Today, people with Original Medicare have limited access to technology-supported care services for managing their chronic conditions because of Medicare payment barriers. Through ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model, CMS will test a new payment option that emphasizes outcomes over activities, enabling clinicians to offer innovative technology-supported care that improves patients’ health and complements traditional care. Read more!

High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke, yet many people go undiagnosed or struggle to monitor their numbers consistently. Brady Lacy, Senior Community Impact Director at the American Heart Association in Little Rock Arkansas joins us to share everything about this special program.

Great news! Congress just approved a full-year FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations package. This means we officially have a two-year extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2027! The bill passed both the House and Senate and the President’s has officially signed, ending a brief partial government shutdown. As with the last shutdown, the new language is expected to apply retroactively and cover this previous lapse period.  This deal will restore continuity to Medicare telehealth coverage and avoid a prolonged return to permanent, pre-pandemic policy. Read more!

In this episode, Karina Leal Vargas, BSN, RNC-MNN, Clinical Research Nurse from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences shares the development and implementation of a TeleLactation pilot designed to support breastfeeding mothers during the demanding postpartum period. Listeners will learn how TeleLactation reduced barriers such as transportation and limited outpatient services while strengthening breastfeeding knowledge, confidence, and continuation. Listen Now!

If you missed our recent Telehealth Roundup: Mobile Health Units in the South Central Region, look no further! The recording and presentation slides are now available for viewing. Subject matter experts Denton Thompson, MBA RN, with the UAMS Mobile Health Units, Sonja Fuqua, PhD, RN, PCMH CCE, with the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi, and Diana Dedmon, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, AFN-C with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center discuss MHUs and their impact on communities!

Before a hands-on demonstration, the students were able to learn about various essential components to incorporating telehealth into everyday practice. Additionally, these core concepts are the foundation to understanding how telehealth and telemedicine can be advocated for once these students head out into their professional healthcare careers.

The UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the South Central Telehealth Resource Center have compiled our resources to deliver a new way for healthcare professionals to get trained and educated on all aspects of telehealth and telemedicine.

Interested in our training sessions? Connect with us today and learn what educational opportunities we have available!

Patient portals are secure online platforms provided by healthcare organizations, such as hospitals and physician groups, that enable patients to access and manage their health information and communicate directly with their healthcare providers. Typically accessed via a web browser or mobile app, these tools are essential for fostering patient engagement and self-management.

The course is self-paced, publicly available, and completely free of charge. To get started, please refer to these instructions or contact us directly for support.

Thank you for your continued efforts to expand digital health access. Please feel free to disseminate to your peers and colleagues.

This course, sponsored by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Institute for Digital Health & Innovation, provided a comprehensive overview for designing, developing, and delivering educational and clinical services using Digital Health technology. The course was designed for individuals who are at the initial stages of networking health care professionals together for better continuing education and for better patient services. The program focused on the development of partnerships between medical centers and local health care providers, selection of appropriate technologies, technical operation, educational programming, and marketing clinical services.

During the visit, the USTTI Scholars toured the St. Mary’s facility to experience a wide variety of telehealth programs and uses, to better understand how a rural hospital communicates and cooperates with a urban hospital, and to see the different ways St. Mary’s specifically uses telemedicine! Upon arriving to St. Mary’s, the Scholars were greeted by hosts Tim Tanner, BSN, RN and Katye Jones, RN. We were even fortunate enough to be join by representatives from Senator Boozman and Conrgessman Bruce Westerman’s offices!

The most thrilling part of the day for our Scholars, and arguably our own team members too, was the live, mock-stroke demonstration where our hosts Tim and Katye played provider and patient. Here, Tim (acting as the provider) walked through exactly what would happen if Katye (acting as the patient) were brought in with symptoms of a stroke and how he would use a Telehealth cart to diagnose, treat, and save Katye’s life. The Scholars all echoed resounding excitement about seeing these technology used in-person! The rest of the visit was spent with St. Mary’s and IDHI team answering all the questions the Scholars had following this demonstration.

Partnering with the team at St. Mary’s Regional Health System was an amazing opportunity that we hope to repeat! Their skills, expertise, and knowledge was profound and wonderful to experience. We offer our sincere appreciation to them!

For more information or questions about this visit, please contact Lizzie Casteel at ecasteel@uams.edu.