FYI...<br><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">CTeL</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:communications@ctel.org">communications@ctel.org</a>></span><br>Date: Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 7:45 AM<br>
Subject: January Brown Bag -The Latest News on Health IT and Health Care Reform: Where Telehealth Fits In<br>To: <a href="mailto:csbritain@gmail.com">csbritain@gmail.com</a><br><br><br>
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<td style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" align="middle" color="#2d465a"><strong><font color="#8cd7f7" size="5">CTeL Board Members</font></strong></td></tr></tbody></table>
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<div align="left"><font color="#8cd7f7" size="1">Dale Alverson, MD</font></div>
<div align="left"><font color="#8cd7f7"><font size="1">Professor, Pediatrics <br>University of New Mexico</font></font></div><font color="#8cd7f7">
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<div align="left"><font size="1">John Blum, Esq.<br>John J. Waldron Research Professor in Health Law<br>Loyola University Chicago School of Law<br><br>Sam Burgiss, PhD<br>Telehealth Consultant<br>Professor of Radiology, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine<br>
<br>Mary DeVany<br>Manager<br>Avera McKennan Telehealth Network<br><br>Karen Edison, MD<br>Chair, Department of Dermatology and Medical Director, Missouri Telehealth Network, University of Missouri
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<div>Jana Katz-Bell, MPH<br>Chief Administrative Officer Center for Health & Technology University of California at Davis<br>CTeL Secretary-Treasurer </div></font></div></font>
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<div> </div>Karen Rheuban, MD<br>Professor and Medical Director,<br>Office of Telemedicine<br>Univ. of Virginia Health Systems<br>CTeL Co-Chair, Washington Live! Brown Bags<br></font></font></div>
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<div> </div>Curtis Rooney, JD<br>President<br>Health Industry Group Purchasing Association<br>CTeL Co-Chair, Washington Live! Brown Bags<br></font></font></div>
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<div> </div>Rob Sprang, MBA<br>Director, Kentucky TeleCare<br>Univ. of Kentucky Medical Center<br></font></font></div>
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<div> </div>Joseph Tracy, MS<br>Vice President, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network<br>CTeL Chairman of the Board and<br>CTeL Co-Chair, Telehealth Leadership Conference<br></font></font></div>
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<div> </div>Robert J. Waters, JD<br>Telehealth and E-Health Law Chair, Government Relations Chair, and Partner<br>Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP<br>CTeL General Counsel</font></div></font></td></tr></tbody></table>
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<div align="center"><font color="#8cd7f7">Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law</font></div></font>
<div align="center"><font size="1"><font color="#8cd7f7">1500 K Street, NW </font></font></div>
<div align="center"><font color="#8cd7f7">11th Floor </font></div>
<div align="center"><font color="#8cd7f7" size="1">Washington, DC 20005</font></div>
<div align="center"><font size="1"><font size="1"><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102420938757&e=001MUnhmwwQYkJtddCy6DpGvz2LpX5VNWPel2D0vvxB2oB2rv_SY04DGVzqzjqHlnVaTUTMy1hlngqwC4_cC0uRkueV41I5NZUai7HjfEv9vjcAM9yEd-6wFAZPLLATg9G2" target="_blank"><font color="#8cd7f7">www.telehealthlawcenter.org</font></a><strong><font color="#8cd7f7"> </font></strong></font></font></div>
<div align="center"><font color="#8cd7f7">(202) 230-5090 </font></div></span></font></td></tr></tbody></table></td>
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<div>IMPORTANT: CTeL Needs Your Input on Credentialing!</div></font></div></strong></font></td></tr></tbody></table>
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<div>The Center for Telehealth and e-Health Law has compiled an assessment to gauge the impact on telehealth community of CMS's policy of requiring that Conditions of Participation be followed for credentialing, rather than the Joint Commission's telehealth guidelines. The findings of this informational assessment will be published at <u><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102420938757&e=001MUnhmwwQYkJtddCy6DpGvz2LpX5VNWPel2D0vvxB2oB2rv_SY04DGVzqzjqHlnVaTUTMy1hlngqwC4_cC0uRkueV41I5NZUai7HjfEv9vjcAM9yEd-6wFAZPLLATg9G2" target="_blank"><font color="#523018">www.telehealthlawcenter.org</font></a></u>.<br>
<br>It is important that institutions receiving or providing telehealth services that require the credentialing of physicians who provide inpatient or outpatient clinical services be represented in this assessment.</div>
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<div><u><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102420938757&e=001MUnhmwwQYkLAUEf6fvRn65drVpr0AxUGjOTKlebXeYcHSag8aNvD-WAzN5eEJ3C3fcCpwi2M8Fk3_PEXlE9qssCXNIr3fMbnubdHstssfMuOje_ECiKyvT-2m8ki_CQf9AsCWIL3p0Bnlav71_CTQTyM4JrxuN4y" target="_blank"><font color="#523018">Click here</font></a></u> for further information on this CTeL Credentialing Assessment.</div>
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<p align="left"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff6600; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" align="left"><font color="#523018" size="3"><strong>January Brown Bag - The Latest News on Health IT and Health Care Reform; Where Telehealth Fits In</strong></font></span></p>
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<div align="left">January Brown Bag--The Latest News on Health IT and Health Care Reform--and where Telehealth fits in</div>
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<div align="left">Telehealth policies, health IT in the Stimulus Bill, and health care reform will be the primary topics on the agenda for the January WashingtonLive Brown Bag Seminar to be held on Monday, January 26th at 12:00 noon EST. </div>
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<div align="left">With major health care reform under top consideration by the Obama Administration and the new Congress, and health information technology provisions to be included in the stimulus bill, we anticipate that speakers at the January 26th Brown Bag will outline their thoughts on how telehealth will be considered during Congressional action on these major bills. </div>
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<div align="left">This week, Congress is considering the stimulus bill in both the House and Senate, so the information that will be reported next week will be timely.</div>
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<div align="left">Travis Robey, a House staff person central to the discussions of telehealth policy in Congress, will be discussing the telehealth agenda in the House of Representatives. Travis is the top health care policy aide to Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), a key Congressman who will be helping to lead the effort to include telehealth in the 2009 health care policy debates. </div>
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<div align="left">As a state legislator, Congressman Thompson was key to the success of a number of telehealth policies in California. Then State Senator Mike Thompson, who represented a largely rural, coastal region, drafted the Telemedicine Development Act of 1996. The legislation required MediCal to define a payment policy for telemedicine and also required that private payors recognize telemedicine as a mechanism to provide care. The Act also had patient protection components and it ultimately became model legislation for a number of states. Travis is assisting Congressman Thompson in drafting a comprehensive telehealth bill and will be reviewing the provisions of the Congressman's legislation on this call.</div>
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<div align="left">The status of health IT and health care reform in the Senate will be presented by Jordanna Davis, Legislative Assistant for Health for Sheldon Whitehouse (D_RI). Senator Whitehouse has made health care reform the subject of the first three bills he introduced when he entered the Senate. He has placed as a top priority building a national health IT infrastructure. Prior to joining Senator Whitehouse, Jordanna worked at the Georgetown Health Policy Institute. </div>
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<div align="left">Mark your calendar for what will be a very informative and helpful telehealth policy discussion.</div>
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<div align="left"><u><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102420938757&e=001MUnhmwwQYkLE8wN9epdHM__b0hHZop7t5moIwQGc1cnqx4h9Co37fXOOTtl4nmkSZt-Mwy2f5jVbDPXMxT4nNJHUaaTO5xiFqC77Q0lI9kYf7B2EiRBLbFTtUmdcZGRbMbRZhJIcYO5Veg47o1SClUDqBsYNQNdg" target="_blank"><font color="#523018">Click here</font></a></u> to register for the January WashingtonLive Brown Bag on Telehealth Policy in the 111th Congress.</div>
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<p align="left"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff6600; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><font color="#523018" size="3"><strong>Stroke Medicine Assessed by Mayo Clinic Researchers</strong></font></span></p>
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<div><font color="#523018">Mayo Clinic Researchers see stroke telemedicine "as a lifesaving practice that deserves further advancement," according to an article published in the January 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. While stroke telemedicine ("telestroke") has developed as an important method of assisting patients, "certain key systematic components need to be developed more fully while specific unsettled issues must be resolved."</font></div>
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<div><font color="#523018">The use of telestroke in the United States, Canada, and Europe increased dramatically in the late 1990's. This resulted in the creation of 20 new telestroke networks. However, researchers found that the long-term "sustainability and growth of telestroke practices remains threatened by unresolved legal, economic, and market factors," including state licensing, medical liability regulation, and capital investment requirements.</font></div>
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<div><font color="#523018">"Telestroke practitioners and investigators should focus attention on analyzing and solving the business issues of the practice to allow further advances in the telestroke field and longevity of telestroke practice," were the conclusions of the researchers.</font></div>
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<div><font color="#523018"><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102420938757&e=001MUnhmwwQYkLOJA7EMp6i_qb0gDSD68M140lhX_vMreCKowiolZd28n6lY4zc-Yof2bfKyOtiponastCpcsmrysirOv6LohrxF2nBAFzTEH18kc7jrpq8JMXBWH5eq6rpfQoeTE8QXZxGc7RisscEjzg5SHdL1lmS" target="_blank"><font color="#523018">Click here</font></a> for additional information on this <em>Mayo Clinic Proceedings </em>article.</font></div>
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<div><font size="3"><strong><font color="#523018">Key House Legislator Introduces Health IT Bill with Telehealth Language</font></strong></font></div></font></td></tr></tbody></table></a></a></a></td></tr>
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<div><font color="#523018">The Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, Rep. Fortney H. "Pete" Stark (D-CA), introduced legislation which would make significant policy changes in the U.S. healthcare system through improvements in technology. Specifically, the bill would provide the legal framework for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology within the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill would clarify the process for developing health IT standards in 2009 and establish a voluntary certification process for health IT products.</font></div>
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<div><font color="#523018">Central to telehealth is bill language which provides funding for a number of health IT provisions including infrastructure, telemedicine, dissemination of best practices, and grants to states to promote the use of electronic medical records.</font></div>
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<div><font color="#523018">This bill is particularly important because of the effort to include health IT policies in the stimulus bill currently under consideration in Congress. Congressional action on the stimulus bill is expected to be completed in February.</font></div>
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<div><font color="#523018"><u><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102420938757&e=001MUnhmwwQYkJR1sizySzn1xTTYHNfonYQeULWzIHFk-NnDVrCiOc_FI-31XlixmFQqse5_JT40xV1d42TgBIa11wRyVM9FzQoPOchEH_xeSSMXtSY8Ik28ra4yfl54AYu8_D23MGlsWK4lwcBS5zg5Ni4NdVGpKUa" target="_blank"><font color="#523018">Click here</font></a></u> for further details on the Stark Health IT bill.</font></div>
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