The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding its Rural Development Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program — a surprising place for health IT innovation.
The program, which began in 2009, will pump another $23.4 million in additional funding for 75 new projects in 31 states, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in the announcement. The available funds will appear in the form of grants, which may be used to purchase telemedicine educational tools, equipment and services in rural areas, and are contingent upon each recipient meeting the grant agreement terms.
According to Healthcare IT News, the USDA has awarded nearly $215 million in grants (and loans) to be used in more than 630 distance learning and telemedicine projects across the U.S.
"Rural communities often lack access to specialized medical care or advanced educational opportunities necessary for stronger rural economies," Vilsack said in a statement. "These grants will help increase access to health care and many other essential services."
According to Fierce Health IT, recipients of the finds, include:
- North Slope Borough in Alaska will receive $420,027 to purchase video equipment to link six Native Alaskan clinics, four end-user sites and Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital.
- Baptist Healthcare System in Corbin, Kentucky, will receive $182,566 to install teleconferencing and telehealth equipment for five facilities in medically underserved areas in rural southeastern Kentucky and eastern Tennessee.
- The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in Nevada will receive $377,772 to provide telepharmacy services to eight remote pharmacies in its tribal area.
- The Finger Lakes Migrant Health Care will receive $200,452 to deliver teleconferencing equipment for medical, dental and behavioral health services to residents of rural New York.
The site also reports that the Office of the National Coordinator also is involved in projects to help rural areas boost broadband connectivity to support health information exchange and telehealth infrastructure.
The announcement was made Nov. 19 — National Rural Health Day — to highlight progress in the private sector, academia and state and federal rural health offices in addressing the ever-increasing need to expand telehealth capabilities in rural areas.
