Telehealth Technology Assessment Center (TTAC) Receives $1.2M Dollar Grant To Provision The National Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center

The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s (ANTHC) Telehealth Technology Assessment Center (TTAC) recently received a $1.2M dollar grant to serve as the country’s National Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) sought proposals from organizations capable of offering technology appraisals and education to burgeoning telehealth programs nationwide. After a competitive bid process, ANTHC’s TTAC was awarded the funding.

"We are honored to be awarded this funding by HRSA," says Kirt Beck, ANTHC’s TTAC director. "Being selected by the review committee to continue our work in providing telehealth technology evaluation and assistance is a wonderful evolution of our efforts here at TTAC.

“This will also empower telehealth programs across the country to select appropriate high quality technologies that allow them to maximize efficiency while retaining quality of care in health care delivery," added Beck.

For the past three years, TTAC has provided telehealth technology evaluation and webinars to global audiences, while supporting the nation’s now 15 Telehealth Resource Centers. This grant provides the funding and recognition for TTAC to continue its national work for the next four years.

Beck explained that the goal of TTAC is to create better-informed consumers of telehealth technology. The assessment knowledge gained is then shared via presentations, publications, and on the web. TTAC serves as an impartial, unbiased source of product information for telehealth programs, health care workers and consumers, and does not endorse particular makes, models, or manufacturers.  While detailed evaluation results are a byproduct of TTAC’s educational toolkits, the end goal is to teach others how to walk through the evaluation process based on their own program’s needs and limitations.

The grant awarded to ANTHC will allow TTAC to continue educating users of telehealth technology in an ever-evolving market. For more information, visit www.TelehealthTechnology.org.

About The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) is a not-for-profit tribal health organization managed by Alaska Native tribal governments and their regional health organizations. ANTHC’s Telehealth Technology Assessment Center aims to create better-informed consumers of telehealth technology. By offering a variety of services in the area of technology assessment, the TTAC (pronounced "tea-tac") aims to become the place for answers to questions about selecting appropriate technologies for your telehealth program. For more information, visit http://www.anthc.org.