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Read the Telehealth Roundtable Report (March 2009)
Read about the Rural Health Roundtable held October 2008
Read the Rural Health Roundtable Report
Read the SORH Maryland Rural Health Plan, released July 2007
Updated:
March 3, 2009
Facilitated by Dr. Bonnie Braun, Director, Hershel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy, University of Maryland School of Public Health
In October 2008, some 70 health, policy and rural leaders from around the state gathered in Annapolis for a Rural Health Roundtable, co-hosted by the RMC and the Maryland State Office of Rural Health (SORH). The purpose of the Roundtable was to develop an action plan to help implement the top strategic priority of the 2007 Maryland Rural Health Plan and subsequent 2009 Rural Health Implementation Plan, which is:
To improve the recruitment and retention of rural health providers as a means of increasing access to primary and specialty care and pharmacy services for Maryland's rural citizens.
Roundtable participants were asked to reach consensus on a top priority for action in three tactical approaches identified in the Rural Health Implementation Plan. The telehealth work group determined that, in the area of telehealth, the primary action item should be:
To develop a statewide telehealth consortium to support state level telehealth adoption; to share and pursue resources; to educate stakeholders on advancing of telehealth; and to facilitate the development of statewide policies, procedures, and protocols.
Rationale for this Priority: Maryland's rural areas have vast primary care and specialty care shortages; however, using technology to link urban providers with rural populations can be an invaluable way to improve access to quality care in rural areas while reducing overall costs to health systems due to better management of chronic diseases, fewer hospital visits, and health system transportation savings. In addition, many rural Maryland communities are using innovative practices to deliver healthcare via remote technology now; however, these innovations have no cohesive statewide integration or promotion assessing the feasibility of actually providing services via distance technology. In addition, several federal grants funding telehealth networks and initiatives were identified; however, Maryland has had no successful applications.
The RMC Health Care Working Committee developed a short- and long-term action
plan for moving forward on the recommendations provided by attendees at the
Rural Health Roundtable, which included investigating the feasibility of
creating a telehealth consortium. On January 28, 2009, the RMC Executive Board
formally adopted this plan.
Following up on the recommendations proposed at the October Rural Health Roundtable and the RMC's Action Plan, the RMC and the SORH co-hosted a Rural Roundtable on the feasibility of creating a telehealth consortium. Without a fully formed vision or even a clear indication that there was a need or desire for such an entity, the partners planned to hold a small invitation-only meeting with members of the rural regional councils, the Rural Maryland Broadband Cooperative, and selected RMC members. Within a week of sending out the email invitation, both the RMC and SORH began getting requests to forward the email and invite others. While a strong effort to invite all relevant stakeholders was undertaken, with such a short timeframe, many stakeholders engaged in the issue were still not aware or did not make it to the Roundtable. However, by February 20, 2009, more than 30 people attended a two-hour meeting in Annapolis.
Read the complete Telehealth Roundtable Report (March 2009)
1:00 to 1:10 p.m. -- Welcome and Introductions
Vanessa Orlando, Executive Director, Rural Maryland Council
Michelle Clark, Director, State Office of Rural Health
1:10 to 1:25 p.m. -- Participant Introductions
1:25 to 1:45 p.m. -- Speaking the Same Language: Definition of Terms
1:45 to 2:15 p.m. -- Map It, Maryland! A Visual Aid to Current Projects
2:15 to 2:45 p.m. -- Visioning: Gap Analysis and Brainstorming
2:45 to 3:00 p.m. -- Next Steps