Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health was granted $240,800 to improve telehealth services at seven rural critical access hospitals, according to the Kokomo Tribune.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the grant. IU Health plans to purchase and install portable telemedicine equipment. The academic health system expects to serve more than 51,000 patients with the expanded services.
Currently, IU Health uses telehealth services to offer patients peer-recovery counseling and support. Providers use the technology for certain psychiatric assessment and a limited number of inpatient consultations.
"Telehealth technology increases the efficiency and access to specialty care to help meet patients where they are," Mike Harlowe, president of IU Health Tipton Hospital said in a news release. "Telehealth technology is an adjunct to the personalized care patients have come to expect at IU Health Tipton Hospital."