1. South Carolina Telehealth Alliance 2018 Strategic Plan
Kathy Schwarting, MHA
Executive Director, Palmetto Care Connections
SCTA Advisory Council Co-Chair
Ryan Kruis, MSW, LISW-CP
SCTA Coordinator

2. South Carolina Telehealth Alliance

3. What is the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance (SCTA)?
The South Carolina Telehealth Alliance is a statewide collaboration of many organizations joining forces to expand telehealth services across the state.
The Alliance provides guidance, assists with strategic development, and advises on technology and standards to develop an open-access network.
Administered out of the MUSC Center for Telehealth
SCTA Mission:
Improve the health of all South Carolinians through Telehealth

4. SC Telehealth Alliance
Funded by the SC Legislature (also leverage other external grants)
300+ connected SC sites
50+ services statewide
Annual collaborative strategy
Legislative reporting
Creating an open-access telehealth network

5. SCTA Advisory Council
Comprised of representatives from the following institutions:
MUSC Health
Palmetto Care Connections
SC General Assembly Members (2)
Greenville Health System
Palmetto Health
McLeod Health
SC DMH
SC DHHS
SCETV
Rural Health Clinic
Community Hospital

8. 2018 SCTA Strategic Plan

9. Strategic Planning Process
Over 50 leaders representing at least 15 different organizations from across the SC participated
5 externally facilitated sessions focused on specific strategies (Dr. Kathy Wibberly) as well as multiple internal planning sessions/retreats
Strategies developed and drafted by workgroup champions; reviewed by the SCTA Advisory Council prior to submitting to DHHS.

10. 2018 SCTA Strategies
Deploy a coordinated, open-access telehealth network in South Carolina. 1
Understand and effectively respond to the health needs of SC citizens with an emphasis on those living in underserved and rural areas. 2
Build and scale telehealth clinical services and programs that expand access to care. 3
Broaden mental health and addictive disease telehealth clinical services and programs to increase access to care. 4
Conduct statewide education, training, and promotion to providers and the public to accelerate and spread adoption of telehealth. 5
Develop a telehealth organization structure that encourages and facilitates statewide collaboration among providers in the delivery of health care, education, and research. 6
Establish the value case for telehealth through robust assessment and rigorous analysis of telehealth outcomes. 7
Demonstrate to legislators, payers, providers, and the public the impact of telehealth on improving access, quality, and affordability. 8

11. Deploy a coordinated, open-access telehealth network in South Carolina.1
Enhance how different IT groups can work together (shared ticket systems, etc.)
Centralized credentialing

12. 2 Optimize telehealth among rural health care clinics
Understand and effectively respond to the health needs of SC citizens with an emphasis on those living in underserved and rural areas. 2
Optimize telehealth among rural health care clinics
Broadband connectivity, equip and train providers, better understand the successes and challenges of implementing telehealth in rural settings
Explore possibilities for use of telehealth to help manage diabetes in a rural clinics

13. Build and scale telehealth clinical services and programs that expand access to care.3
Addresses growth of services in the following settings:
Hospitals
E.g. telestroke, pediatric critical care, adult inpatient
Clinics
Non-traditional care settings
e.g. schools, correctional facilities, skilled nursing facilities
Direct-to-consumer (DTC)
40% increase in telehealth consultations supporting primary care clinics (compared to 2016)
Tele-ICU has potentially saved 109 lives in the first three quarters of 2017 (actual vs predicted mortality statistics)

14. Growth in hospitals: Telestroke
Statewide coverage of expert stroke care
Some of the best stroke response and treatment metrics in the country
With the statewide telestroke program, EVERY citizen in South Carolina is now less than an hour from expert stroke care
October 2017 provided a record number of telestroke and teleneurology consultations (572), yet stroke transfers to MUSC are at an all-time low (~10%, compared to 24% 3 years ago), keeping more patients in their home communities

15. Growth in non-traditional settings: School-based Telehealth Network
MUSC has partnered with Palmetto Health to lead the SCTA school- based telehealth workgroup and school-based telehealth expansion.
One of the fastest growing school- based telehealth networks in the country!
School-based telehealth increases access to care for underserved children (more than doubled consult volume in each of the last 3 years; early evidence of cost-savings for high-needs children)
Reduced ED visits
Reduced Missed Days of School
Control Chronic Disease (e.g. asthma)

16. 4 Broad mental health strategy led by SC Department of Mental Health
Broaden mental health and addictive disease telehealth clinical services and programs to increase access to care. 4
Broad mental health strategy led by SC Department of Mental Health
Specific details being finalized

17. Growth in Telepsychiatry
The SCTA agreement with the South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH) will provide funding to support statewide expansion of their successful telepsychiatry programs, such as:
Emergency Department Telepsychiatry Consultation Program
Community Telepsychiatry Program
Deaf Services Telepsychiatry
EMS Telepsychiatry Program
Averaging over 1,700 comprehensive telepsychiatry services per month
38% of telepsych patients received 30-day follow-up care (vs. 13% in control group)
$2,300 saved per emergency department visit
Over 70,000 DMH telepsych services provided since program inception

18. Growth in Telepsychiatry
SCDMH Emergency Dept. Telepsychiatry
SCDMH Community Telepsychiatry

19. 5 Telehealth education focused on:
Conduct statewide education, training, and promotion to providers and the public to accelerate and spread adoption of telehealth. 5
Telehealth education focused on:
Trainees in health care professional programs
Current health care providers (especially those in rural areas)
Case-based learning delivered via telehealth
HCV Teleconsultation (Dr. Divya Ahuja, USC)
Project ECHO (sickle cell, opioid abuse)

20. 6 Engage the SCTA Advisory Council to guide the work of the SCTA
Develop a telehealth organization structure that encourages and facilitates statewide collaboration among providers in the delivery of health care, education, and research. 6
Engage the SCTA Advisory Council to guide the work of the SCTA
Engage partners and stakeholders not represented on the advisory council
Establish unified opinions and priorities on SCTA issues

21. 7 Robust focus on outcomes led by USC, DMH, and MUSC
Establish the value case for telehealth through robust assessment and rigorous analysis of telehealth outcomes. 7
Robust focus on outcomes led by USC, DMH, and MUSC
SCTA Implementation and Evaluation Grants
Deadline: February 26, 2018
RFA available on website:

22. 8 Engages payers on reimbursement
Demonstrate to legislators, payers, providers, and the public the impact of telehealth on improving access, quality, and affordability. 8
Engages payers on reimbursement
Includes promoting telehealth awareness

23. My Telehealth Campaign
Spearheaded by SCETV, the SCTA has increased public awareness of telehealth through the My Telehealth campaign
Videos and Blog
Facebook Page
Twitter Feed

24. Our New Website

25. South Carolina Telehealth Alliance
Kathy Schwarting Ryan Kruis