Project ECHO: linking university specialists with rural and prison-based clinicians to improve care for people with chronic hepatitis C in New Mexico.
Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (Project ECHO) is a telemedicine and distance-learning program designed to improve access to quality health care for New Mexicans with hepatitis C. Project ECHO links health-care providers from rural clinics, the Indian Health Service, and prisons with specialists at the University of New Mexico. At weekly clinics, partners present and discuss patients with hepatitis C with specialists. Partners can receive continuing education credits for participating. Since June 2003, 173 hepatitis C clinics have been conducted with 1,843 case presentations. Partners have received 390 hours of training and 2,997 hours of continuing education credits. And in 2006, the State Legislature approved $1.5 million in annual funding for the project. Project ECHO has increased access to state-of-the art hepatitis C virus care for patients living in rural areas or prisons. Because of its success with hepatitis C, this project is being expanded to other chronic medical conditions.
Arora
Sanjeev
S
University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USA. SArora@salud.unm.edu
Thornton
Karla
K
Jenkusky
Steven M
SM
Parish
Brooke
B
Scaletti
Joseph V
JV
D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003376:Counseling / Q000458:organization & administration; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000379:methods; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D009516:New Mexico; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration; D011330:Prisons; D016730:Program Development; D015980:Public Health Practice; D012424:Rural Population; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D014481:United States; D016549:United States Indian Health Service / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014495:Universities / Q000458:organization & administration*