Fourth Annual Pediatric Telehealth Colloquium

This project supported the Fourth Annual Pediatric Telehealth Colloquium, held in September 2009 in Palm Springs, California. While many pediatric telehealth programs have shown benefit to patients and reduced health care costs within the framework of a financially sustainable model, others have failed. The conference created a forum to discuss and disseminate information on factors for successful programs. The objectives of the meeting were to: 1) provide an overview of the technical, administrative, and clinical operations of a telemedicine program; 2) demonstrate how telemedicine can be used to assist in the care of pediatric patients in a variety of clinical settings; 3) disseminate information on the successful use of this technology to improve the access, quality, and efficiency of care delivered to children; 4) provide the information required to ensure a self-sustaining, financially viable, successful telemedicine program; and 5) share current efforts on how to evaluate and research the impact of telemedicine on processes and outcomes of care.

The main objective of the project was to:

• Disseminate information about how telemedicine is used in a variety of care settings, how telemedicine improves access and increases education, and how to create a financially-sustainable framework to decrease disparities in care, increase the overall quality of care, and decrease overall health care costs.

The conference was a featured track of the third mid-year meeting of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), and drew an audience of approximately 150. Attendees included physician and non-physician health care providers, strategic and business development officers, and information technology specialists interested in developing or expanding a sustainable telemedicine program. The meeting featured interactive lectures, concurrent scientific sessions, and workshops. Speakers were clinicians, administrators, and technicians from a variety of settings including new and established telehealth programs from hub and remote sites, rural, and underserved areas.

Topics covered the basic technology of telemedicine and telecommunications; the use of telemedicine to improve and increase outreach; the legal, regulatory, reimbursement, and contracting issues of a program; how telemedicine can improve the quality and efficiency of pediatric care delivered to children in a variety of settings; grant and funding opportunities; and strategies for sustainability. Following the meeting, a course DVD was provided free of charge to providers, administrators, and technicians from rural and/or medically underserved clinics and hospitals.