Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Awarded Network Access Improvement Project

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), in collaboration with the TTUHSC F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health, Amerigroup and Grace Clinic Online, was awarded a Network Access Improvement Project (NAIP) focused on telemedicine education and delivery.

Through the NAIP project, a competency‐based telehealth certificate training program, known as Frontiers in Telemedicine provided by the F. Marie Hall Institutes for Rural and Community Health, will prepare care teams in the foundational elements necessary for conducting successful telehealth encounters. The program will provide a unique and robust training program to include online modules, simulation center learning and objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) to focus on the essentials of telehealth clinical procedures, technology and business. Frontiers in Telemedicine will have the capacity to train 120 care team staff members during the first year of the NAIP project.

Furthermore, the collaborative effort will allow for TTUHSC and Grace Clinic Online clinicians to utilize the TTUHSC telemedicine network to provide better access to care for Amerigroup Medicaid recipients throughout West Texas.

“Telemedicine is one of the fastest growing aspects in the delivery of health care,” said Billy Philips Jr., M.D., executive vice president and director for the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health. “This project will allow patients better access to health care, but it will also provide health care professionals with the most-advanced educational preparation available in the field of telemedicine. We believe the standard of practice in telemedicine will be set by the standard of education, which is the Frontiers in Telemedicine Certificate Course.”

Frontiers in Telemedicine will include online modules, hands-on learning and simulation-based testing where health care professionals will demonstrate their mastery of competencies in this way of delivering care. The course will effectively train the workforce and provide live education that will debunk some myths about telemedicine technology.

Randy Hickle, M.D. chief executive officer and president of Grace Health System, said Grace Clinic Online is excited about partnering with TTUHSC, F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health and Amerigroup to expand access to specialty care to Medicaid recipients in the West Texas region.

“We believe that by creating alignment between patients, payers and providers we can improve access, engage patients in self-care and improve utilization of health care resources while driving towards the ultimate goal; better health care outcomes for the patient,” Hickle said. “Currently, patients may wait several weeks before getting a needed appointment with a specialist. It’s been proven that earlier specialist consultations often result in better health care outcomes. Grace Clinic Online is proud to provide these consults via telemedicine where and when patients in West Texas need them.”

According to LeAnn Behrens, Amerigroup Texas president, the program will bring quality, more convenient care to rural residents.

“Through this collaboration, Amerigroup Texas is proud to bring innovative solutions that will help increase access to quality care for our members who reside in rural communities and ensure that they continue to live healthy lives,” Behrens said.

Related Stories

How Does Your Garden Grow?

As spring approaches, some people’s thoughts turn to gardening. Whether it’s a flower garden they desire or a vegetable garden want to have, they begin planning what they’ll plant and what they need to do to ensure a successful garden.

Adopt a Growth Mindset for a Better Life

A “growth mindset” accepts that our intelligence and talents can develop over time, and a person with that mindset understands that intelligence and talents can improve through effort and learning.

Drug Use, Family History Can Lead to Heart Disease in Younger Adults

Abstaining from drug abuse and an early diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol) can help prevent heart disease.

Recent Stories

Health

Texas Tech Physicians Multispecialty Clinic to Open in South Lubbock

The Texas Tech Physicians Multispecialty Clinic will be home to eight clinical services including cardiology, endocrinology, family medicine, internal medicine, orthopaedics (sports medicine), psychiatry, surgery and urology.

Education

TTUHSC Pioneers New Pathway for Pharmacy Education

The TTUHSC Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy is positioning itself for the future with the announcement of its new Pioneer Pathway, an innovative educational pathway that will leverage hybrid learning strategies.

Education

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Master of Public Health Program Awarded Seven-Year Accreditation

The MPH program at the TTUHSC Julia Jones Matthews School of Population and Public Health has been awarded seven-year accreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) through July 1, 2031.