Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Okla., Colo., Pa. get $9M in grants to test using telemedicine to fight rural drug addiction

Oklahoma, Colorado and Pennsylvania will receive $9 million in grants from the Obama administration to help train rural doctors to fight rural drug addiction, Sarah Ferris reports for The Hill. The three-year pilot program will use telemedicine to "help expand treatment in areas that have been historically underserved by healthcare providers."

The grants from the Department of Health and Human Services will allow states to "use a model called Project ECHO, in which rural primary care doctors watch videos by urban speciality doctors who are trained in complex health problems like opioid addiction," Ferris writes. "The Project ECHO approach, which was developed by the University of New Mexico, became widely touted after its use to help primary care doctors treat hepatitis C. A study published in February in the journal Substance Abuse found that the model is a strong tool to help expand anti-addiction treatment 'particularly in underserved areas.'" (Read more)

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