MetaECHO 2019, held this month in Albuquerque, brought together more than 700 members of the worldwide ECHO movement — all committed to the collective goal of touching one billion lives by 2025. ECHO Colorado staff joined global health policy experts, government officials, academic leaders, funders, friends and Project ECHO’s partner teams for an inspiring three-day conference. Multiple sessions and presentations explored the infinite possibilities of future technology, growth strategies, and expanded use of the ECHO model, and celebrated the progress and contributions of the entire MetaECHO community from around the world. Networking opportunities allowed us to connect with ECHO program staff from around the globe to understand the all the ways in which the ECHO model is being utilized to affect health equity and improve lives.

Highlights included hearing from ECHO founder Sanjeev Arora on the increasing evidence supporting the use of the ECHO model and the strategy going forward, and a talk by keynote speaker Don Berwick, MD, president emeritus and senior fellow of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement on crossing the global healthcare quality chasm. Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization joined via satellite from Geneva to discuss the state of global health and where Project ECHO can have a significant impact. Our own assistant director Kory Thomas joined a panel discussing how to build a statewide ECHO strategy using partnerships, and executive director Fred Thomas took part in a discussion on using the ECHO model to improve pre-K through 12 educational outcomes.

The ECHO Colorado team had a great time networking, attending and presenting at sessions, reviewing and presenting posters, joining panels and enjoying Albuquerque cuisine!

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The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the long-awaited report called for in the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act of 2016. The 220-page report was requested as a part of Public Law 114-270 to inform the U.S. Congress on the growing interest, rapid adoption and current status of ECHO and ECHO-like models of telehealth.

With the healthcare marketplace continually evolving in terms of technological innovation, payment models, delivery of care and rural-based workforce development, Colorado, along with the rest of the nation, continues to look for innovative ways to address these challenges. Of the 165 affiliated ECHO hubs in 35 states and 24 countries, nine case studies were highlighted in the report to illustrate the diversity and breadth of the programs. ECHO Colorado’s statewide effort was one of the highlighted programs due to its unique and innovative adaptation to the model.

“Virtual care delivery models have demonstrated their ability to deliver on quadruple-aim outcomes – increasing access, lowering the costs of care, all while improving patient satisfaction and reducing provider burden. This report highlights what we already knew, the need to focus on developing programs that build the evidence of effectiveness in effecting both provider and patient-level health outcomes,” said Dr. John F. “Fred” Thomas, Executive Director of ECHO Colorado.

ECHO Colorado is a statewide effort with a community-based board of directors and ties to both the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the State of Colorado.

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