American Telemedicine Association Announces Plans For First Annual Telehealth Awareness Week – September 19-25, 2021
Convening a diverse coalition of stakeholders to advance telehealth as a quality care option for all Americans, including events and resources highlighting the value of telehealth in care delivery
WASHINGTON, DC, APRIL 1, 2021 – The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) today announced that it will convene leaders in telehealth service delivery, hospital systems and medical practices, technology solution providers, patient advocacy organizations, policymakers and other stakeholders during the first-annual Telehealth Awareness WeekTM, September 19-25, 2021. The ATA will host a series of events, publish educational resources, and share patient and healthcare provider experiences that support the permanent adoption of telehealth as part of a two-channel care delivery system that combines in-person and virtual care.
“As we emerge from the challenges of the past year and reimagine how healthcare must be delivered in the future, it is the perfect opportunity to celebrate Telehealth Awareness Week. We have all seen, firsthand, the significant contributions telehealth has made in our national response to COVID-19. Now is the time to permanently expand access to these services for the millions of people in the U.S. who need a safe, effective, and convenient option to access their care,” said Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Chair of the Board of the ATA, Professor of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, and Editor-in-Chief, npj Digital Medicine. “The COVID-19 public health emergency has put a new and much needed spotlight on the benefits telehealth can have in patient care. With Telehealth Awareness Week, we will bring communities together to reflect on the value of telehealth and build an even stronger national plan for advancing virtual care.”
Telehealth Awareness Week will include a schedule of national and regional events highlighting the growing acceptance and value of virtual care in U.S. healthcare as well as a series of new informational resources to support broader access to telehealth services for patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Updates on activities planned for Telehealth Awareness Week and opportunities to participate will be available on the official Telehealth Awareness Week website here: TelehealthAwareness.org.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a recent statement recognizing that, “Where telehealth and other remote access technologies were once a matter of convenience, the public health emergency made them a matter of safety for many beneficiaries.” Following the unprecedented use of telehealth and virtual care services in response to the public health emergency, telehealth is now calibrating to account for 15 to 25% of care delivery, creating a two-channel healthcare system that balances in-person and virtual care.
The ATA is pleased to announce the Founding Partners for Telehealth Awareness Week:
- Ascension
- Avera eCare
- Babylon
- Doximity
- Hims
- Intermountain Healthcare
- LifePoint Health
- Philips
- Teladoc Health
- Verizon
- Walmart
- Ziegler
- Zipnosis
- 1-800 Contacts
“This distinguished and diverse group of organizations is committed to a future of care delivery that provides access to quality care for all Americans, including underserved patient populations, rural communities and our most vulnerable – a future that must include telehealth,” added Ann Mond Johnson, CEO, the ATA. “We are thankful for their support and vision.”
Telehealth is the use of smartphones, sensors, tablets, and other available technologies to securely connect patients and their healthcare providers when an in-person interaction is not clinically necessary or available. Telehealth includes real-time, synchronous, interactive encounters between a patient and a healthcare provider via video, telephone or live chat; secure, asynchronous or chat-based interactions; and remote patient monitoring for ongoing condition monitoring and chronic disease management.
About the ATA
As the only organization completely focused on advancing telehealth, the American Telemedicine Association is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to safe, affordable, and appropriate care when and where they need it, enabling the system to do more good for more people. The ATA represents a broad and inclusive member network of leading healthcare delivery systems, academic institutions, technology solution providers and payers, as well as partner organizations and alliances, working to advance industry adoption of telehealth, promote responsible policy, advocate for government and market normalization, and provide education and resources to help integrate virtual care into emerging value-based delivery models. @americantelemed #telehealthishealth #ATApolicy
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Gina Cella
Cella Communications
781-799-3137
gcella@cellapr.com
