Telehealth Grants – Overview
Telehealth grants help launch successful programs that protect the health, safety, and security threats in the United States.
Telehealth has gained huge popularity over the past few years. It offers a wide range of services that use communication technologies and digital information.
The funds obtained through grants are utilized to expand access to telehealth technologies and tools, enabling individuals to manage health care and receive essential services remotely.
It helps identify and diagnose common illnesses, consultations about new symptoms and chronic disease management, triage for injuries or acute illness symptoms, and mental health therapy.
Telehealth Grants – Goals
Telehealth is a component of e-health (electronic health) and can include aspects of m-health (mobile health), but the terms are not synonymous. The grants are offered with the following goals:
- To make health care available to people living in isolated or rural communities.
- To make services or convenience accessible for people with mobility, time, or transportation options.
- To provide access to medical specialists.
- To improve care coordination and communication among members of a health care team and a patient.
- To provide support for self-management of health care.
Benefits of Telehealth
Research about telehealth is still relatively new; however, it’s growing, improving quality of life. Here are some of the telehealth services for health care.
Patient Portal – A portal is a secure online tool that helps communicate with a doctor or a nurse. It helps request prescription refills, review test results, summarize previous visits or schedule appointments.
Virtual Appointments – Some clinics provide virtual appointments via online videoconferencing. These appointments enable a patient to receive ongoing care when an in-person visit isn’t possible or required. Virtual appointments can be used to suggest home care strategies, prescribe medications, or recommend additional medical care.
Remote Monitoring – Various technologies enable doctors to monitor patients’ health remotely. It includes web-based or mobile apps, devices that measure and wirelessly transmit information, wearable devices, home monitoring devices, etc. It prevents unnecessary in-person referrals to a specialist, reduces wait times, and eliminates unnecessary travel.
Personal Health Records (PHR system) – An electronic health record collects self-controlled and maintained health information. A PHR app is accessible via a web-enabled device like a smartphone, computer, laptop, or tablet. In certain emergencies, a PHR can inform emergency personnel regarding vital information, such as current diagnoses, allergies, medications, etc.
Personal Health Apps – Some many digital tools or apps help people better organize their medical information.
Telehealth Grants – Federal Funding
Federal agencies are often among the largest sources of grant funding. While grant opportunities are available at grants.gov, it is important to consider each agency’s mission statement.
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Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA)
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) under HRSA offers funds specifically targeted at improving telehealth services in rural areas. Telehealth is necessary for rural and remote areas as there are insufficient health care services.
The Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) offers funds to improve and promote telehealth technologies, primarily in rural areas. It facilitates education, health care delivery, and health information services.
Check out the list of the current programs, and to learn about the latest support organized through federal efforts, visit Telehealth.HHS.gov.
Telehealth Network Grant Program (TNGP)
The Telehealth Network Grant Program (TNGP) aims to improve healthcare networks and services for medically underserved populations. To be specific, the purpose is to:
- Expand and improve the quality of healthcare services and training for healthcare providers, and
- Expand the quality of health information to health care providers, patients, and families.
TNGP supports the utilization of rural Tele-emergency services where 24-hour Emergency Department (ED) consultation services are delivered via telehealth, typically with the support of emergency care specialists remotely.
Evidence-Based Tele-Behavioral Health Network Program (EB THNP)
EB THNP aims to render telehealth networks to:
- Provide access to behavioral health care services in frontier and rural communities and
- Conduct evaluations to assess the effectiveness of tele-behavioral health care.
National Telehealth Resource Center Program (NTRC)
The NTRC supports telehealth technical assistance delivered by Regional Telehealth Resource Center Program (RTRC) recipients. NTRC focuses on:
- Providing training,
- Disseminating information and research findings,
- Supporting effective collaboration and
- Fostering the use of telehealth technologies in rural and medically under-served areas.
Regional Telehealth Resource Center Program (RTRC)
The RTRCs are regionally located, facilitating grant activities at the local level. Their aim is to offer customized telehealth technical assistance and ensure that resources are equally distributed.
Telehealth Centers of Excellence (COE)
The COE examines the efficacy of telehealth services in urban and rural areas. It determines that medical centers provide telehealth services in medically under-served areas and are financially self-sufficient.
Telehealth Focused Rural Health Research Center Cooperative Agreement (TF RHRC)
The TF RHRC Program has two separate centers, namely, evaluation-focused and evidence-focused.
The evaluation-focused TF RHRC conducts and thoroughly evaluates nationwide telehealth investments.
The evidence-focused TF RHRC conducts policy-relevant and clinically informed health services research, expanding the evidence base for rural telehealth services.
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Telehealth grants support existing and new models in behavioral healthcare, enhancing access and delivery of services. These grants aim to alleviate challenges that led to a crisis in providing access to addiction treatment and mental health.
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) represent a care delivery model aiming for sustainable financing.
The SAMHSA offers CCBHC Expansion grants to encourage the use of telemedicine, expand access to services, and alleviate workforce shortages. For more information, visit https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/
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National Institute of Health (NIH)
The NIH’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) supports the development of biomedical technologies.
It supports the development of hardware and software telehealth studies and early-stage development of telehealth technologies.
The NIBIB’s programs support the development of digital health technologies, including mobile health and telehealth, emphasizing integrating wireless technologies.
The program includes the delivery of healthcare information digitally to monitor health or disease status.
The emphasis is on integrating and developing mobile health technologies driven by clinical needs for wellness and daily living.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
CDC develops telehealth programs in rural communities to deliver care in new ways.
CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) uses telehealth to reduce healthcare barriers for rural people who lack mobility or transportation.
CDC supports telehealth projects to help rural residents with chronic disease prevention, specialist care, and management programs, including:
Stroke Care and Cardiac Rehabilitation
The CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention promotes telehealth to reduce stroke risk factors and heart disease in rural areas.
Telestroke services, such as videoconferencing, are being utilized to connect specialists in stroke centers to healthcare providers in smaller hospitals with fewer resources.
The Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program funds state health departments and hospitals with telestroke capacity to reduce deaths and improve outcomes.
This program also collects information to understand the current use of telestroke services and potential benefits.
Home-based cardiac rehab also helps rural residents overcome some barriers. It involves apps and devices that allow doctors and clinical staff to interact with patients while supervising them as they exercise in their homes.
Evaluation of this program has shown that the effectiveness and safety of home-based cardiac rehab are equal to the care delivered in facilities.
Diabetes Management and Prevention
The Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) services under CDC help rural and urban people manage their diabetes.
It helps improve health and reduce diabetes complications. It is also cost-effective or cost-saving. However, 62% of rural communities do not participate in DSMES services.
The CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) delivers an affordable, evidence-based lifestyle change program through telehealth.
The aim is to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. While evaluating the program, it was found that weight loss and participation rates were the same for telehealth and in-person participants.
It was further suggested that telehealth delivery could increase participation and access.
Vision Care for Diabetic Patients
Blindness is a major complication of diabetes. CDC funds many telehealth projects in rural areas to screen for eye disease in rural areas.
Tobacco Cessation
Tobacco affects the health of people living in rural areas. With the help of CDC funding, Telehealth programs provide tobacco use cessation services.
Epilepsy Management
Epilepsy benefits from regular care by a neurologist. However, a few neurology practices are found in rural areas. CDC offers Epilepsy Program that funds for telehealth interventions, reducing barriers such as transportation.
Epilepsy self-management programs include Project UPLIFT (Using Practice and Learning to Increase Favorable Thoughts) and HOBSCOTCH (Home-Based Self-management and Cognitive Training Changes Lives).
Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is an Epilepsy telementoring program supported by the Epilepsy Foundation.
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Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
AHRQ invests in telehealth research and shared information through the Effective Healthcare Program and Digital Healthcare Research Program.
The funding opportunities helped telehealth expand technological advances, broaden training availability, and improve safety, diagnosis, mentoring, and treatment opportunities for healthcare providers and consumers.
For more information, visit https://www.ahrq.gov/topics/telehealth.html
Conclusion
Telehealth has revolutionized the delivery of healthcare, especially in rural areas. The aim is to meet the needs of healthcare consumers.
Telehealth grants support efforts that can significantly improve and enhance healthcare quality.
The funding programs enable increased accessibility and efficiency.
It ultimately helps overcome geographic barriers, reduces the need to travel, provides clinical support, offers various types of communication devices, and improves patient outcomes.
Thus, telehealth is an attractive tool, and its grant programs have improved care delivery to all population segments.
See Also
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