U of A, UAMS Grants to Spur Telehealth Research, Collaboration

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas and the Translational Research Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock are offering pilot grants to study the state’s telehealth programs.

Telehealth is a relatively new practice that allows doctors to reach patients in distant locations by using two-way interactive video and imaging devices to deliver specialized medical services, from emergency stroke treatment to the care of premature infants.

The one-year Translational Research Institute Pilot Research Awards will fund as many as four telehealth projects originating from UAMS at up to $15,000, with an additional $5,000 available to projects that involve a collaborator on the Fayetteville campus.

Officials with each institution said the collaborative funding initiative is designed to foster research between physicians engaged in telehealth programs and researchers.

“We expect to see research that tests the clinical outcomes, cost effectiveness and comparative effectiveness of these programs so that they can be more broadly adopted to meet the health care needs of Arkansans,” said Cynthia L. Sagers, associate vice provost for research and economic development at the University of Arkansas. “Collaborations between UAMS and the University of Arkansas enhance our research capacity, our reputation and our service to the state.”

UAMS has more than 40 clinical telehealth programs that utilize the state’s infrastructure, but many of the programs lack the data needed to promote broader adoption, said Dr. Laura James, director of the UAMS Translational Research Institute.

“We’re excited to offer this targeted pilot program because we believe Arkansas has the capacity to develop rigorously tested, novel models of health care delivery through telehealth,” James said. “We hope that these pilot grants will become the catalyst for larger, multi-institutional studies.”

Arkansas ranks second nationally in telehealth availability, and the state has the lowest ratio of rural residents to telehealth sites, according to the National Telehealth Resource Centers Report.

Every county in Arkansas has at least one telehealth site and most counties have several.  All UAMS regional centers, most of the state’s hospitals, federally qualified health centers and county health departments are linked through telehealth. Arkansas has 945 telehealth endpoints, 421 anchor health care institutions, and 495 interactive video units.

The mission of the UAMS Translational Research Institute is to help accelerate research that will improve the health and health care of people in Arkansas and across the country. The institute is one of 62 recipients of a National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Clinical and Translational Science Award.

The University of Arkansas is the flagship institution of the University of Arkansas System and the premier research institution in the state. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching categorizes the University of Arkansas in its highest research classification, a level that only 2 percent of American colleges and universities share.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, health professions and public health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes.