AFHCAN is pleased to announce that our training program has been accredited by the American Telemedicine Association (ATA).

The purpose of ATA accreditation is to protect the integrity and effectiveness of telehealth training programs, as well as encourage continuous quality improvement in telemedicine/telehealth training and education. The accreditation process is a rigorous assessment of a program’s ability to design and implement a professional training program. The goals of the accreditation process are to ensure telemedicine/telehealth training programs in the United States and other countries meet acceptable standards of quality in terms of content, methods, and resources and to provide formal recognition of training programs that meet these standards. Accredited training programs are allowed to include the ATA logo on their website and marketing materials.

Only the fourth organization in the nation to receive ATA accreditation of its training program, AFHCAN offers a variety of training, from a one-hour class on using the AFHCAN web client to an assortment of multi-day workshops. This fall we are offering a new course for AFHCAN Clinical Administrators, focused on reporting, data analysis and designing custom forms.

In addition to our AFHCAN courses, we have partnered with the University of Alaska to develop and teach three college courses on telehealth.

Intended as a workforce development initiative, completing the first two courses will result in certification as a Telehealth Coordinator, while completing all three courses will result in certification as a Telehealth Program Manager.

Check our website for updates on all of our training courses

ATA Training Program Accreditation (TPA)

It’s not too late!!  There are still openings for the online introduction to telehealth and the telehealth coordinator role course offered through the University of Alaska.  Please see the contact info on the flyer to sign up.

THC course flyer

The course will run from November 14-18, 2011.

The Train the Trainer course is designed for those who are or will frequently teach others how to use the AFHCAN hardware and software.  It includes an in depth review and practice with the cart and web based
systems.  It also includes information about and practice with teaching principles (how to give positive and negative feedback, how to present a lesson, how to measure competency, etc.).  You will also develop a training plan for telehealth for your facility during the course.  The course will be held in the AFHCAN offices in Anchorage.

Please contact me if you are interested in attending and would like a price quote or have any further questions.

Cindy Roleff, MS, BSN, RN-BC
AFHCAN Lead Telehealth Coordinator
907-729-2277
cjroleff@anthc.org
Customer Support: 888-449-4435

This year’s Fall Forum (Sept 19-21, 2011) is being held in our back yard.  Yup, right here at the Egan Center in downtown Anchorage, Alaska!  Stop by and say “hi” to our AFHCAN team at booth # 308.  See you in Anchorage!

Written by Fiona Brosnan, ANTHC
Friday, 24 June 2011 13:26

Expands health care around the world and beyond

Anchorage, AK — The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s (ANTHC) AFHCAN Telehealth Solutions telemedicine program recently hit a major landmark, recording its 100,000th telehealth case within the Alaska Tribal Health System. AFHCAN technology allows health care professionals located at the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC) in Anchorage to see and treat patients in Alaska’s rural communities. AFHCAN began documenting cases in 2001.

“It’s great to celebrate our team’s achievement,” said Cheryl Moon, Acting Director of AFHCAN, “but it’s most exciting to know that we are making a significant difference in helping ANTHC reach its vision of making Alaska Natives the healthiest people in the world.”

AFHCAN has improved health care for Alaska Natives and Alaskans around the state and helps make patient care more efficient by cutting down on wait times to see specialists. It’s also saved Alaskans and the Tribal Health System more than $6 million annually in travel expenses and strengthened ANTHC through telehealth services reimbursements.

“Alaskans can be proud that AFHCAN’s cutting-edge telemedicine technology came out of our state,” said Mandi Constantine, AFHCAN Director of Telehealth Program Development. “It was created to address the unique issues that arise from being the biggest U.S. state which is also 47th out of 50 states in road miles, and 48th out of 50 in doctors-to-people ratio.”

AFHCAN was originally created to help Alaskans, but as people in remote locations around the world make use of telemedicine, AFHCAN supports their efforts with hardware, software and training, as well. Alaska and the Lower 48 Indian Health Service sites have more than 400 AFHCAN carts and 60 servers in use. Most recently, AFHCAN’s commercial distributor confirmed a sale of 35 carts to the Maldives, an island nation to the southwest of India. AFHCAN’s tConsult software is even working in outer space – it was recently used in an international space station by the Canadian Space Agency.

One example of how patient care in Alaska has improved is through the innovative use of telehealth technology is the use of videoconferencing for post-cochlear care for deaf Alaskans. In the past, deaf Alaskans would have to choose between leaving their homes or uprooting their families and move to a metropolitan area for more than a year to receive speech therapy after receiving cochlear implants. With telehealth videoconferencing, Alaska Natives can now stay in their hometowns after a cochlear implant and receive speechtherapy through videoconferencing.

The tertiary care hospital for the Alaska Tribal Health system, ANMC receives between 2,500-3,000 cases per year for consultation. Thanks to AFHCAN technology, about 20 percent of those are turned around in 60 minutes, and three quarters are turned around within 24 hours.

Native American Times Story Here

Journey to Alaska for the ATA Fall Forum
Participate as an Attendee, Speaker or Exhibitor

ATA Fall Forum
September 19-21, 2011 in Anchorage, AK
www.ATAfallforum.org

Summer has finally arrived! But before you know it Fall will be here and it’ll be time for the ATA Fall Forum in Anchorage.  Now is the time to start planning for the most unique telehealth event of the year. The Fall Forum will feature a series of innovative keynotes from people who are revolutionizing telemedicine and healthcare.  Come hear a program full of the next big ideas in telemedicine, many ready for the picking, and all in a fun, creative setting. Come to Alaska in the fall to find out what’s just around the corner!  And of course visit AFHCAN at booth 308!

There are plenty of ways to participate in this one-of-a-kind event:

As an Attendee

Registration for the ATA Fall Forum is open. Register before August 15 to save on early-bird registration. You can also reserve your hotel room in ATA’s discounted block of rooms at the Hilton Anchorage.  Click here for Registration and Hotel information. 

Click here to register for the Fall Forum.

As a Speaker

The Fall Forum Call for Presentations is open through July 1, 2011.  We are looking for talks, demonstrations or other inventive presentation formats on a wide range of telemedicine subject areas. We want all types of presentations, from all types of speakers. Topics might include: an inventive training method, a unique approach to delivering telehealth services, a new and better device, a successful way of introducing telemedicine to providers or consumers, a novel way to organize and fund a program, a fresh look at overcoming a barrier. Click here to submit an abstract. 

As an Exhibitor

The Fall Forum will include a full exhibit hall with the latest telehealth technologies from a variety of vendors.  Click here to view the Fall Forum Virtual Exhibit Hall. If you have a telemedicine product or service to market with the leading experts in remote healthcare technologies, the ATA Fall Forum is the place to be.  ATA Corporate Members and Institutional Members pay only $1,200 for a 10×10 booth. Non-Members pay $ 2,000. Each 10×10 includes 2 complimentary full-meeting registrations–an $1100 savings!

There are also several event sponsorships available:

• Silver Sponsorship: For $5,000, sponsors will receive:
  - Booth Space (10’x10’) rental fee
  - 5 complimentary full conference passes
  - Final Program Ad (Full Page) and One Meter Board Ad
  - Free Side Ad on Exhibitor Website
  - Recognition as sponsors on ATA meeting website, Final program, and common area signage and a special note of thanks during the plenary
   
•  Bronze Sponsorship: For $2,500, sponsors will receive:
  - Booth Space (10’x10’) rental fee
  - 4 complimentary full conference passes
  - Free Side Ad on Exhibitor Website
  - Recognition as sponsors on ATA meeting website, Final program, and common area signage and a special note of thanks during the plenary 

With the destination of Alaska, what better place to have a telemedicine meeting! There’s already been quite a lot of interest. Space is limited so please contact Sandy Hung at 202-223-4249 to reserve your booth today!

If you are attending ATA 2011 in Tampa, stop by our booth #633 and say “Hi” to our team!  You will always find a couple of us there ready and willing to answer your questions about our tConsult software, education opportunities, or telemedicine in general!

Our very own A. Stewart Ferguson, PhD (Vice President of ATA) giving his opening address to ATA 2011 attendees in Tampa, Florida.

The Telehealth Technology Assessment Center creates better-informed consumers of telehealth technology.  By offering a variety of services in the area of technology assessment, the TTAC (pronouced “tea-tac”) aims to become the place for answers to questions about selecting appropriate technologies for your telehealth program.

Toolkits are a critical part of the work that the Telehealth Technology Assessment Center does.  These interactive elements allow users to learn the fundamentals of how various technologies work, as well as how to assess them for use in telehealth programs.

Toolkits & other resources can be seen on the TTAC website at: http://www.telehealthtac.org