The University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Peer Mentored Care Collaborative (PMCC) is one of three projects championed by members of the Colorado congressional delegation to receive Congressionally Directed Spending/Community Project Funding in 2024. Funding for the CU Anschutz Rural eConsults Expansion Project was led by Rep. Crow and Sens. Bennet and Hickenlooper, and will increase the availability of specialty care in rural Colorado, improving wait times and promoting an innovative approach to improving patient access to specialty care. The project will put to use innovative technology and data-informed clinical decision support to assist local providers in treating more patients locally. Investing in rural telemedicine software will improve health outcomes, increase the satisfaction of providers, and improve the life and well-being of rural residents. Learn more about PMCC here.
Apr 30, 2024
PMCC Receives Funding to Expand eConsults in Rural Colorado
The University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Peer Mentored Care Collaborative (PMCC) is one of three projects championed by members of the Colorado congressional delegation to
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Apr 2, 2024
ECHO COLORADO AT CASCHEW 2024: COLLABORATION IS CRITICAL
ECHO Colorado was excited to support the CASCHEW 2024 Conference in March, in partnership with CO-CEAL and SNOCAP. A big thank you to our presenters and
View Details ►ECHO Colorado was excited to support the CASCHEW 2024 Conference in March, in partnership with CO-CEAL and SNOCAP. A big thank you to our presenters and partners who came out to learn from each other and collaborate. Collaborating Across Sectors for Colorado’s Health Equity and Wellness (CASCHEW) 2024 brought together over 100 project participants, community partners, community members, public health departments/organizations, clinic staff, primary care clinicians and medical and academic partners committed to improving the health of all Coloradans.
Devin Miller, MPH, PMCC director of operations, was part of the planning committee and she presented with partners from HCPF and CDPHE on how to successfully conduct cross-sector collaboration to address medical and public health challenges. “Cross-sector collaboration is critical because it leverages diverse expertise and resources to address complex challenges more effectively than any single organization could achieve alone,” said Miller.
BreAnna Teeters, MPH, ECHO project coordinator; David Saxon, MD, PMCC medical director; and Melissa Griffith, MD, rheumatology ECHO partner, presented Keeping Care Local: eConsults and ECHOs in Rural and Frontier Counties. They presented on the scope of the work that’s being done to analyze eConsult and ECHO program data to understand educational needs in Colorado’s health care communities.
“My main takeaway from the conference,” said Teeters, “is that our work shouldn’t and can’t be siloed because there are opportunities that could be missed when we are trying to build something from scratch; working with others better supports work that’s already been started.”
Mar 4, 2024
PMCC ARTICLE SUMMARIZES HOW eCONSULTS REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS ASSOCIATED WITH HEALTH CARE DELIVERY
The Peer Mentored Care Collaborative (PMCC), a business unit within the CU Anschutz Dean of Medicineās Office, consists of two innovative programs: ECHO Colorado and the
View Details ►The Peer Mentored Care Collaborative (PMCC), a business unit within the CU Anschutz Dean of Medicineās Office, consists of two innovative programs: ECHO Colorado and the CU School of Medicine eConsult program. Through these programs, providers are able to access tools to drive new care models and to build collaborations with colleagues on campus and across the state aimed at improving care delivery and improving quadruple aims.
An example of these efforts is highlighted in a recently published article in Telemedicine and e-Health written by six members of the Anschutz campus community. The article summarizes the known benefits of eConsults, while also emphasizing another benefit of these programs of great interest to campus and state government leadership: the environmental benefits of using eConsults to deliver care. In the article Reduction of Environmental Pollutants and Travel Burden Through an Academic Medical Center-based Electronic Consultation Program, the authors reviewed 15,499 eConsults between July 2018 and December 2022 and their findings tally how eConsults reduce the environmental pollutants associated with health care delivery:
- A reduction of 310,858 miles of in-state travel
- 5,491 hours of saved travel time
- Fuel reduction of 13,575 gallons
- A reduction of 77 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions
John āFredā Thomas, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology and Executive Director of PMCC is the senior author. āTime spent traveling to and from health care clinics, waiting for appointments, consulting with providers and receiving care creates a significant burden that often limits access to care, especially for rural patients. eConsults not only improve access and quality of care for patients, they reduce the environmental impact of pollutants associated with face-to-face visits,ā said Thomas.
Authors include Susan More, Stephanie Grim, Rodger Kessler, Mayra Loera De Luna and Devin Miller.
Want to learn more about the eConsult program? Contact Devin Miller, PMCC Director of Operations.
Jan 19, 2024
A Message from the Executive Director
As we kick off the new year we have much to celebrate. Thanks to you, our partners and colleagues, we have continued to grow our programmatic
View Details ►As we kick off the new year we have much to celebrate. Thanks to you, our partners and colleagues, we have continued to grow our programmatic efforts according to most any measure you could think of: number of offerings, number of learners, and perhaps most importantly, through impact. This, along with a number of meaningful staff additions — a new medical director, Dr. David Saxon, and a new director of operations, Devin Miller — leaves us well positioned for a fruitful 2024.
Last year we reached a new milestone. It has been 10 years since a group of leaders from each of the CU Anschutz Medical Campusās professional schools and affiliated hospitals decided to initiate planning to develop ECHO Colorado. And it’s been over three years since we added the electronic consultation (eConsults) effort and merged the two into a business unit, the Peer Mentored Care Collaborative. Both of these types of telehealth demonstrated their remarkable value during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided great value to many patients, providers and local communities. They are now interwoven into a continuum of care that continues to improve access, lower costs and improve patient and provider satisfaction. Each year thousands of local providers connect to the world-renowned expertise available through the Anschutz Medical Campus and are thus able to provide best practice care to patients closer to home.
It is our partnership with people like you that makes these efforts possible. Please reach out to let us know your stories and/or how we can improve what we do to improve the health of Colorado.
Thank you again and please donāt hesitate to reach out with suggestions, requests or new opportunities. Have a great 2024.
John F. āFredā Thomas, PhD
Professor, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Professor, University of Colorado School of Public Health
Executive Director, Peer Mentored Care Collaborative (PMCC)
