| New Telehealth Program Brought To United Healthcare Rural Colorado Site
A new telehealth program is being brought to rural
Colorado by UnitedHealthcare. The "Connected Care" program will be
built in several Centaur Health Clinics as well as in
federallyqualified health centers, the health plan said.
The health plan said it was launching the Connected Care
program in Colorado to give patients in certain rural locations
expanded access to physicians and specialists using advanced telehealth
technology.
UnitedHealth said the new program will combine audio and
video technology with health resources to "greatly expand
physicians’ reach into rural, urban and other underserved areas."
The state is believed to be among the first states in
the country to "benefit from a nationwide rollout of innovative
technology that will expand physicians reach," said the health plan.
"The program will provide people in certain rural areas
access to world-class primary care physicians and specialists, making
it easier for patients to see the doctors they need."
The health plan said it is working in conjunction with
the State of Colorado and Centaur Health with assistance from the
Colorado Rural Health Center to implement the innovative program that
"leverages advanced technology to give residents access to physicians
and medical specialists when in person visits are not possible."
Centaur Health facilities along with federally qualified
community health centers in the state will house the sites for
Connected Care, officials said. The sites will feature sophisticated
audio, video and healthcare technologies to connect patients with
medical specialists located hundreds of miles away providing for
coordinating care with primary care physicians located in rural
communities. The health plan said its Connected Care program is using
Cisco’s high definition videoconferencing and other collaborative
network technologies to create an experience similar to having the
doctor in the same room with the patient."
The program is expected to be installed during the first
quarter of this year and is expected to make nearly 4,800 specialists
visits per year in those communities. The program will first target
specialties in rural areas that are either not currently available at
the local level or only available on a part-time basis. Specialties
include cardiology, dermatology, pulmonology, diabetes management and
ENT, among others.
For information on the program and its collaboration in Colorado visit: www.ConnectedCareAmerica.com.
|
