ATA Leadership Launches New Task Force Focused on how Telemedicine Impacts Climate Change

ATA recently launched a task force spearheaded by ATA President Dr. Peter Yellowlees. The task force focuses on the following goals:

• Encouraging ATA members to use “green” outcomes as part of their routine measures, and describing such measures and outcomes.

• Developing tools and guidelines for how ATA members can reduce fossil fuel use and carbon dioxide (CO2) production through less travel.

• Demonstrating how telemedicine can create more environmentally sustainable practices and health systems.

• Showing how telemedicine can mitigate and respond to health crises arising from both sudden and long-term climate change related events, such as warming, disasters and the spread of infectious diseases.

ATA is recruiting volunteers for two project teams: (1) a team that will design the energy efficient small medical practice of the future; and (2) a team that will develop a portable urgent virtual care system. This is a two year task force, that will provide an interim report at the 2018 ATA conference.

Interested members can learn more about the task force and to register become a volunteer here. A conference call will be scheduled for early July for task force members.

To learn more about ATA’s Volunteer Program or becoming engaged with the association, contact René Malone, Director of Member Engagement.