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  • 🙌 January Newsletter - Telehealth News, Resources & Events 🙌

    NCTRC
    Top Telehealth News
     
    Telehealth, Hospital-at-Home Waiver Extensions Inch Forward as House Passes Spending Bill (Source: Fierce Healthcare) The House passed the Department of Health and Human Services’ funding bill on Thursday evening, including the telehealth and hospital-at-home extensions.  Under the proposal, Medicare telehealth flexibilities would be extended by two years, until Dec. 31, 2027, and the acute hospital care at home program would continue through Sept. 30, 2030, just under five years. 

    Federal Government Permanently Extends Addiction Treatment Through Telehealth (Source: The Pew Charitable Trusts) As of Dec. 31, 2025, it’s easier for Americans with opioid use disorder (OUD) to get access to critical medications through telehealth visits, thanks to a pandemic-era rule that the federal government has made permanent. This change helps to ensure that more people can get the treatment they need, even if they cannot routinely see their health care providers in person.

    Telehealth Boosts Preventive Care in Rural Areas (Source: TechTarget) Telehealth utilization in rural areas was associated with a higher likelihood of utilizing preventive care, recent research revealed. Published in the American Journal of Managed Care, the research assessed whether telehealth use among rural residents affected subsequent preventive care utilization. The study authors noted that rural residents are less likely to receive preventive health services. 

    Study: Telehealth Use Doesn't Increase Healthcare Utilization(Source: TechTarget) New research in Health Affairs Scholar revealed that total outpatient visits did not increase, but rather declined slightly, among specialty groups with higher telehealth use. Conducted by University of Michigan (U-M) researchers, the study comes as the virtual care industry faces another telehealth cliff. Pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities that drove telehealth access and adoption are set to expire at the end of the month.
     
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    Recent TRC Resources
     
    Innovation Watch: Telesensi’s Out-of-Band Stethoscope Audio for Telehealth (Created by TTAC)
    The Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center (TTAC) has released a new innovation watch. As telehealth expands into more diagnostic use cases, standard video platforms often fall short for clinical listening. Telesensi addresses this gap with an out-of-band stethoscope audio platform that streams heart and lung sounds through a dedicated, high-fidelity channel—separate from voice-optimized video conferencing tools. Built to run entirely in the browser, Telesensi supports real-time remote auscultation, recording, and FDA-cleared AI murmur detection, while integrating alongside existing telehealth workflows. Early testing shows significantly improved sound quality compared to traditional conferencing audio, pointing to a future where diagnostic sound is treated as its own critical data stream in virtual care. For more information, read the full innovation watch
    Healthy Weight, Cancer Prevalence, and Telehealth Webinar (Created by UMTRC)
    The Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center (UMTRC) recently hosted a Healthy Weight, Cancer Prevalence, and Telehealth webinar. This webinar provides an overview of how lifestyle factors can impact cancer risk - and how telehealth can be used as a tool to manage these risk factors. For more information, view the full webinar recording
    Project ECHO Library (Created by MATRC)
    The Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center (MATRC) created a Project ECHO Library. This library includes a series on Obesity Management and one on Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome both available with CE/CME credits. A large number of additional series on a variety of topics will be added in the upcoming weeks. Free registration is available to access the library. For more information, view the full Project ECHO Library.

    For more telehealth resources, view our resources page or the Telehealth.HHS.gov website!
     
    View NCTRC Resources Page
    View Telehealth.HHS.gov
    The National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers (NCTRC), representing all 14 Telehealth Resource Centers (TRCs), is collecting success stories from both patients and providers who have benefited from telehealth with support from a TRC. Share how your TRC helped make telehealth work for you for a chance to be featured – along with your organization – in the NCTRC newsletter.
    TAKE SURVEY
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    Questions About Telehealth? We’re Here to Help
    Whether you’re looking for local support or national expertise, your Telehealth Resource Centers (TRCs) are here for you. Contact your regional TRC for telehealth questions, or the National Centers for policy and technology guidance.
    CONTACT REGIONAL TRC
    CONTACT NATIONAL POLICY CENTER
    CONTACT NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER
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    Upcoming Telehealth Events
     
    Expanding Access to Healthcare Through Virtual and Digital Capabilities
    The Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center (UMTRC), in collaboration with the Ohio State Office of Rural Health, is hosting this webinar on February 3 from 1 - 2 PM ET. Hear from guests from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, American College of Cardiology, and the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) about 
    • The digital divide that is within the UMTRC region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
    • How the Digital Infrastructure Score is developed and why the components are critical to understanding community readiness in telehealth investment-implementation efforts.
    • A tutorial on how the new DIS mapping tool can be used to guide partnerships that are seeking to (or are already) utilizing shared data to expand telehealth strategies that address their specific needs, within their to specific communities. 
    • Highlighting use cases, specifically how OH entities such as Cincinnati Children's have been successful with the tool, and other success in the UMTRC region states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan).

    REGISTER HERE >
    Building Digital Confidence: How Tech-Savvy Teens Are Strengthening Community Health
    The Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center (PBTRC) will host this webinar on February 17 from 12 - 1 PM HST. As telehealth continues to grow, meaningful access depends on people, education, and trust—not just technology. This webinar highlights the Tech-Savvy Teens program and how it builds digital confidence by preparing youth to serve as digital navigators, with insights from real-world experiences in rural and island communities. Participants will learn about lessons learned, community impact, and how similar models can be adapted to support telehealth access in other regions.

    REGISTER HERE >
    gpTRAC & UMTRC Telehealth Everywhere 2026 Conference
    The Great Plains Telehealth Resource & Assistance Center (gpTRAC) and the Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center (UMTRC) will be hosting the Telehealth Everywhere Conference in Bloomington, MN on April 7 - 9, 2026. This is an annual regional telehealth conference for executives, providers, managers, and staff engaged in the operational aspects of telehealth. We focus on delivering information and experiences that will help drive your organization's telehealth program forward into the future while also providing foundational information for telehealth beginners.

    REGISTER HERE >
    SAVE THE DATE! 2026 MATRC Summit - Accelerating Innovation Through Collaboration: Building the Future of Connected Care

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