42 U.S.C. § 254c-14 : US Code - Section 254C-14: Telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs

Search 42 U.S.C. § 254c-14 : US Code - Section 254C-14: Telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs

(a) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Director; Office
The terms "Director" and "Office" mean the Director and Office
specified in subsection (c) of this section.
(2) Federally qualified health center and rural health clinic
The term "Federally qualified health center" and "rural health
clinic" have the meanings given the terms in section 1395x(aa) of
this title.
(3) Frontier community
The term "frontier community" shall have the meaning given the
term in regulations issued under subsection (r) of this section.
(4) Medically underserved area
The term "medically underserved area" has the meaning given the
term "medically underserved community" in section 295p(6) of this
title.
(5) Medically underserved population
The term "medically underserved population" has the meaning
given the term in section 254b(b)(3) of this title.
(6) Telehealth services
The term "telehealth services" means services provided through
telehealth technologies.
(7) Telehealth technologies
The term "telehealth technologies" means technologies relating
to the use of electronic information, and telecommunications
technologies, to support and promote, at a distance, health care,
patient and professional health-related education, health
administration, and public health.
(b) Programs
The Secretary shall establish, under section 241 of this title,
telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs.
(c) Administration
(1) Establishment
There is established in the Health Resources and Services
Administration an Office for the Advancement of Telehealth. The
Office shall be headed by a Director.
(2) Duties
The telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant
programs established under section 241 of this title shall be
administered by the Director, in consultation with the State
offices of rural health, State offices concerning primary care,
or other appropriate State government entities.
(d) Grants
(1) Telehealth network grants
The Director may, in carrying out the telehealth network grant
program referred to in subsection (b) of this section, award
grants to eligible entities for projects to demonstrate how
telehealth technologies can be used through telehealth networks
in rural areas, frontier communities, and medically underserved
areas, and for medically underserved populations, to -
(A) expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of
health care services;
(B) improve and expand the training of health care providers;
and
(C) expand and improve the quality of health information
available to health care providers, and patients and their
families, for decisionmaking.
(2) Telehealth resource centers grants
The Director may, in carrying out the telehealth resource
centers grant program referred to in subsection (b) of this
section, award grants to eligible entities for projects to
demonstrate how telehealth technologies can be used in the areas
and communities, and for the populations, described in paragraph
(1), to establish telehealth resource centers.
(e) Grant periods
The Director may award grants under this section for periods of
not more than 4 years.
(f) Eligible entities
(1) Telehealth network grants
(A) Grant recipient
To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (d)(1) of
this section, an entity shall be a nonprofit entity.
(B) Telehealth networks
(i) In general
To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (d)(1)
of this section, an entity shall demonstrate that the entity
will provide services through a telehealth network.
(ii) Nature of entities
Each entity participating in the telehealth network may be
a nonprofit or for-profit entity.
(iii) Composition of network
The telehealth network shall include at least 2 of the
following entities (at least 1 of which shall be a community-
based health care provider):
(I) Community or migrant health centers or other
Federally qualified health centers.
(II) Health care providers, including pharmacists, in
private practice.
(III) Entities operating clinics, including rural health
clinics.
(IV) Local health departments.
(V) Nonprofit hospitals, including community access
hospitals.
(VI) Other publicly funded health or social service
agencies.
(VII) Long-term care providers.
(VIII) Providers of health care services in the home.
(IX) Providers of outpatient mental health services and
entities operating outpatient mental health facilities.
(X) Local or regional emergency health care providers.
(XI) Institutions of higher education.
(XII) Entities operating dental clinics.
(2) Telehealth resource centers grants
To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (d)(2) of
this section, an entity shall be a nonprofit entity.
(g) Applications
To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (d) of this
section, an eligible entity, in consultation with the appropriate
State office of rural health or another appropriate State entity,
shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an application, at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require, including -
(1) a description of the project that the eligible entity will
carry out using the funds provided under the grant;
(2) a description of the manner in which the project funded
under the grant will meet the health care needs of rural or other
populations to be served through the project, or improve the
access to services of, and the quality of the services received
by, those populations;
(3) evidence of local support for the project, and a
description of how the areas, communities, or populations to be
served will be involved in the development and ongoing operations
of the project;
(4) a plan for sustaining the project after Federal support for
the project has ended;
(5) information on the source and amount of non-Federal funds
that the entity will provide for the project;
(6) information demonstrating the long-term viability of the
project, and other evidence of institutional commitment of the
entity to the project;
(7) in the case of an application for a project involving a
telehealth network, information demonstrating how the project
will promote the integration of telehealth technologies into the
operations of health care providers, to avoid redundancy, and
improve access to and the quality of care; and
(8) other such information as the Secretary determines to be
appropriate.
(h) Terms; conditions; maximum amount of assistance
The Secretary shall establish the terms and conditions of each
grant program described in subsection (b) of this section and the
maximum amount of a grant to be awarded to an individual recipient
for each fiscal year under this section. The Secretary shall
publish, in a publication of the Health Resources and Services
Administration, notice of the application requirements for each
grant program described in subsection (b) of this section for each
fiscal year.
(i) Preferences
(1) Telehealth networks
In awarding grants under subsection (d)(1) of this section for
projects involving telehealth networks, the Secretary shall give
preference to an eligible entity that meets at least 1 of the
following requirements:
(A) Organization
The eligible entity is a rural community-based organization
or another community-based organization.
(B) Services
The eligible entity proposes to use Federal funds made
available through such a grant to develop plans for, or to
establish, telehealth networks that provide mental health,
public health, long-term care, home care, preventive, or case
management services.
(C) Coordination
The eligible entity demonstrates how the project to be
carried out under the grant will be coordinated with other
relevant federally funded projects in the areas, communities,
and populations to be served through the grant.
(D) Network
The eligible entity demonstrates that the project involves a
telehealth network that includes an entity that -
(i) provides clinical health care services, or educational
services for health care providers and for patients or their
families; and
(ii) is -
(I) a public library;
(II) an institution of higher education; or
(III) a local government entity.
(E) Connectivity
The eligible entity proposes a project that promotes local
connectivity within areas, communities, or populations to be
served through the project.
(F) Integration
The eligible entity demonstrates that health care information
has been integrated into the project.
(2) Telehealth resource centers
In awarding grants under subsection (d)(2) of this section for
projects involving telehealth resource centers, the Secretary
shall give preference to an eligible entity that meets at least 1
of the following requirements:
(A) Provision of services
The eligible entity has a record of success in the provision
of telehealth services to medically underserved areas or
medically underserved populations.
(B) Collaboration and sharing of expertise
The eligible entity has a demonstrated record of
collaborating and sharing expertise with providers of
telehealth services at the national, regional, State, and local
levels.
(C) Broad range of telehealth services
The eligible entity has a record of providing a broad range
of telehealth services, which may include -
(i) a variety of clinical specialty services;
(ii) patient or family education;
(iii) health care professional education; and
(iv) rural residency support programs.
(j) Distribution of funds
(1) In general
In awarding grants under this section, the Director shall
ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that such grants are
equitably distributed among the geographical regions of the
United States.
(2) Telehealth networks
In awarding grants under subsection (d)(1) of this section for
a fiscal year, the Director shall ensure that -
(A) not less than 50 percent of the funds awarded shall be
awarded for projects in rural areas; and
(B) the total amount of funds awarded for such projects for
that fiscal year shall be not less than the total amount of
funds awarded for such projects for fiscal year 2001 under
section 254c of this title (as in effect on the day before
October 26, 2002).
(k) Use of funds
(1) Telehealth network program
The recipient of a grant under subsection (d)(1) of this
section may use funds received through such grant for salaries,
equipment, and operating or other costs, including the cost of -
(A) developing and delivering clinical telehealth services
that enhance access to community-based health care services in
rural areas, frontier communities, or medically underserved
areas, or for medically underserved populations;
(B) developing and acquiring, through lease or purchase,
computer hardware and software, audio and video equipment,
computer network equipment, interactive equipment, data
terminal equipment, and other equipment that furthers the
objectives of the telehealth network grant program;
(C)(i) developing and providing distance education, in a
manner that enhances access to care in rural areas, frontier
communities, or medically underserved areas, or for medically
underserved populations; or
(ii) mentoring, precepting, or supervising health care
providers and students seeking to become health care providers,
in a manner that enhances access to care in the areas and
communities, or for the populations, described in clause (i);
(D) developing and acquiring instructional programming;
(E)(i) providing for transmission of medical data, and
maintenance of equipment; and
(ii) providing for compensation (including travel expenses)
of specialists, and referring health care providers, who are
providing telehealth services through the telehealth network,
if no third party payment is available for the telehealth
services delivered through the telehealth network;
(F) developing projects to use telehealth technology to
facilitate collaboration between health care providers;
(G) collecting and analyzing usage statistics and data to
document the cost-effectiveness of the telehealth services; and
(H) carrying out such other activities as are consistent with
achieving the objectives of this section, as determined by the
Secretary.
(2) Telehealth resource centers
The recipient of a grant under subsection (d)(2) of this
section may use funds received through such grant for salaries,
equipment, and operating or other costs for -
(A) providing technical assistance, training, and support,
and providing for travel expenses, for health care providers
and a range of health care entities that provide or will
provide telehealth services;
(B) disseminating information and research findings related
to telehealth services;
(C) promoting effective collaboration among telehealth
resource centers and the Office;
(D) conducting evaluations to determine the best utilization
of telehealth technologies to meet health care needs;
(E) promoting the integration of the technologies used in
clinical information systems with other telehealth
technologies;
(F) fostering the use of telehealth technologies to provide
health care information and education for health care providers
and consumers in a more effective manner; and
(G) implementing special projects or studies under the
direction of the Office.
(l) Prohibited uses of funds
An entity that receives a grant under this section may not use
funds made available through the grant -
(1) to acquire real property;
(2) for expenditures to purchase or lease equipment, to the
extent that the expenditures would exceed 40 percent of the total
grant funds;
(3) in the case of a project involving a telehealth network, to
purchase or install transmission equipment (such as laying cable
or telephone lines, or purchasing or installing microwave towers,
satellite dishes, amplifiers, or digital switching equipment);
(4) to pay for any equipment or transmission costs not directly
related to the purposes for which the grant is awarded;
(5) to purchase or install general purpose voice telephone
systems;
(6) for construction; or
(7) for expenditures for indirect costs (as determined by the
Secretary), to the extent that the expenditures would exceed 15
percent of the total grant funds.
(m) Collaboration
In providing services under this section, an eligible entity
shall collaborate, if feasible, with entities that -
(1)(A) are private or public organizations, that receive
Federal or State assistance; or
(B) are public or private entities that operate centers, or
carry out programs, that receive Federal or State assistance; and
(2) provide telehealth services or related activities.
(n) Coordination with other agencies
The Secretary shall coordinate activities carried out under grant
programs described in subsection (b) of this section, to the extent
practicable, with Federal and State agencies and nonprofit
organizations that are operating similar programs, to maximize the
effect of public dollars in funding meritorious proposals.
(o) Outreach activities
The Secretary shall establish and implement procedures to carry
out outreach activities to advise potential end users of telehealth
services in rural areas, frontier communities, medically
underserved areas, and medically underserved populations in each
State about the grant programs described in subsection (b) of this
section.
(p) Telehealth
It is the sense of Congress that, for purposes of this section,
States should develop reciprocity agreements so that a provider of
services under this section who is a licensed or otherwise
authorized health care provider under the law of 1 or more States,
and who, through telehealth technology, consults with a licensed or
otherwise authorized health care provider in another State, is
exempt, with respect to such consultation, from any State law of
the other State that prohibits such consultation on the basis that
the first health care provider is not a licensed or authorized
health care provider under the law of that State.
(q) Report
Not later than September 30, 2005, the Secretary shall prepare
and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on
the progress and accomplishments of the grant programs described in
subsection (b) of this section.
(r) Regulations
The Secretary shall issue regulations specifying, for purposes of
this section, a definition of the term "frontier area". The
definition shall be based on factors that include population
density, travel distance in miles to the nearest medical facility,
travel time in minutes to the nearest medical facility, and such
other factors as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. The
Secretary shall develop the definition in consultation with the
Director of the Bureau of the Census and the Administrator of the
Economic Research Service of the Department of Agriculture.
(s) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
-
(1) for grants under subsection (d)(1) of this section,
$40,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and such sums as may be
necessary for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2006; and
(2) for grants under subsection (d)(2) of this section,
$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and such sums as may be
necessary for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2006.