Bill > S1090

Introduced Session

This bill would establish in the Department of Health a remote medical consultation assistance grant program. The purpose of the program is to award grants, subject to appropriations, to federally qualified health centers to enable and encourage their primary health care providers to employ technology to consult with medical specialists whose expertise may otherwise be difficult for the center's patients to access, with the intention that this improved access to specialist knowledge will improve the quality of care provided at participating health centers and reduce the need for costly face-to-face patient visits to medical specialists. Grant recipients would be required to use grant funds for costs associated with participation in a remote medical consultation program, which may include, but need not be limited to, participation or membership fees and acquisition and maintenance of computer equipment used for remote consultations. One such program, Project ECHO, connects primary care providers to teams of specialists via weekly video conferences on specific topics, allowing the primary care providers to discuss specific patients' cases and improve their general knowledge of the best evidence-based treatments for their patients' most common problems. The program was started at the University of New Mexico in 2003, and has since grown to include over 370 hubs in 38 countries assisting providers who focus on a variety of specialties, including women's health, diabetes, addiction, and chronic pain.

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Joe Vitale (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 01/30/2020)