The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) today announced its appreciation to U.S. Sens. Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) for their efforts to push for improvements in telemedicine coverage under Medicare, Medicaid and Federal Communications Commission programs.

A large segment of the industry is offering, or plans to offer online patient consultations in the very near future. 47% of providers recently polled by ATA indicated they are currently providing online services directly to patients.

Naomi Fried, PhD, and Alexis Gilroy, JD, have recently joined the Board of Directors of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA). The Board provides guidance for the Association, which has a mission to promote professional, ethical and equitable improvement in healthcare delivery through telecommunications and information technology.

The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) is seeking presenters for ATA 2015, ATA’s twentieth annual meeting and tradeshow focused exclusively on telemedicine, telehealth and mHealth. The meeting, expected to attract over 5,000 attendees and more than 250 cutting-edge healthcare technology vendors, will take place May 3-5, 2015, in Los Angeles.

There are now 120 Members of Congress on one, or both, of two pending bipartisan bills to expand the one-state license to other federal programs for interstate practice of telehealth.

ATA wants to hear from you! Your feedback is needed as we continue to research and develop the ATA accreditation program for online, direct-to-consumer consultations (slated to launch Fall 2014).

ATA submitted a series of recommendations to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) regarding the 1996 Managed Care Plan Network Adequacy Model Act.