The Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) improves access to quality health care through integrated telehealth services. OAT provides telehealth funding and administers programs focused on direct services, research, and technical assistance.
Which programs focus on technical assistance?
The Telehealth Resource Centers (TRCs) provide expert and customized telehealth technical assistance across the country. The TRCs provide training and support, disseminate information and research findings, promote effective collaboration, and foster the use of telehealth technologies to provide health care information and education for health care providers.
There are two types of HRSA Telehealth Resource Center programs:
- Two National TRCs focus on policy and technology.
- Twelve Regional TRCs are geographically located to facilitate activities at the local level.
Which programs focus on research?
The Telehealth Centers of Excellence are academic medical centers that test and evaluate new telehealth approaches in rural and underserved communities. They serve as national models by creating proven, scalable ways to expand access to care and improve health outcomes.
The Telehealth Research Centers conduct clinically informed and policy-relevant health services research to expand the evidence base for telehealth services.
The Telehealth Rapid Response Center conducts rapid telehealth data analyses and short-term, issue-specific telehealth research studies to provide stakeholders and the public with resources to understand the impact of telehealth policies and regulations.
Which programs focus on direct services?
The Evidence-Based Telehealth Network Program aims to demonstrate how health care systems can increase access to health care services utilizing Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) telehealth technologies and to conduct evaluations of those efforts to establish an evidence base for assessing the effectiveness of DTC care for patients, providers, and payers.
The Behavioral Health Integration Evidence Based Telehealth Network Program integrates behavioral health services into primary care locations using telehealth and telehealth networks.
The program uses telehealth and telehealth networks in rural and underserved areas to:
- Improve access to behavioral health services in primary care settings
- Expand and improve the quality of health information available to health care providers by evaluating the model’s effectiveness
Which programs focus on workforce?
The Telehealth Technology Enabled Learning Program connects specialists at academic medical centers with primary care providers in rural and underserved areas. It provides evidence-based training and support to providers to help treat patients with complex conditions. The TTELP creates and teaches models of professional education that can be adapted for diverse populations.
The Licensure Portability Grant Program supports partnerships between states to make telehealth more accessible. It supports professional licensing boards in carrying out programs under which licensing boards of various states cooperate to develop and implement state laws and related policies that will reduce statutory and regulatory barriers to telemedicine.
The Technology-Enabled Collaborative Learning Program evaluates, develops, and expands the use of technology-based collaborative learning for health care providers and other professionals. The purpose of this program is to improve retention of health care providers and increase access to health care services in rural areas, frontier areas, health professional shortage areas, or medically underserved areas and populations or Native Americans.