Internet Resource Categories The Benton Foundation Report Business Development Financing Distance Learning Environmental Protection Agency Federal Communications Commission USA.gov General Services Administration National Science Foundation Small Business Administration Telehealth and Telemedicine U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Department of Defense U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Health and Human Services U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development U.S. Department of Interior U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Treasury Universal Service Administrative Company

Telehealth and Telemedicine

Telehealth has emerged as a way to use electronic information and telecommunications technology to obtain important health care information. Through computers and devices such as fax machines and modems, patients and doctors in remote areas can acquire information and guidance to address important health care needs. Additionally, telemedicine is the use of these technologies to provide clinical care at a distance. These tools can be used to give advice and administer various medical tests; and in some cases, perform diagnosis and treatment of illness. Many health care providers have begun to use these tools as a means of reaching patients in less accessible areas. When you visit the websites of these government agencies or organizations, you will be leaving the Federal Communications Commission's website. If you have questions concerning the information contained on these sites, please contact the specific government agency.

Indian Health Service (IHS)
Telemedicine and Telehealth Projects
www.ihs.gov/nonmedicalprograms/dfee/telemed
/default.cfm?content=coverpage.html
The Indian Health Service is moving rapidly in deploying state-of-the-art technology to bring primary care and specialty medicine to remote locations to reduce geographic barriers between remote, smaller communities and health care providers. Currently, there are about forty telemedicine programs and partnerships within the IHS that are delivering care to smaller, more isolated communities.

Office for the Advancement of Telehealth
telehealth.hrsa.gov
The Office for the Advancement of Telehealth is a leader in telehealth, and a catalyst for the wider adoption of advanced technologies supporting health care services and education. The OAT Grant Program has helped increase access to quality health care services for the underserved by promoting the use of advanced telecommunications and information technologies by rural health care providers.

National Library of Medicine
National Telemedicine Initiative
www.nlm.nih.gov/research/telemedinit.html
The National Library of Medicine collects and indexes literature related to telemedicine and provides information on grants and contracts awarded by major public and private funding agencies in the area of telemedicine.

Tribal Connections
(www.Tribalconnections.org)
The purpose of the Tribal Connections Project is to connect American Indian and Alaska Native Communities to health resources on the Internet. The aim of this connectivity is to provide access to health information, thus minimizing isolation and improving access to remote social and health resources. With special funding from the National Library of Medicine, the University of Washington is providing assistance to 16 tribes and Native villages in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, in connecting to the Internet. The project has been expanded to include 4 tribes in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, or Utah.

Rural Health Care Program
(www.rhc.universalservice.org)
Rural Health Care is a universal service support mechanism authorized by Congress and designed by the Federal Communications Commission to provide reduced rates to rural Health Care Providers for telecommunications services related to the use of telemedicine & telehealth.

American Telemedicine Association
(www.atmeda.org/index.htm)
The American Telemedicine Association promotes greater access to medical care for consumers and health professionals via telecommunications technology. ATA seeks to bring together diverse groups from traditional medicine, Internet online firms, academic medical centers, technology and telecommunications companies, e-health sites, medical societies, government and others in order to resolve barriers to the advancement of telemedicine through the professional, ethical and equitable improvement in health care delivery.