Senate passes ECHO Act to increase rural access to healthcare via telehealth

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act, which aims to improve healthcare access in rural areas using telehealth technology. The legislation proposes to expand Albuquerque-based University of New Mexico’s Project ECHO.

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UNM launched Project ECHO in 2003 to improve healthcare access for hepatitis C patients in underserved communities and prisons in New Mexico. The project allowed primary care clinicians to receive ongoing education, mentoring and guidance from a team of specialists via telehealth technology. So far, 103 partners have implemented the program.

The new legislation aims to better integrate the Project ECHO model into health systems across the country. It will require the HHS secretary, in collaboration with the Health Resources & Services Administration, to prioritize analysis of the ECHO model, and will request a U.S. Government Accountability Office report regarding opportunities for increased adoption of such models, efficiencies and potential cost savings.

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