American Telemedicine Association
(PRWEB) December 15, 2014
The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) today launched an accreditation program for online, direct-to-consumer healthcare consultations. The program will accredit U.S. healthcare entities providing real-time, online consultations directly to the patient that meet specific standards.
“ATA’s Accreditation Program is designed to ensure transparency and patient safety as online services for healthcare proliferate,” said Jonathan Linkous, CEO of ATA. “We’ve seen an explosion of online healthcare service offerings in recent years, and a growing need to assure consumers they are making good choices. ATA’s Accreditation Program for Online Patient Consultations will provide benchmarks for organizations building an online practice. In addition, it will provide reassurance for payers that the virtual services they are reimbursing follow federal and state laws and regulations, assure patient privacy, are transparent in pricing and operations, use qualified, licensed providers, and follow appropriate clinical practices and guidelines.”
Through online visits, consumers are able to access care for routine and urgent health problems without having to leave home or work, thereby saving time and removing barriers to seeking medical attention. According to ATA's research, over 800,000 online patient consultations will be provided this year. This is expected to grow rapidly as more consumers, providers and payers look to the convenience of online services.
Further information about the program is available at http://www.americantelemed.org. From Dec. 15, 2014 through Feb. 28, 2015, registration for the Accreditation Program will be open to ATA Institutional Members, Sustaining President’s Circle and President’s Circle members exclusively.
In addition, ATA has launched SafeOnlineHealth.org, a resource to help consumers better understand the growing use of telecommunications in the delivery of healthcare services. Visitors can learn more about telemedicine and online healthcare and browse accredited providers.
ATA will host a free, live videocast on Tuesday, Dec. 16, from 2 – 3 p.m. EST, to review the program and take questions from the audience. For more information, click here.
About the American Telemedicine Association
The American Telemedicine Association, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is the leading resource for the delivery of healthcare using telecommunications technologies. ATA and its diverse membership of medical institutions, professionals and healthcare and technology companies work together to guide the use of telemedicine to improve quality, equity and affordability of healthcare throughout the world. Established in 1993, ATA is headquartered in Washington, DC. For more information, visit http://www.americantelemed.org.