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Feature Articles 
HEALTH 3.0: KANSAS HIT CONFERENCE A BIG HIT! 
Dave Cook, PhD, Associate Vice Chancellor for KUMC Outreach, moderates the panel discussion at the Health 3.0: Kansas HIT Conference on July 15 in Wichita, KS
It was a full house at the Hilton Airport hotel in Wichita July 14 - 15, with over 200 attendees, presenters and exhibitors in place for the first of what is planned to be annual event on Kansas health information technology (HIT), including telehealth, electronic health records, home health technologies and other innovative health applications.
The conference opened with an engaging session presented by David K. Nace, MD, from McKesson Health Solutions, one of the world’s largest health care and HIT companies.
Dr. Nace spoke about his projections for the future of America’s health care system. Participants stayed involved all the way through to the final breakout sessions on rural Kansas’ health technology use. Many of the participants were interested in finding out the details and schedule for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) spending, particularly the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) component.
One high point of the event was the panel presentation held early Wednesday morning. The presentation was led by Roderick Bremby, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), and outlined some of the history of HIT/HIE expansion in Kansas and the next steps planned by KDHE to ensure full advantage is taken of ARRA funding opportunities.
With 21 breakout sessions, a public/private panel discussion on HIT perspectives, and three major presentations in the main conference room, it was a busy, and productive, 1-1/2 days. For details, check the HIT Conference Web site:
http://www2.kumc.edu/telemedicine/HIT/HIT_Intro.htm.
Everyone can anticipate great things to come for next year’s event.
RECOVERY ACT BRINGS NEW MEANING TO "HITECH" 
While the term "high-tech" has been a popular term associated with the Silicon Valley business boom of the 1980s, it has taken on new meaning to those in today's health care industry.
Within the Recovery Act of 2009 (mentioned in HIT Conference article in this issue), those provisions supporting investments in HIT applications are called the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH).
Disbursement of HITECH funds and oversight of HITECH activity is the responsibility of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The vast scope of HITECH activity stretches from setting standards for HIPAA security rule applications to defining terms vital to physician reimbursement such as "Meaningful Use" of electronic health records.
As members of the health care community, we should all have a renewed interest in the term HITECH. It is certain that HITECH-related activity will affect every one of us to some degree.
Details on ONC's Recovery Act Implementation Plan can be found at the ONC web site, or contact Gordon Alloway, Project Manager, KUCTT, at
galloway@kumc.edu, or call (913) 588-2257.
U.S. SEC. OF LABOR UPDATED ON TELEHEALTH PROGRAM 
Dr. Doolittle, Dean Atkinson, and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis (left to right) view a demonstration of a telemedicine consultation. Dr. Ryan Spaulding and Dr. David Cook are in the background.
Photo courtesy KU University Relations
During a July visit to KU Medical Center by U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, the Secretary introduced a rural health technology emphasis to her visit by making her initial stop at the KU Center for Telemedicine & Telehealth (KUCTT).
Upon arrival, Secretary Solis was greeted by Ryan Spaulding, PhD, KUCTT's Director, and Gary Doolittle, MD, medical director of the Midwest Cancer Alliance, Associate Professor of Clinical Oncology at KUMC with 15 years' experience conducting teleoncology consultations, who connected Secretary Solis with the Regional Medical Center in Goodland, Kansas, nearly 400 miles away. Secretary Solis was particularly impressed with the advanced video technology, the importance of trained people at the remote site and the details of how TeleKidcare®, KUCTT's school-based telemedicine program operates.
Secretary Solis also toured the KU School of Nursing Clinical Learning Lab and met with a group of KUMC students prior to holding a brief news conference to announce new funding for national projects that will prepare people for careers in health care and other high-growth industries.
NEW RESEARCH COMPARES EFFECTIVENESS OF HEALTH CARE DELIVERY METHODS 
Kimber Richter, PhD, MPH
After working closely with the National Institute of Health for two years, Kimber Richter, PhD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at KUMC, assisted by Edward Ellerbeck, MD, MPH, at KUMC and Ryan Spaulding, PhD, director of KUCTT, has been awarded a federal grant for research on the impact and cost of delivering clinic-based telemedicine vs. clinic-based telephone counseling for smoking cessation. With the assistance of KUCTT, counselors in Kansas City will be linked with multiple physician practices throughout Kansas for this research program titled:
TELEMEDICINE FOR SMOKING CESSATION IN RURAL PRIMARY CARE
In addition to operational support from KUCTT and institutional support from KUMC the research proposal included support from 3 key study collaborators:
- United Methodist Western Kansas Mexican-American Ministries,
- Kansas Association of the Medically Underserved
- Kansas Academy of Family Physicians / Kansas Physicians Engaged in Practice Research Network.
Also, the proposal included support from 11 Kansas physicians with individual practices who agreed to participate in the research.
The long-term goal of this research is to enhance the quality of tobacco treatment for medically underserved smokers by examining whether telemedicine counseling integrated into rural physician practices can outperform standard "Quit Line" counseling for smoking cessation.
Staff at participating physician practices have been hard at work already, recruiting participants and learning the necessary protocols. The research is in the early stages, so there is still an opportunity for you or someone you know to participate. If you want to learn more about the program or how to participate, contact Eve-Lynn Nelson, assistant director at KUCTT, at
elnelson2@kumc.edu.
MEDICARE POLICIES FOR TELEHEALTH 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently published a Telehealth Services Fact Sheet that summarizes CMS payment policy:
- Originating Sites - definition and eligibility
- Distant Site Practitioners - qualifications
- Medicare CPT codes for telehealth services
- Billing and Payment guidelines
- What are covered services
- Sources for additional information
- Regional Offices & Rural Health Coordinator contacts
This fact sheet is available at:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/TelehealthSrvcsfctsht.pdf.
