GALVESTON, Texas - The Electronic Health Network telemedicine program at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has received a national award that recognizes best practices.
The award, presented by a national public sector association of benefits administrators praised UTMB's program for "implementation of a benefits program that has substantially reduced costs, increased member awareness, improved member education, or enhanced member wellness during the last calendar year."
"This is an important honor for us, coming from such a significant employee benefits group," said Dr. Glenn Hammack, executive vice president of the UTMB Electronic Health Network. "This recognition of how our services are valued from outside the telemedicine arena is especially meaningful. It shows how our technologies bring practical value as a health benefit."
Dr. Alexander Vo, executive director of the AT&T Center for Telehealth Research and Policy at UTMB, said, "It is a tremendous honor for us to receive this prestigious recognition and it speaks volume to the wonderful work and support UTMB has provided to the telemedicine program."
The Exemplary Efforts in Benefits, Professional Award will be presented March 11 in San Diego at the annual conference of the State and Local Governments Benefits Association.
Mickey Bourdeau, interim director of UTMB's EHN, said, "We are very pleased and honored to accept this award from such an outstanding organization as SALGBA who truly understand the value of health benefit programs."
The award was created three years ago to recognize best practices in programs that provide benefits through the reduction of costs, increased awareness and education and improved members' wellness.
Dr. David L. Callender, president of UTMB, said, "This award is a significant endorsement of the excellent electronic health network here. It is further evidence of the skill, talent and dedication among members of the telemedicine team. My heartiest congratulations to everyone in the program."
Since 1995, UTMB clinicians and researchers have used telecommunications to improve health delivery to rural and underserved populations and have been testing, refining, and utilizing telemedicine and telehealth technologies to improve and develop telemedicine.
UTMB's telemedicine program has been recognized as one of the top telemedicine programs in the United States and has been inducted into the Smithsonian Permanent Research Collection for Innovation in Information Technology.
UTMB's services comprise the largest telemedicine operation in the world, with more than 300 locations and more than 60,000 patient encounters annually.
The Electronic Health Network was created in 2004 to centralize all of UTMB's resources in this area into one entity. The EHN is charged with integrating all health technology components into a single system for medical care delivery that benefits providers, patients and payers in the health care environment.