Aug 26, 2025
This Week’s ATA Brief: Telehealth Awareness Week, Rural Care, Expanding Access
ATA
For leaders making digital integral to how care is accessed, delivered, and scaled.
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Dear ATA Community,
As we head into the fall, I’m especially looking forward to Telehealth Awareness Week, September 14–20. This annual campaign is our chance to shine a spotlight on how telehealth and digital health are transforming care delivery nationwide—and it comes at a pivotal moment, with key policy deadlines approaching and the future of access and innovation at stake.
The ATA has a terrific lineup of events planned. We’ll kick things off with our ATA Member Townhall Meeting, followed by a thought-provoking session on Virtual Foodcare: Ideas into Action. Our CODE Roundtable Webinar will dive into what it really takes to lead a data-driven AI strategy, and we’ll also explore the growing role of prescription digital therapeutics. To tackle one of the most pressing operational challenges, we’ll dig into Breaking the Billing Bottleneck and solving real-world friction in RPM revenue cycles. And of course, we’ll close the week with our ATA Policy Town Hall to discuss telehealth flexibilities and policy priorities in the run-up to September deadlines.
We’ll share more event details soon, but go ahead and start registering! Show your support for Telehealth Awareness Week, use the toolkit, and tag #TelehealthAwarenessWeek in your posts. Get ready for a week full of learning, collaboration, and advocacy!
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SEASON 2. EPISODE 11
Closing the Distance: Dr. David Guidry on Transforming Rural Care at Intermountain Health
Host Dr. Joe Kvedar talks with Dr. David Guidry of Intermountain Health about redefining digitally enabled care in rural America. From “ICUs without walls” to hub-and-spoke hospital partnerships, Dr. Guidry shares strategies to expand access, integrate telehealth, and overcome change management challenges—ensuring patients get the right care, wherever they are.
Listen to Podcast »
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MaineHealth
Clinicians Describe Key Lessons Learned Building Out a Telemedicine Program
MaineHealth’s virtual care team—led by Elizabeth Mulcahy, DNP, and Dr. Tracy Jalbuena—emphasized the importance of aligning telemedicine efforts with broader organizational goals and involving multiple teams to support implementation effectively. Their virtual walk-in service has served more than 12,000 patients since March 2023 and helped alleviate primary care pressures by freeing up over 5,000 patient encounters. Read More »
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Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | TexLa Telehealth Resource Center
Federal Grant Expands Telehealth in Texas, Louisiana
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center received a $1.3 million federal grant to expand telehealth in Texas and Louisiana. The funding will support the TexLa Telehealth Resource Center’s work in training, technical assistance, and digital health adoption for rural and underserved communities. Read More »
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This year’s Telehealth Awareness Week, September 14-20 comes at a pivotal moment for healthcare policy, and we’re shining a spotlight on how telehealth and digital health are transforming care delivery nationwide.
Events Lineup (more to come)
Learn More and Register »
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Planning an Event for Telehealth Awareness Week?
We want to highlight it! Share your event title, date, time, and link with us at bcadillo@americantelemed.org, and we’ll include it in our official Telehealth Awareness Week event lineup.
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EDGE 2025: Your Path to Clarity in Digital Health Policy
Too many moving pieces in digital health? From reimbursement and licensure to AI, cybersecurity, and cross-state care, EDGE 2025 brings clarity to the issues shaping virtual care. Join industry leaders December 10–12 at the Park Hyatt in Washington, DC, and gain the insights you need to navigate what’s real, what’s next, and what matters most.
Register Here »
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JUST ADDED! Orlando Health Hospital at Home Tour
ATA Insights Summit | November 16–18 | Orlando, FL
We’re pleased to share a new opportunity exclusively for Summit attendees: Orlando Health will be hosting a special tour and presentation of their Hospital Care at Home program. This unique opportunity is limited to 30 Summit attendees.
The ATA Insights Summit is where health system leaders roll up their sleeves—not just talk. This invitation-only, hands-on event brings together executives, clinicians, and system-builders in immersive strategy labs. Together, they’ll co-create practical frameworks, benchmarks, and implementation tools for digital care. Expect sharp collaboration, actionable insights, and takeaways you can put to work immediately.
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Ocular Telehealth SIG Meeting
 Thursday, October 2
 12:00 PM ET
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DTx Europe Policy SIG Meeting
Wednesday, October 8
8:00 AM ET
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Connected Maternal Online Monitoring (MOM) Act Reintroduced
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Representative Lois Frankel (FL-22) reintroduced the bipartisan Connected Maternal Online Monitoring (MOM) Act to help pregnant and new mothers stay healthy and safe. The bill would make it easier for healthcare professionals to use telehealth and digital health tools that allow remote monitoring for conditions like high blood pressure, to check for life-threatening complications during pregnancy and after childbirth and directs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide guidance and resources to state Medicaid programs on covering these devices. Our own Kyle Zebley was invited to provide a quote for the release. In part, he said, “By reducing barriers to regular prenatal and postpartum care using remote monitoring tools, we can effectively improve maternal and child health outcomes.” Read the press release here.
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Administration Re-framing Rural Health Transformation Fund
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As part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Congress created a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund, initially intended to offset the impact of Medicaid cuts on rural hospitals. Last week, President Trump and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz shifted their messaging to promote the fund as an investment in transforming the hospital workforce, in part by expanding digital technology and telehealth.
Earlier this month, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said on Face the Nation the rural fund is designed to help with "workforce development, right sizing the system and using technology to provide things like telehealth that can change the world.” ATA Action is actively tracking the application process in each state and providing guidance on the inclusion of telehealth and digital health initiatives that align with the RHTF goals. ATA Action will also be meeting with CMS at the end of August, emphasizing the need to include digital health in funding criteria so states can fully leverage these resources.
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Updated Privacy FAQs For Interoperability Efforts
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The U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights released updated Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) FAQs in response to stakeholders' concerns about privacy protections within the Trump administration’s sweeping interoperability efforts. The new HIPAA Privacy Rule guidance, clarifies that covered entities may disclose personal health information (PHI) for treatment purposes within value-based care arrangements, such as accountable care organizations, without patient authorization, as long as the disclosure supports the treatment activities of another provider or enables treatment within the arrangement. This aligns with CMS’s recent interoperability initiatives and voluntary criteria for trusted, patient-centered data exchange across EHRs, health information networks, and technology platforms to improve outcomes and reduce provider burden.
OCR also updated an existing FAQ on individuals’ access rights to their health information, reaffirming that patients can request a wide range of PHI contained in designated record sets, whether held by a covered entity or its business associate, including medical records, billing information, lab results, imaging, wellness program data, and now explicitly, consent forms for treatment. Access is excluded for psychotherapy notes kept separate from the medical record and information compiled in anticipation of legal proceedings, although covered entities may choose to share such information at their discretion.
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New York Introduces Additional Legislation
Additional legislation regarding the licensure of dietitian nutritionists and nutritionists was introduced in New York, A 8968, which includes telehealth in the definition of the practice of nutrition, including medical nutrition therapy. This bill has been referred to the Assembly Committee on High Education where a similar bill, S 607, also currently sits after crossing over from the Senate earlier this year.
See our State Legislative Tracker for up-to-date information on critical state legislation.
Virtual Foodcare Coalition Continues Outreach to State Governor’s Offices
The ATA Action Virtual Foodcare Coalition continues to reach out to state Governor's offices across the county, introducing the important work of the coalition and providing input on relevant legislation. This week, letters were sent to Alabama, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and New Hampshire, with all 50 states set to receive letters by the end of the summer.
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November 16-18, 2025 | Orlando, FL
ATA Insights Summit
This ATA Insights Summit brings together healthcare executives to co-create implementation frameworks, operational tools, and strategic blueprints for digital transformation. Each focus area is shaped by collaborative sessions with clinical, operational, and digital leaders. Learn More and Apply »
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December 10-12, 2025 | Washington, DC
ATA EDGE Policy Conference
The place where digital policy meets care model transformation.
Shape care reimbursement, licensing, and workforce policy, alongside the systems and stakeholders defining what comes next. Learn More »
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May 12-15, 2026 | Orlando, FL
NEXUS 2026
The premier event dedicated to advancing innovation in digital health and care delivery. Bringing together experts, clinicians, C-suite leaders, researchers and investors, Nexus fosters collaboration, explores innovation, and provides tools to drive meaningful change.
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