Our Projects

UTHSC Telehealth consists of primary, secondary and tertiary health care providers across the MidSouth region seeking to bridge the gap between resource rich Shelby County and the surrounding underserved areas of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Since its inception over 8 years ago, it has received funding for ten different intervention projects from four federal agencies and the Tennessee Department of Health. These projects include using telehealth to provide specialty consultations to rural physicians in underserved areas, to help diagnose and treat tuberculosis in upper East Tennessee, to treat the unmet behavioral health needs of children in state custody, to provide health education and consultation through county agricultural extension offices, to provide proctoring for pharmacy residents, and to offer mobile remote optical and dental screening and diagnosis.

The Technology Exchange for Cancer Health Network (TechNET)

UTHSC, in collaboration with the UT Cancer Institute (UTCI), has received funding from the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) and support from the National Cancer Institute, to conduct cancer education and treatment services. The project builds upon two activities to support continuity of care for cancer patients of the region. The first is the unification of the electronic health record systems and patient health information networks. The second revolves around access to specialty services via the telehealth network. Patient education and rural provider training are key components across both activities. Services will be provided in seven clinics maintained by UTCI, serving TN, MS and AR.

The Tennessee Integrated Training and Alert Network (TITAN)

The TITAN project is a state-wide collaboration between the campuses of UT and the public health sector to develop and provide training and education to prepare Tennesseans for a catastrophic public health event, including bioterrorist attacks and emerging diseases. Built on a "Centers of Excellence" approach, the members of the TITAN network collaborate to develop material specific to their own expertise, then redistribute it across the entire state to all stakeholders via united video conference networks.

The West TN Hospital Telehealth Project

This project established an infrastructure for providing telehealth connectivity linking five small rural hospital locations with specialty services and educational programming from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center (home of UTHSC Department of Pediatrics). With over 3000 specialty consults to date and regular weekly educational programs, these communities have enjoyed the benefits of less time off work, lower transportation costs, and more timely access to appropriate healthcare providers.

Kids in Custody

Kids in Custody has 5 interactive telehealth connections that serve Tennessee’s Youth Development Centers (adolescent prisons) providing a high-risk, vulnerable population with access to specialty medical services including psychiatry, drug counseling, asthma management and specialty pediatric clinics. This program serves 820 of Tennessee’s neediest kids who present to the juvenile justice system with a host of conditions, addictions, and special needs. As with the adult prison system, clinicians are reluctant to work in detention facilities, isolated from the resources and colleagues that can be found in an urban medical center. The connection to UT's telehealth network provides ongoing access to these direct services for children and serves as a 24/7 educational and support resource for the local staff and families.

Rural Pharmacy Residency Support Program

In cooperation with nine rural pharmacies across Tennessee, the UT College of Pharmacy has developed a rural residency program for pharmacy students designed to train individuals to deal with the myriad of issues that arise when serving a rural community. In addition to providing direct support to pharmacy students, a telehealth network is being employed to provide seminars and workshops on a wide variety of health issues for the local population. These UT-produced health educational sessions allow local residents interactive access to health specialists from their hometowns and serve to increase health education in these isolated communities. This program is expected to result in post-graduate placement of more pharmacists in these underserved communities by building relationships and supporting the local healthcare practice through on-going educational links to metropolitan centers.

Pediatric Cardiology

UTHSC’s Telehealth network allows the only pediatric cardiology group in the Mid-South region to provide access to care in underserved areas in three states. The cardiologists utilizing the Telehealth network provide critical support and screening services for patients in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas with congenital heart defects and acute cardiac needs. This is an ongoing project that has grown over the past two years. Services continue to expand geographically while a standard of excellence in subspecialty care is maintained.

Addressing Diabetes in Tennessee (ADT)

ADT is a collaborative effort between The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), UT Medical Group, Inc. and five rural West Tennessee hospitals to deliver and evaluate the impact of a telehealth-based diabetes disease management program. The main activities of the programs are to provide patient consultation and education, conduct group health visits and to facilitate outcomes tracking and provider communication. The primary purpose of this study is to demonstrate the value of a health information technology (HIT) intervention that delivers best practices care to an underserved population. This initiative is made possible through Project Diabetes grant funding from the Tennessee Department of Health.

Program Partners

• The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
• Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center
• UT Medical Group, Inc.
• UT Cancer Institute
• The Regional Medical Center of Memphis
• North Mississippi Medical Center

Contact Us

Telehealth
920 Madison Ave.
Suite 434
Memphis, TN 38163
Phone: (901) 448-4330
Fax: (901) 448-4324