Center for Telehealth and E-Health Law

The Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law (CTeL), established in 1995 by a consortium including the Mayo Foundation, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Texas Children's Hospital, and the Mid-West Rural Telemedicine Consortium, is a non-profit organization committed to overcoming legal and regulatory barriers to the utilization of telehealth and related e-health services.[1] CTeL, based in Washington, D.C., specializes in compiling, analyzing and disseminating information on legal and regulatory issues information associated with telemedicine. It also handles underlying issues such as licensure and reimbursement.

CTeL briefs public policymakers, writes reports, and provides testimony in support of telehealth. In its materials, CTeL argues that expanding the use of telehealth can improve patient safety, reduce medical errors, and increase patient access to primary and specialty care in both rural and urban settings. CTeL offers a variety of services, including involvement in public policy. CTeL activities include:

• "Telehealth Leadership Conference" – annual conference dedicated solely to telehealth issues and telehealth advocacy.
• Telehealth Policy Clerkship Program – offered for second and third year law students interested in public policy and legal issues as they apply to advancing communication technologies in the practice of medicine.
• Washington Live! Brown Bag Lunches in Washington, D.C. – monthly seminars on various topics of interest in telehealth and e-health.
• *The National Telehealth Resource Center (NTRC), one of several telehealth resource centers funded through a grant from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in the Department of Health and Human Services.[2]
• In 2004, CTeL worked with HRSA's Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center to perform an analysis of the use of telehealth in skilled nursing facilities for a report to Congress. This report is titled "Multi-State Telehealth Practice" and summarizes the current state of physician and nurse licensure issues.
• Also in 2004, CTeL was recognized by the United States Department of Commerce: "[The] progress there has been in resolving such issues can be attributed to a very recent and concentrated effort by such stakeholders as... Center for Telemedicine Law, and the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)." – Innovation, Demand, & Investment in Telehealth, US Commerce Department, Feb. 2004.