Senate passes Hatch bill to use telehealth model to improve rural health care access

The Senate has unanimously approved an innovative measure introduced by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to make top-notch health care more available in remote, rural areas.

The Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act, S. 2873, would take steps to better integrate a technology-enabled collaborative learning model into health systems across the country.

“By using technology to connect patients and providers, this bill will benefit Utah’s families by helping them receive the care they need, when they need it,” Hatch said. I’m grateful for the valuable input Utah’s health leaders have provided in crafting this proposal.”

The Project Extension for Community Health Outcomes, or Project ECHO, uses interactive videoconferencing to link teams of specialists to primary care providers in rural and underserved areas to facilitate teaching with mentoring and case-based learning.

The Project ECHO model seeks to solve problems stemming from the limited number of physicians who practice in rural areas of the United States, despite nearly one-fourth of the population living in those areas. People who live in rural areas often suffer from higher rates of certain chronic diseases and face challenges related to transportation and connectivity.

The new model has been used successfully to increase the number of physicians able to prescribe drugs for opioid abuse, to quickly educate health providers on public health crises and to train providers to address complex mental health disorders.

Speaking in support of the bill, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said geographic location should not dictate the quality of available health care.

“This bill will promote opportunities to increasingly open up access to high-quality care in rural communities that is not currently available, such as access to specialists; support and training for rural healthcare providers; and increased resources in health care shortage areas,” Daines said.

The bill would also require the Department of Health and Human Services to study the impact of Project ECHO on addressing specific disease conditions, health care workforce challenges, implementation of public health programs and delivery of care in underserved areas.

Technology has linked rural communities with global markets and information networks, noted U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND).

“Now, the ECHO Act is working to connect primary care doctors in our rural and underserved communities, like many in North Dakota, with first-rate specialists in their field who would not otherwise be available to patients living and being treated in rural areas,” Hoeven said.