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New Mexico's Project ECHO put forth as national telehealth model for rural care

By Bernie Monegain

Project ECHO, a health IT pilot that launched in 2003 in rural New Mexico to connect rural doctors to specialists, is now front and center in Congress as lawmakers consider employing the model across the country.

Senators Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, introduced the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act this past week. The bill calls for studies on how best to expand the model.

In New Mexico, Project ECHO has recorded unprecedented success in treating patients with hepatitis C.

"Project ECHO has proven that technology can help overcome traditional barriers to adequate healthcare treatment, such as distance, income and lack of specialized medical professionals for underserved communities with no access to treatment," Sanjeev Arora, MD, project director, told Healthcare IT News back in 2008.

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