Asynchronous telehealth allows patients and providers to communicate and exchange important health information when it is convenient for them, otherwise not in “real time”. Since the pandemic, this type of healthcare is being used more and more frequently. Moving forward, hybrid care will be the new normal and we must implement rules and regulations at the state and federal levels that will allow for asynchronous telehealth to be advanced as it meet patients where they are, addresses digital barriers to access, helps patients to overcomes shame and stigma, and relieves provider burnout and burdens. The ATA Asynchronous SIG will look to: Define asynchronous telehealth; Discuss the advantages and value of asynchronous; Collaborate on and discuss peer reviewed data on asynchronous services; Find ways to get lawmakers to understand the importance of async while creating model policy language for states.

The ATA Business and Policy SIG serve as a collaborative network resource for highlighting successful business and financial telehealth and telemedicine strategies which support the development of sustainable and viable programs, services and healthcare solutions.

Decentralized Clinical Trials (DCT) and hybrid trials are becoming more of a norm given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. By creating more patient-centered clinical trials, a decentralized approach can enhance pharma research by attracting a more diverse patient population and eliminating existing barriers to participating in research studies, including COVID-related limitations. Telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) will play an important role in advancing decentralized technology-driven trials. To address this important opportunity to enable equal access to clinical trials by leveraging telehealth and virtual care technologies, the ATA has convened a member special interest group (SIG). The goals of the group include: 1. Pursue policy/advocacy to remove barriers to allow interstate work and other legislation 2. Create practice guidelines to leverage existing telehealth and RPM solutions 3. Address issues of data flow, a subset of our work on telehealth interoperability The new SIG has convened three subgroups to help achieve these goals in actionable increments, including partnership opportunities: · Policy/Advocacy o Identify the best entity to create and maintain a registry of state laws that impact conduct of DCTs o Evaluate Drug Safety & Quality Act of 2013 for any barriers to implementation of DCTs · Best Practices o Leverage existing and create new content to help research sites understand what they need to do to participate in DCTs · Data Flows o Inventory existing standards impacting DCTs o Look at ways to ensure adoption of most impactful standards Meetings are the 4th Monday of the month at 3p Eastern.

The ATA Digital Transformation SIG provides an opportunity for ATA members to network, collaborate, and exchange thoughts on the Digital Transformation of Healthcare. The mission of the Digital Transformation SIG is to engage members on topics of emerging care models, business processes, data management, institutional governance, continuity of care, care transformation, and population health management. Whether new or advanced in telemedicine adoption, ATA members and member organizations will explore how delivery systems transform care models to include components of digital delivery. Primary Goals of the ATA Digital Transformation SIG: Introduce and engage ATA members and member organizations involved in Digital Transformation, including those new, advanced, and/or expanding in telemedicine. Explore how delivery systems transform care models to include components of digital delivery. Highlight leading practices in the digital transformation of care. Discuss emerging developments and impacts of telehealth post COVID-19. Discussion Topics: Adoption of emerging technologies, Care models, Business processes, Staffing models, Quality & the Quadruple Aim, Digital literacy of patients, Data management, Security and privacy, Continuity of care, Change management & care transformation, Institutional governance, EHR integration, and Population health management.

There is much to learn and many challenges to healthy aging but there are also many unique organizations and alliances globally that are currently committed to solving for this unique population. This SIG is being formed so that we, as a group, can come together to bring policy guidance, innovative technology, and ideas, as well as informative data for lasting change to this population. The purpose of this SIG is to engage our membership in collaborating and engaging together to make an impact on daily life for our aging population. The ATA has a unique position, viewpoint and membership that sits at the crossroads of digital health, tele(anything), virtual health and remote monitoring. By engaging the full eco-system of membership and strategic partnerships, this SIG, can benefit population health management and inform members how to increase access to care, and increase patient and care-giver experience across the aging continuum. Goals: • Inform policy on areas around aging and the use of technologies to ease the burden of communications, social isolation, and whole person care management. • Provide guidance and best practices, culled from industry experts and proven programs to ATA members for their use. • Engage with other like-minded organizations to begin to have a comprehensive view of the needs of this population, their care givers (both clinical and family).

The Home Telehealth SIG was established in 1999 to support the expansion and utilization of telehealth, remote monitoring and disease management applications in the patient’s place of residence. These services may be provided through a variety of healthcare delivery models that include, but are not limited to, physician practices, home care, hospital-based care, nursing home care, and call centers. Areas of interest include: Guidance and support to individuals new to the industry telehealth programs/providers seeking to expand their offerings -Improving quality of care delivery in home telehealth settings; -Developing practice guidelines and protocols; -Evaluating program / provider-based costs and benefits to create unique program/provider driver ROI; -Engaging customers in using virtual care; -Understanding cultural differences in health care and how that affects virtual care delivery and adherence; and -Gathering resource information on available and evolving technologies for the home telehealth market. The SIG offers, through the use of subject matter experts within the SIG, educational offerings and tools to support areas of membership interest and networking opportunities.    

Broad access to home testing can expand the spectrum of ways telehealth can be used, and likewise, leveraging telehealth to supervise sample collection at home and interpretation of results could expand the potential of tests that can be effectively done outside of a clinic or healthcare facility. But lab test availability in the home has been limited and lab tests are not generally available for telehealth encounters. While the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated the market availability of over-the-counter home sample collection and home testing solutions, either with or without a prescription, adoption has been relatively modest. The Home Testing SIG brings together medical, scientific, technology solution, laboratory and regulatory experts to address barriers to adoption and to accelerate use of home testing as a part of virtual care. Some of the questions we’ll be addressing: What are the barriers? Does a lack of a common industry language around home testing slow down adoption? Do the lack of specific performance requirements contribute to a lack of clarity in regulation and limited reimbursement? What can industry do to help accelerate home testing adoption by better connection to telehealth solutions? All players with a role in the remote testing ecosystem are encouraged to join the ATA and its new Home Testing SIG to define an industry vision, identify the barriers and collaborate in catalyzing industry action to accelerate adoption of home testing with and for telehealth.

The Interdisciplinary Clinicians SIG is focused on telehealth collaboration across healthcare disciplines. We welcome all members of the healthcare community to join us. Our group discussions provide collective input, guidance and information on the emerging roles, implementations and applications of telehealth. This includes different healthcare settings, policies, educational preparation, competencies, technologies, business models, problem solving and best practice strategies as identified by our member experts. We are committed to supporting the development, implementation and ongoing management of programs that deliver remote care throughout the healthcare continuum. Telehealth remains a rapidly evolving field so whether you are just starting, an expert or in-between we look forward to you participating in our monthly meetings.

The International SIG serves as a forum to collaborate on initiatives, build relationships, and address healthcare disparities regardless of geography. We invite ATA members to share experience, expertise and challenges of working in the global community. The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated how connected the world truly is. This SIG will work to create a space within ATA where all members can work together to learn while we define and advance our mutual goals of caring for patients when and where needed in the International Community.

The Interstate Telehealth Special Interest Group (SIG) creates a forum for national interstate communication, cooperation, coordination, and potential collaboration and advocacy in telehealth expansion across state borders. The SIG provides a network for sharing knowledge and experiences related to telehealth within the national community addressing individual state’s development and use of telehealth, as well as cross-border initiatives addressing a spectrum of clinical specialties and health issues both regional and global, respectful of each state’s needs, capabilities, and perspectives.

The Ocular Telehealth SIG (formally the International Consortium for Ocular Telehealth (ICOT) Chapter) promotes the development and advancement of the use of telemedicine in fields related to ophthalmology, optometry and optical engineering. Ocular Telehealth participants include individuals from academia, industry, government and healthcare with an interest in providing ocular care through telecommunications technology. The Ocular Telehealth SIG focuses on eye and adnexa issues, using the eye as a window to the health status of other related bodily systems.

The Pediatric Telehealth Special Interest Group promotes and fosters the growth and provision of a broad spectrum of telehealth services for infants, children and adolescents.

The purpose of the remote patient monitoring (RPM) SIG is to foster collaboration, education and thought-leadership opportunities among its members and external groups relating to RPM. The RPM SIG will consider issues relating to RPM hardware and software as well as other topics including artificial intelligence as our primary target areas to address. The overarching goal of the RPM SIG is to enable RPM to become the standard of care. The RPM SIG will be a forum for conversation on how to advance remote patient monitoring and integrate it into care across care settings and conditions. The SIG will focus on issues like reimbursement, regulation of RPM and care coordination, and expansion access to RPM solutions for underserved populations. The RPM SIG will work in support of ATA goals and collaborate with many other SIGs including those focused on healthy aging, decentralized clinical trials and policy. The SIG will generate educational resources on the uses cases and the value proposition for remote patient monitoring. The SIG will explore opportunities to expand state and federal reimbursement and coverage for RPM through partnerships with the Policy SIG and Policy Council. Come willing to share ideas and engage as this new SIG explores the future of RPM. Monthly meetings will be the 4th Tuesday at 3pm ET.

The purpose of the Teledermatology SIG is to foster, promote and support the field of teledermatology within a diverse group of professionals. Areas of interest include developing standards and protocols for teledermatology, developing a database to collect teledermatology activity in the United States, reviewing literature for outcomes studies, and developing recommendations for reimbursement codes for teleconsultations. The SIG sponsors tutorials, courses and other educational seminars in Teledermatology as well as this web page that provides important information and numerous documents and reports in support of this specialty field.

The ATA Technology SIG (formerly mHealth, Technology, and Distance Learning Special Interest Group) is the technology “center of excellence” and focus on technologies which enable meaningful practice and outcomes for providers and patients in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. The SIG expounds on telemedicine technologies and how they should be used by providers and patients in the practice of telemedicine including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and education for both clinical and educational applications = telemedicine and telehealth. The scope of this SIG would exclude those technologies and practices where there is no prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of disease.

The purpose of the TeleICU/Acute Care SIG is to enable the education and collaborative interaction of its members, to address issues of key concern specific to the TeleICU community, and to support the mission of the ATA. The TeleICU/Acute Care SIG provides a vehicle by which to develop and pursue of visionary view of tele-critical care and its opportunities as well as share organizational and operational experiences among ATA members. The SIG may collaborate with other SIGs on key aspects of driving telehealth forward within the acute care space. Issues of interest might include advancing state and federal reimbursement (in collaboration with Policy Committee), validating teleICU impacts and improved outcomes, discussing and implementing evidence-based standards, and expanding tele-critical care beyond the geographic confines of the ICU.

The Telemental Health Special Interest Group includes administrators, clinicians, and information technology professionals. Our goal is to enhance and support the use of technology in the delivery of mental health services.

The TeleRehabilitation Special Interest Group (SIG) aims to enhance access to rehabilitation services through the use of telehealth technologies, and to be a catalyst for telehealth adoption and innovation, bringing to light emerging technologies and highlighting best practices that support telehealth service delivery, and explore opportunities for clinical, research and educational inter-professional collaboration. The SIG is the primary resource for rehabilitation professionals seeking to integrate the use of information and communication technologies into rehabilitation service delivery, supporting policy, advocacy, education and clinical best practice. SIG members represent a diverse group of stakeholders across distinct professions and services including physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and other professionals.