make masks more easily available to communities hard hit by the pandemic. The Administration will deliver more than 25 million masks to over 1,300 Community Health Centers across the country, as well as 60,000 food pantries and soup kitchens, reaching some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends mask wearing as a critical step to help slow the spread and protect people from getting COVID-19, but many low-income Americans still lack access to this basic protection.

Read the fact sheet

HRSA Awards $99 Million to End the HIV Epidemic in the United States

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the award of nearly $99 million through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to expand access to HIV care, treatment, medication and essential support services. This investment is a critical component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative. EHE aims to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the United States by at least 90 percent by 2030 with the goal of decreasing the number of new HIV infections to fewer than 3,000 per year.

“For three decades, HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program has been a leader in the federal effort to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S.,” said HRSA Acting Administrator Diana Espinosa. “Today’s investment builds on the more than $2 billion in grants awarded through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program in fiscal year 2020, which helps to continue the program’s incredible track record of viral suppression that saves lives, reduces health disparities and slows the spread of the virus.”

Read the release

NHSC New Site Application Open

Health care facilities can now apply to be approved as a National Health Service Corps (NHSC) site. Eligible sites includes those that provide outpatient, ambulatory and primary health care services (medical, dental, and behavioral health) to people living in high-need urban and rural areas.

Additional, eligible sites include facilities providing general substance use disorder (SUD) Treatment, a Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program or an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP).

Applications are due July 21, 2020.

Learn more about the NHSC new site application.

Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Announcements

May 21, 2020