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Feature Articles 
Foundation's Gift Brings HD To KU Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth 
Pictured from left are: Jeff Mason, president, Northwest Kansas Area Medical Foundation; Jay Jolly, CEO, Goodland Regional Medical Center; Ryan Spaulding, director, KU Center for Telemedicine & Telehealth; and Missy Heidrick, development director, KU Endowment.
A recent gift from the Northwest Kansas Area Medical Foundation in Goodland, KS, of $40,000 will enable KU Medical Center to equipt two telemedicine suites with high-definition (HD) technology and support a new cutting-edge radiology service for the statewide telemedicine network.
Jeff Mason, president of the Northwest Kansas Area Medical Foundation said that although the foundation is based in the northwest corner of the state, this gift is provided for the benefit of all Kansans.
"The days of geography isolating information are over," he said. "We encourage other statewide organizations to embrace the new opportunities our technology presents and invest in the health of our state."
"This gift helps improve oncology outreach clinics in Hays, Goodland and Horton, and also expands the capabilities of the Midwest Cancer Alliance as we connect with our partners," said Dr. Gary Doolittle, medical director for the Midwest Cancer Alliance. "No matter where I am in the state, I will have access to the same cutting-edge information to help me make the best-informed diagnosis and treatment decisions for my patients."
With the new technology enabled by this gift, all KU health care providers who use telemedicine will be able to access radiology films and scans in a real-time environment.
The KU Medical Center has established itself as a leader not only in the Kansas City community but in the entire region, said Ryan Spaulding, director of the KU Center for Telemedicine. "Thanks to this generous gift, we are again on the forefront of innovation."
(Our thanks to KU University Relations Department for portions of this article, accessible at
kunews@ku.edu)
Don't forget, from the beginning of 2009 (only 3 months from now) through 2013, Medicare reimbursements will include incentive payments to medical professionals who are using electronic prescriptions for all patients. Starting in 2012, medical professionals NOT using electronic prescription systems will receive reductions in reimbursement.
According to the Institute of Medicine, more than 1.5 million Americans are injured, in some manner, each year by drug errors. E-Prescribing is expected to contribute greatly to improving health outcomes for the Medicare population.
If you have any questions about e-prescribing implementation or use, you can go directly to Medicare's E-Prescribing web site (
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/eprescribing), or contact us at the KU Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth,
telemedicine@kumc.edu.
Kansas Public Health Association Talks Health Reform 
With a history of public health endeavors including tobacco cessation and weight management services delivered via interactive video technology, members of KU's Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth (KUCTT) staff participated in the 65th Annual Fall Conference of the Kansas Public Health Association (KPHA) in Topeka on September 17th & 18th. In addition to its annual business meeting, the conference gave attendees the chance to meet in topic-specific sections dedicated to advancing public health in Kansas and offered a host of opportunities to learn more about taking "Small Steps toward Great change" (the conference's theme). KUCTT staff were interested in learning how health technology might complement KPHA priorities and improve the health of Kansans. Attending from KU Medical Center were Dr. Dave Cook, Assistant Vice Chancellor for External Affairs; Gretchen Patch, KUCTT Project Manager, Clinical Services; and Gordon Alloway, KUCTT Project Manager and TeleNews' Managing Editor.
Health Reform and Legislative Priorities In addition to other keynote speakers, Roderick Bremby, Secretary of Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and Dr. Marcia Nielsen, executive director of the Kansas Health Policy Authority (KHPA), addressed conference attendees, reporting on health reform efforts in Kansas and new legislative priorities for KDHE and KHPA. Dr. Nielsen also discussed the series of Community Dialogue Public Hearings currently being hosted throughout Kansas by KHPA. For more information on Kansas health reform or the schedule for October public hearings, check the KDHE and KHPA web sites (
www.kdhe.ks.gov;
www.khpa.ks.gov) or contact the KU Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth at 913-588-2226.
Pediatric Telehealth To The Forefront 
The 2008 school year is already off to a busy start and the KU Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth welcomes back all the school-based telehealth coordinators. TeleKidcare®, KU's telemedicine program for schools, is approaching a decade of telemedicine service and continues to be a model for new pediatric programs across the country.
New information about TeleKidcare® services was presented at the UC Davis 3rd Annual Pediatric Telemedicine Colloquium held in conjunction with the Mid-Year Meeting of the American Telemedicine Association. This and other presentations about innovative pediatric programs presented at the Colloquium, from neonatology to adolescent health, can be accessed at
http://www.atmeda.org/conf/MidYear2008/agenda_Pediatrics.htm, or by contacting Dr. Eve-Lynn Nelson, assistant director of the KUCTT, at
enelson2@kumc.edu.
HIT Acronyms - Part 3
This article is the third in a series designed to assist everyone in the field of health technology to better understand federal statements and documents.
Work conducted here at KU's Telemedicine Center requires that we spend a great deal of time staying up-to-date on what is happening in the rapidly expanding world of health technology. When reviewing information provided by federal agencies, we find it helpful to keep a list nearby of acronyms most frequently used by each agency. We thought you might find this same information useful.
In the September edition of TeleNews, we provided a partial list of federal acronyms used by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), ending with Federal Health Architecture (FHA).
- FHIE - Federal Health Information Exchange
- FMT - Federal Medical Terminology
- FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
- GWAS - Genome-Wide Association Studies
- Health IT - Health Information Technology
- HHS - US Department of Health and Human Services
- HHS/OS - Office of the Secretary
- HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Watch your use of this acronym closely. Do not make the mistake, seen very frequently, of writing this acronym the way it sounds - HIPPA.)
- HISPC - Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration
- HITSP - Health Information Technology Standards Panel
- HRSA - The Health Resources and Services Administration (An agency within HHS, HRSA is the primary federal agency for ensuring health care services are available for people in the US that are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.)
- HSPD-21 - Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (This 2007 directive, generally referred to as the National Strategy for Public Health and Medical Preparedness, addressed preparedness expectations for the US regarding catastrophic health events.)
Additional federal Health Technology acronyms will be provided in future editions of TeleNews. For a complete list, contact Gordon Alloway at the KU Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth, Galloway@kumc.edu or 913-588-2257.