Maryland Health Care Commission awards $90,000 in telehealth grants
Three facilities will receive funding to use technology to aid population health
Baltimore, MD (December 10, 2015) – The Maryland Health Care Commission announces the award of $90,000 in grants to assist three under-served communities in using telehealth to deliver primary and specialty care services for managing chronic illnesses.
The three grantees are Associated Black Charities of Dorchester County in partnership with Choptank Community Health Systems; Gerald Family Care in partnership with Dimensions Health System in Prince George’s County; and Union Hospital of Cecil County. All three grantees will use the funds to enable providers to connect with patients in real time, with two of the projects using mobile tablets to connect with a patient in his or her home.
Teleheal
th is the use of such electronic information and telecommunications technologies as video conferencing, image capturing and use of remote examination tools to support clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health, and health administration. Expanding telehealth capabilities to provide primary and specialty services can reduce hospital emergency department visits, inpatient admissions, and readmissions; can enable the provision of appropriate treatment in the patient’s own community; and can reduce health care costs for patients and payers.
The grantees are required to implement the technology in a meaningful way, including developing clinical protocols to demonstrate improved outcomes. Grantees also must use an electronic health record and the services of the State-Designated health information exchange, the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP). Each grantee is required to match State funds, 2:1, from other sources to demonstrate commitment to creating a program that has the possibility to be self-sustaining at the end of the grant period.
The telehealth projects will launch this month and will continue through May 2017. These grants will enable the Health Care Commission to continue to test the effectiveness of telehealth with various technologies, patients, providers and clinical protocols in a variety of settings.
For additional information, contact Erin Dorrien, chief of Government and Public Affairs, at 443-615-1338.
About the Maryland Health Care Commission
The Maryland Health Care Commission is a 15-member, independent regulatory agency whose mission is to plan for health system needs, promote informed decision-making, increase accountability, and improve access in a rapidly changing health care environment by providing timely and accurate information on availability, cost, and quality of services to policy makers, purchasers, providers and the public. The 15 Commissioners are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Maryland Senate. The Commission's vision for Maryland is to ensure that informed consumers hold the health care system accountable and have access to affordable and appropriate health care services through programs that serve as models for the nation.
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The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is the state government agency that protects Maryland’s public health and also works to help Marylanders make better health decisions for better health outcomes. Stay connected: www.twitter.com/MarylandDHMH andwww.facebook.com/MarylandDHMH.