Tools
AHRQ National Resource Center for Health Information Technology
Web site
A central, national source of information to assist health care providers adopt and use health information technology. Web site includes a variety of documents, Web links, funded HIT project outcomes, and funding opportunity
announcements.
Electronic Health Record Resources
Web site
Overview of issues related to implementing an electronic health record (EHR) system, with links to resources and publications. A few of the resources are limited to American Academy of Family Physicians members.
Health Data Management Resource Guide
Web site
Directory of vendors and consultants that sell health information technologies. Topics covered include electronic medical record, clinical information systems, pharmacy technology, and much more.
Is a Telepharmacy Right for My Community?
Research instrument
Survey tool for rural communities to assess the needs and resources of the community and its interest in and willingness to support a telepharmacy.
OpenHRE: Open Source Health Records Exchange
Web site
Information and resources regarding the creation of open and affordable health records exchange based on free, open-source software.
Regional and National Telehealth Resource Centers
Web site
Describes the five regional Telehealth Resource Centers which serve as a focal point for advancing effective use of telehealth technologies in their respective communities and regions of the nation.
Rural Health Research: Telehealth
Web site
Provides summaries of current and completed rural health research projects and related publications addressing the topic of telehealth, produced by the Office of Rural Health Policy's funded rural health research centers.
Telemedicine Information Exchange (TIE)
Web site
Includes a Telemedicine 101 tutorial, descriptions of active telehealth programs, a database of funding opportunities, an article index searchable by author, journal and full-text, and more.
TIE's Education and Training
Web site
Links to distance education and telemedicine training resources.
TIE's Legal and Policy Issues in Telemedicine & Telehealth
Web site
Section of the TIE web site focused on issues such as privacy, reimbursement, federal and state legislation on telehealth.
Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents
At A Tipping Point: Transforming Medicine with Health Information Technology: A Guide for Consumers
Sponsoring organization: Verizon Foundation
This report written for healthcare stakeholders illustrates how health information technology is a powerful tool for quality improvement, provided it is part of a larger strategy to improve quality and make healthcare
more affordable and accessible.
Date: 04 / 2005
Charting the Legal Environment of Health Information
Author(s): Sara Rosenbaum, Phyllis C. Borzi, Lee Repasch, Taylor Burke, John F. Benevelli
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Overview of the legal environment of health information systems. Examines issues related to new information technology that enables the sharing of health information among many users.
Date: 05 / 2005
Economic Impact of Telemedicine Capability in a Rural Hospital
Author(s): Brian E. Whitacre, Pamela S. Hartman, Sarah W. Boggs
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Rural Health Works
Seeks to explain some of the most common forms of telemedicine used in rural areas today and determine their importance to the local economy.
Date: 12 / 2007
Exclusive: Small and Rural Most Wired Data
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
Data on the use of information technology among rural hospitals with 100 or fewer beds.
Journal citation: Hospitals and Health Networks
Date: 08 / 2006
Implementing Telemedicine Services for Low-Income Seniors: Potential Strategies
Author(s): Lorenzo Moreno, Arnold Chen
Sponsoring organization: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Suggests key factors for policymakers and funders of telemedicine interventions that transmits medical diagnostics and monitoring services between health care users and providers who are separated geographically. Information derived from a study of personal computer and web-based home telemedicine services provided under a demonstration program to Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes living in two medically underserved areas.
Date: 09 / 2005
Innovation, Demand, and Investment in Telehealth
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Commerce
This report focuses on the innovation, demand and investment in telehealth in the United States at the end of 2003.
Date: 02 / 2004
Lessons Learned from the Nine Communities Funded through the Connecting Communities for Better Health Program
Sponsoring organization: eHealth Initiative
Brings together the specific advice from communities in the process of implementing health information exchange (HIE) initiatives as part of the Connecting Communities for Better Health program.
Date: 2006
OAT Grantee Directory 2003-2004
Sponsoring organization: Office for the Advancement of Telehealth
Provides a listing of those who received telehealth grants in 2003-2004. Describes types of grants and projects along with details.
Date: 2004
Partners for Patients Electronic Health Record Market Survey
Sponsoring organization: AAFP Center for Health Information Technology
Reports results of a survey of electronic health record (EHR) vendors, with information on software cost and functionality. Focuses on needs of small to medium-sized practices.
Date: 03 / 2005
Rural Health Care and the Internet: Issues and Opportunities for Using Interactive Communications to Improve Rural Health Care Services
Author(s): Neal I. Neuberger, Mary Ella Payne, Mary Wakefield
Sponsoring organization: Capital Area Rural Health Roundtable
Overview of rural telehealth applications, policy issues, and funding opportunities. Includes brief descriptions of rural telemedicine projects around the country, with a detailed look at a project in Arizona. Report based on a July 14, 2000 meeting discussing the information needs of health-care providers in rural America.
Date: 2001
Rural Health Care Delivery: Connecting Communities Through Technology
Author(s): Fran Turisco, Jane Metzger
Sponsoring organization: California HealthCare Foundation
Discusses technology options for rural health care, including remote patient monitoring, video teleconferencing, other telehealth applications. Discusses funding, reimbursement, and regulatory issues. Includes case studies.
Date: 11 / 2002
Rural Hospitals and Telepharmacy
Author(s): Petra S. Berger
Sponsoring organization: Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute
Describes the implementation of the North Dakota state wide rural telepharmacy project. North Dakota became the first state to pass administrative rules allowing the practice of telepharmacy.
Date: 02 / 2006
State E-Health Activities in 2007: Findings from a State Survey
Author(s): Vernon K. Smith, Kathleen Gifford, Sandy Kramer, Jennifer Dalton, Patricia MacTaggart, Michelle Lim Warner
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
Identifies current e-health initiatives, priorities, and challenges within state governments. Includes references to rural activities.
Date: 02 / 2008
Tele-Health Promotion for Rural People with Disabilities: Toward a Technology Assisted Peer Support Model
Author(s): Craig Ravesloot
Sponsoring organization: Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities
Looks at the usability of Internet health promotion programs by rural people with disabilities.
Date: 09 / 2007
Telehealth Funding Guide
Sponsoring organization: Office for the Advancement of Telehealth
Lists federal agencies that fund telehealth projects, with program descriptions and contacts for more information.
Date: 04 / 2003
Telemedicine for the Medicare Population: Update
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
An assessment of the peer-reviewed literature for
telemedicine services that substitute for face-to-face medical diagnosis and treatment that
may apply to the Medicare population. Report focuses on three distinct areas: store-andforward, home-based, and office/hospital-based services.
Date: 02 / 2006
Telepharmacy Guide
Author(s): Charles D. Peterson, Howard C. Anderson, Jr.
Sponsoring organization: North Dakota Telepharmacy Project
Guidelines for pharmacists, rural communities, and others on how to successfully implement a telepharmacy program. Describes different types of telepharmacy services, regulatory issues, community needs assessment, and more.
Value of Provider-to-Provider Telehealth Technologies
Sponsoring organization: Center for Innovative Learning Technologies
Examines the value of a subset of telehealth technologies: those in which providers are involved in both the near, or patient side, and far side of the encounter.
Date: 2007
Organizations
American Telemedicine Association (ATA)
National organization
Promotes access to medical care for consumers and health professionals via telecommunications technology.
Center for Telemedicine Law (CTL)
National organization
The Center for Telemedicine Law (CTL) is a non-profit entity founded by organizations committed to providing high quality patient services through the use of telemedicine systems throughout the United States and the world.
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
Federal government
Works to spur innovation, encourage competition, help create jobs and provide consumers with more choices and better quality telecommunications products and services at lower prices. Part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
North Dakota Telepharmacy Project
State/regional organization
Provides telepharmacy services to remote locations in North Dakota. A collaboration of the North Dakota State University College of Pharmacy, the North Dakota Board of Pharmacy, and the North Dakota Pharmacists Association.
Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT)
Federal government
Promotes wider adoption of advanced technologies in the provision of health care services and education. Part of the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC)
Federal government
Works to enhance the overall quality of military healthcare through telemedicine research and development. Part of the United States Army Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC).
Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Responsible for providing every state and territory in the United States with access to affordable telecommunications services through the Universal Service Fund. USAC administers four programs: the High Cost Program, the Low Income Program, the Rural Health Care Program, and the Schools and Libraries Program.
