The Evolving Telehealth Workforce

Telehealth Coordinator Courses

• Grant funded in 2010• 3 continuing education courses• Online course delivery through the UA system

Course One• General overview of telemedicine concepts• Foundation for subsequent courses

Topics Covered:• Overview of Telehealth & Telemedicine• Role of the Telehealth Coordinator• Telehealth Delivery Modes & Methods• Business Aspects of Telehealth• Future of Telehealth

Course Two• Certification as Telehealth Coordinator (THC)• Pre-requisite for Course 3

Topics Covered:• The Role of the Telehealth Coordinator• Workflow Development• Developing policy and procedures• Privacy & Confidentiality practices • Billing and Reimbursement

Course Three• Telehealth Program Creation and Development• Certification as a Telehealth Program Manager

Topics Covered:• Needs Assessment• Program Development• Change Management• Designing Sustainable Programs

A Brief History of Telehealth Training

1998 2006200420022000

2008

2013

Telehealth Trainers Train the TrainerTelehealth Coordinators

& Program Development

Early Days

1998 20022000

Telehealth Trainers

2004

Teach to Function

1999 20012003

Training Trainers

2005

2004

Train the Trainer

2006

2007

Teach to Function

Teach to Train

Program Development

2008

Telehealth Coordinators & Program Development

2009

Teach to Function

Teach to Train

Teach to Develop

Evolutions in Technology and Workforce

Teach to Function

Teach to Train

Teach to Develop

Standardization/Proliferation of Technology

Technological Literacy of Users

THC Courses

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013BTOP

Funding

Accreditation

Course 1

Course 2

Course 3

Curriculum Development

Content:• Literature searches• Program assessments- examples of successful programs• Historical data- Development of Telehealth• Legal and regulatory research

Format:• Used other CE courses as reference• Networking with telemedicine educators and resource centers

CE vs. Credit

Continuing Education offered advantages in:• Cost• Development• Student

• Accessibility• Accessible to wider audience• Freedom to format/change format at will

Certification• Successful completion of THC courses• Demonstrated understanding and comprehension• Telehealth Coordinator• Telehealth Program Manager

General Course Characteristics• Substantive• 3 Courses

• 10 weeks (Course 1 and 2)• 24 weeks (Course 3)

• 30 hours of coursework (Course 1 and 2)• 60+ hours of coursework (Course 3)

General Course Characteristics

+Instructor Moderated

Discussion Forums

Live Sessions

General Course Characteristics

Experienced instructors:

• Jay Brudzinski• Cindy Roleff

Data

Course 1 69Course 2 35

Course 3 10

Students Enrolled

Total: 114

Completion Rate: 80%

Students

Student Feedback

 "This was an excellent course and I will recommend people take it even if they aren't

involved in telehealth, if only to learn about how this technology is being used around the world."

"Keep up the great course activities"

"This was an excellent course and challenging, it forced me to think outside the box and come up with solutions to what can be a difficult internal process in facilities."

"This class is really helping me to understand the big picture."

Lessons Learned• Course flexibility• Course format• Course pacing

• Growing the courses• Benefits and challenges of national participants• Time zones

• 5pm-630pm AK time (9-1030 ET)

Future Development• For credit course- UAA• More students!• More flexible formatting for

different student types• Partnerships

Interested?/Shameless Plug• Upcoming classes:• Course 1: June 4• Course 2: June 12• Course 3: June 13

• Signing up for class:• Register online: https://aceweb.uas.alaska.edu• Email Jay Brudzinski

• jbrudzinski@anthc.org