Question: What is the Market for Telehealth?

As a telehealth association, this is a question the ATSP gets asked quite frequently. The answer, of course, is never simple. In many ways, the term "market for telehealth" is a vague phrase whose very definition can be changed depending on what sort of numbers the researcher is looking for.

Take the most basic telehealth example of a nurse consulting a patient over the phone: Does the market include the hardware (the two telephones), the transmission fees (the phone call charges), the infrastructure (the phone lines), the health care knowledge and labor (the Nurse), the specialized training (the nurse's telephone triage training), all or just some of these things? Depending on what you want to count in this example, the market number can range greatly.

Still, that's not to say there hasn't been some good research efforts into finding the size of the market. If you are looking for this number, you might start with the TIE's Telehealth and Telemedicine Market Links, which feature direct links to multitude of reports about the size of the telehealth industry.

As always, if you know of more recent reports or research into this question, please let us know and we'll add them to the TIE.

ATSP TeleUpdates: Legal, Regulatory, & Federal Update for Telemedicine

The ATSP is excited to announce that the next teleconference in its TeleUpdates series will provde a legal, regulatory, and federal update for telehealth. This event will take place on May 24th at 2pm Eastern.

This innovative teleconference will provide an overview of recent legal and regulatory developments affecting telehealth and telemedicine providers. It will also provide an update on federal telehealth activity in both the agencies and on Capitol Hill.

Topics will include:

• electronic health records and electronic prescribing regulations,
• liability issues,
• licensure,
• reimbursement,
• data privacy and security, and
• pending federal and state legislation.

The ATSP TeleUpdates are a series of live audio conferences that focus on a specific topic within the telehealth industry. They consist of an interactive phone bridge and Internet based PowerPoint slides and handouts that may be downloaded. The events are designed for maximum interaction; attendees are able to ask questions and make comments.

More information will soon be available on the ATSP Teleupdates website at http://teleupdates.atsp.org.

Telemedicine State by State Map

One of the favorite features on the TIE is our State Telemedicine Map. Simply click on the state to see a summary of licensure, reimbursement and programs data that we have for the state. To find this map again, click on the Telemedicine for Professionals link on the front page of the TIE. From there, click on the Telemedicine & Telehealth (State by State) link to get to the map.

Informed Consent and Evaluation Forms

Let's face it: running a telemedicine program involves a lot of paperwork. Instead of creating the necessary forms anew, it might be helpful to examine some other programs' work. The TIE provides links to examples of:

• Informed Consent Forms for Telemedicine
• Telemedicine Evaluation Forms

Be sure to check out our Telemedicine 101 section for resources on starting and running a program. We are, of course, always looking for more examples of forms. If yours are available, let us know and we'll add them to our lists.

Question: I'm looking for telemedicine programs in my state...

One of the main inquires we get at the TIE is about contacting or finding local programs. The TIE maintains an active program database that contains a good amount of info on programs, such as their location, demographics, clinical applications, equipment types, contact information, and more. Here is a list of the programs, sorted alphabetically by state.

To generate this page or to find other telemedicine programs in your part of the world, visit the TIE's active program database. To browse programs in your state or country:

1. Click on browse recently added programs, this will bring up a page of worldwide programs that are alphabetical by name.
2. To filter the list by location, locate the yellow "browse programs" box, then click on the options for "filter: U.S." to list programs by state or "Non-U.S." for international programs.
3. Click on "Sort: Location".
4. Click the Browse button.

A quick note about the Active Program Database: This database is not, by far, a complete listing of telemedicine programs. Instead, it is a listing of programs that, due to our solicitations or their volunteering, have filled out one of our program surveys. We would always like to have more programs listed in this database. Having a listing of active programs allows for collaboration, information sharing, and exposure and attention to the good work that you are doing. If you are part a program that is not listed, please take 10 minutes and fill out our online survey. Thank you.