The promise of telemedicine: providing curbside consults for chronic care, urgent care, and pain

The program itself has been assessed and honored. In 2010, Project ECHO™ was a recipient of the American Pain Society’s Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Award. 

Only 12 states require insurers to cover telemedicine: California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. To date only one insurance company—Molina, a Medicaid plan—has agreed to pay providers who participate in Project ECHO’s™ pain clinics.

What providers who work with Project Echo™ do receive is CME credit, a newfound  collegial relationship that reduces professional isolation, and greater confidence in their ability to manage even complex cases thanks to the use of remote technology.

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