Telehealth
DOH Telehealth Webpage
The Department of Health Telehealth site summarizes laws and guidance related to telehealth in WA state, as well as resources
TLC- Direct to Patient Telemedicine Series
Sponsored by the WA State Department of Health and Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center. The Telehealth Learning Community connects healthcare professional to telehealth experts in a collaborative learning session to improve knowledge, skills, and confidence to expand virtual services during the COVID-19 crisis.
Session 1: Telemedicine Overview and Options for Virtual Care
Session 2: Practice Guidelines
Session 3: Billing and Reimbursement
University of Washington Pain Medicine- TelePain
Free Pain and Opioid Management resources for WA State providers:
About TelePain | telepain@uw.edu
Weekly multidisciplinary case-based webinar - case consultation satisfies Pain Specialist Consultation requirement (WAC 246-919-930).
Consultation (washington.edu) | 844-520-PAIN (7246) | painhotline@uw.edu
Free clinical advice telephone line for providers - meets WA State expert pain consultation requirements for patients with an MED≥120 (WAC 246-853-735).
Washington State Telehealth Collaborative
The Collaborative consists of a group of 22 statewide experts on telehealth, and four state legislators, two from each chamber and party. The Collaborative was created in 2016 after the passage of SB 6519, which recognized of a dedicated group to provide guidance, research, and recommendations for the advancement of telemedicine and the benefit of professionals providing care through telemedicine.
Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center
The NRTRC serves a seven-state region (AK, WA, OR, MT, ID, WY, UT) to advance the development, implementation and integration of telehealth through sharing information, leveraging resources, and creating a synergistic telehealth community. Free training is offered on telehealth topics.
Northwest Regional Telehealth Program Assessment
The NRTRC provides an interactive assessment for those interested in starting a telehealth program or assessing a current program.
Telehealth Services and Codes
Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center's up-to-date current procedural terminology (CPT) Telehealth Services and Codes table. The table includes Category 1, 2 and 3 along with interim codes valid during the public health emergency (PHE).
National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
A collaborative of 12 regional and 2 national Telehealth Resource Centers, are committed to implementing telehealth programs for rural and underserved communities.
Center for Connected Health Policy
One of two national centers, the Center is a non-profit that is dedicated to integrating telehealth into the healthcare system by advancing policies. The site summarizes policy changes for Medicare under the Public Health Emergency related to COVID19, with attention to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics. (RHCs).
The National Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center
This center aims to create better-informed consumers of telehealth technology. By offering a variety of services in the area of technology assessment, TTAC (pronounced “tea-tac”) aims to become the place for answers to questions about selecting appropriate technologies for telehealth program.
Project ECHO: NHPCO
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's (NHPCO) focus is an integral part of its Quality Connections Program and is focused on helping providers recognize opportunities for clinical or operational quality improvement in hospice or palliative care. Case-based learning presentation and review by peers and subject matter experts creates an environment for learning exchange, performance improvement possibilities, and identification of best practices.
Project ECHO: HPM CARES
Project ECHO HPM CARES (Hospice and Palliative Medicine COVID-19 Action and Resilience Education Support) is a new training/support model that recognizes that the impact of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been devastating to our health care system. Hospice and Palliative (HPC) organizations and their health care teams, especially those in rural areas, are struggling. Many of these compassionate medical professionals and caregivers, who were already working at capacity, have been pushed to the point of exhaustion as they try to develop new protocols for treating patients, incorporate telehealth services and maintain cohesion for distraught families navigating the impact of this devastating illness.
Project ECHO: Pain
Tele-Pain is a free weekly service for community providers intended to increase knowledge and confidence in chronic pain management, and to present difficult chronic pain cases for consultation. The University of Washington Division of Pain Medicine delivers weekly Tele-Pain sessions via audio and videoconference and includes a network of inter-professional specialists with expertise in the management of challenging chronic pain problems.
Project ECHO: Dementia
Project ECHO Dementia is a learning model in which front-line care providers from around WA State meet in a web-based virtual conference room with an interdisciplinary panel of experts in memory loss and dementia. A brief 15-minute didactic is followed by an hour of case-based learning where everyone at the table is both a teacher and a learner. Sessions are held on the 2nd and 4th Fridays from 12:15pm-1:30pm.
Telemedicine: Ensuring Safe, Equitable, Person-Centered Virtual Care
This white paper published by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, describes the framework to guide health care organizations in their efforts to provide safe, equitable, person-centered telemedicine. The framework includes six elements to consider: access, privacy, diagnostic accuracy, communication, psychological and emotional safety, and human factors and system design.
CAH Telehealth Guide
The CAH Telehealth Guide provides practical guidance on implementing and sustaining telehealth to optimize health care delivery, expand access, and enhance care coordination. Note that this is not an all-inclusive policy guide for telehealth. Just as health care organizations strive to take a person-centered approach to health care, this guide seeks to take a CAH-centered approach to telehealth that keeps the patient and community at the forefront. The target audience is any individual, team, or organization seeking to implement or expand telehealth services in the CAH setting. The guide primarily focuses on Medicare outpatient telehealth services but includes Medicaid coverage and remote services that may not strictly be considered telehealth.
Coverage to Care Telehealth Resources
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released two new resources to support the use of telehealth. The first educates patients on what to expect during a telehealth visit, and the second supports providers in how to conduct a successful telehealth visit and how to keep up to date on Medicare and Medicaid telehealth payments. Social media graphics are also available.
Telehealth Assessment
The purpose of the Telehealth Assessment is to identify strategies and develop tactics that outline opportunities for performance improvement in the organizations’ provisions of telehealth services.
National Rural HIT Coalition
The National Rural Health Information Technology (HIT) Coalition is an informal network of rural and HIT leaders from organizations at every level, working together to drive knowledge and information about rural HIT throughout the country.
HHS Telehealth Website
The HHS Telehealth website provides telehealth resources for providers and patients. Providers can get information to help provide remote care through telehealth services and get up to speed on recent COVID-19 reimbursement, billing, and policy changes. Additionally, this website has a wide variety of patient resources that can help patients learn what telehealth is and what to expect from a virtual doctor's visit.