CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded a nearly $1 million grant to the University of Virginia Center for Telehealth to expand telemedicine services in the mid-Atlantic states.
UVA, in partnership with telehealth networks across the region, will link rural and urban healthcare providers to expand telehealth capabilities and expertise. The resource center will bring together providers in the District of Columbia and six states: Virginia, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia.
“We are delighted that HRSA has provided us with this opportunity to share models of care provided via telehealth with our partners across the mid-Atlantic region,” said Karen Rheuban, MD, Director of UVA’s Center for Telehealth. “It will be a privilege to collaborate with distinguished institutions to further improve access to care using advanced and innovative technologies.”
Through UVA’s telemedicine network, patients receive care provided by UVA physicians and other health professionals in more than 40 subspecialties. The UVA telemedicine network includes more than 85 locations across Virginia.
UVA estimates that its telemedicine program has saved Virginians more than 6.7 million miles of travel for medical care, said David Cattell-Gordon, Director of UVA’s Office of Telemedicine.
Last year, Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law a bill requiring insurance companies to cover clinical services provided through telemedicine. Virginia is the only state in the mid-Atlantic region that mandates insurance coverage for telemedicine.
UVA expects to launch the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center in early October.
