Senate bill aims to improve rural care through telehealth

New legislation introduced by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) would direct the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to analyze a model of using telehealth to improve care in rural areas.

Called the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act, it’s modeled on the Project ECHO program at the University of New Mexico. In that program, community physicians participate with weekly videoconferencing with teams of specialist at academic medical centers, presenting cases and collaborating on treatment options, including those outside the physician’s previous expertise.  

“Technology has the potential to transform how we train doctors and deliver health care,” Schatz said in a statement.  “Our bill would help connect primary care providers in underserved areas with specialists at academic hubs, making it easier for medical professionals to access the continuing education they need and provide health care to more people.” 

If the bill is passed, HHS and the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) would be required “to prioritize analysis of the model, its impacts on provider capacity and workforce issues, and evidence of its effects on quality of patient care.”

The U.S. Government Accountability Office would also report on the potential benefits and cost savings from expanding the program into more hospitals and health systems, with the HHS Secretary then recommending a way to fund the new initiative.

The senators argue by offering rural physicians an easy resource to learn about new treatments and present cases, patients will be more satisfied, health care systems can save on specialty visits and rural areas can perhaps attract more health care providers.   

Barbara McAneny, MD, immediate past chair of the American Medical Association, offered a statement in support of the bill.

“An exemplary model of using new technologies to improve patient care, Project ECHO has potential to bolster access to specialists, reduce incidence of chronic disease and rein in costs through reduced travel and fewer ER visits. The AMA believes the ECHO Act would provide policymakers with critical information to expand such models to improve clinical practice,” McAneny said.

The federal government has taken cues from the Project ECHO model once before, when it rolled out the Specialty Care Access Network (SCAN) ECHO program at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2012.