WASHINGTON – July 11, 2012 - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has implemented a new initiative, Specialty Care Access Network-Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (SCAN-ECHO), to increase access to specialty care services for Veterans in rural and medically under-served areas through the use of videoconferencing equipment.“We are committed to providing increased access to high-quality health care to Veterans regardless of where they live,” said Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “Through SCAN-ECHO, patients in rural areas with complex medical conditions are now able to receive specialty care treatment from their local VA physician.”
SCAN-ECHO is modeled after an outreach program developed by the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center’s Project ECHO. SCAN-ECHO enables specialty care teams in areas such as diabetes, pain management, and Hepatitis C to use videoconferencing equipment to connect with Veterans’ local primary care providers (PCPs) and Patient Aligned Care Teams. During a scheduled SCAN-ECHO clinic, the PCP presents a patient’s case and the specialty care team recommends a treatment plan. In addition to case presentations, formal clinical education is also provided.
VA will host a demonstration of the SCAN-ECHO technology at VA Central Office, room 230, on July 11 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
This year, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), established a collaborative agreement with the Project ECHO program to educate and provide training materials to VHA staff. In addition, Project ECHO staff will be available for consultation as VHA’s program continues to expand and new Centers are added. read more>>>
No comments:
Post a Comment