University of New Mexico awarded $15M to expand telehealth

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center has awarded the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center’s department of neurosurgery about $15 million to expand their telehealth infrastructure system.

The funding supports the Access to Critical Cerebral Emergency Support Services (ACCESS) initiative, which will provide 30 N.M. hospitals 24/7 remote emergency neurological and neurosurgical consultations. Each hospital will be equipped with equipment and tools to aid in neurological diagnosis and treatment on site, avoiding needless transfers to Albuquerque, according to the university.

The project is part of a larger effort to provide emergency care at lower costs to rural communities in the state.

"Telehealth presents the opportunity to reverse the longstanding paradigm of placing the burden on patients to seek care where it is physically available. By eliminating archaic barriers and expanding opportunities for remote healthcare, hospital patients, including those in our rural communities, will have access to the best medical experts around the state available to them,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) in a statement.