What You Should Know:
– The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) has announced the creation of a new Clinician Council to tackle hurdles hindering the widespread adoption of telehealth and virtual care.
– This new Clinician Council aims to address emerging platforms and technologies supporting tech-enabled healthcare, while building trust through a “Trust Agenda” emphasizing responsibility, credibility, and integrity within the industry.
Clinician Council Leadership and Focus
- Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the ATA: Highlighted the importance of the council in informing stakeholders about telehealth benefits and fostering a productive dialogue around its future.
- Joe Kvedar, MD, Council Chair and ATA Senior Clinical Advisor: Underscored the council’s focus on building trust, advising on healthcare ethics, patient/provider experiences, and relevant standards/guidelines.
- Lois Ritter, EdD, MS, MA, MS-HCA, ATA Research Director: Will support the council’s research, initiatives, and administration.
Clinician Council Composition:
- Clinicians from diverse healthcare specialties, including physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, physical therapists, and psychologists.
- Two-year term for each council member.
Clinician Council Members:
- Gokhan Anil, MD (Mayo Clinic)
- Melynda Barnes, MD (Ro)
- Sameer Berry, MD, MBA (Oshi Health)
- Ethan Booker, MD (MedStar Health)
- Patrick Carroll, MD (HIMS, Inc.)
- Ian Choe, MD (Optum)
- Bonnie Clipper, DNP, MA, MBA, RN (Innovation Advantage)
- Melinda Cooling, APRN (OSF HealthCare)
- Abigail Crawford, APRN, FNP-C (WVU Medicine)
- Carrie Culpepper, RN, FNP-C, MBA (Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center)
- Carlos Estrada, MD, MBA (Boston Children’s Hospital)
- Charles Fisher, PT, MPT, MBA (Hospital for Special Surgery)
- Debora Fisher, RN-BSN, MPH/A (MobileHelp/Clear Arch Health)
- Leanna Fortunato, PhD (American Psychological Association)
- Gail Golab, DVM, PhD (American Veterinary Medical Association)
- Linda Goodwin, MSN, RN (CommonSpirit)
- Shawn Griffin, MD (URAC)
- Derrick Haslem, MD (Intermountain Health)
- Helen Hughes, MD, MPH (Johns Hopkins Medicine)
- Anney Joseph, OD, FAAO (Department of Veterans Affairs)
- Florence Kariuki, RN, BSN (Health Recovery Solutions)
- John Kazianis, MD (Hicuity Health)
- Malik Khan, MD, FCCP (Corewell Health)
- Jade Le, MD (Access Telecare)
- Shannon MacDonald, MD (Mass General Brigham)
- Ateev Mehrotra, MD, MPH (Harvard Medical School)
- David Newman, MD (Sanford Health)
- Ngoc-Anh Nguyen, MD (Houston Methodist)
- Jordan Pritzker, MD, MBA (Aetna)
- Adonis Saremi, MD (Noom, Inc.)
- Helen Schnase, MD, MBA (Transcarent)
- Kate Steinle, MSN (FolxHealth)
- Kellie Swink BSN, RN (Children’s National Medical Center)
- Greg Weidner, MD, FACP (One Medical/Amazon)
- Eric Weil, MD (MDLive by Evernorth)
- Huiling Zhang, MD, MPH, MBA (Philips)
Future Plans
The first clinician council meeting will be held during the ATA’s EDGE Policy Conference (December 13-15, Washington, DC). The council will have ongoing efforts to build trust, advise on key topics, and guide the future of telehealth and virtual care.