Telehealth as a Rural Business Development Strategy

This session discusses telehealth as a rural outreach business development strategy for hospitals and health systems, and demonstrates how the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) built and operates its successful Center for Telehealth. In over half of Mississippi counties, patients must drive more than 40 minutes to receive specialty healthcare. Using online video technology, UMMC provides remote medical care and public health services through its Center for Telehealth, offering telemedicine, wellness care, disaster response, workforce and business development, research, and health education throughout the state. Since the program began in 2003, the telehealth services have helped more than half a million rural Mississippians in need.