The Arizona Telemedicine Program is a large, multidisciplinary, university-based program that provide The University of Arizona recruited Dr. Ronald S.
In 1995, Arizona State Representative Robert “Bob” Burns (now Senator Burns) worked with legislative staffer John Lee to develop the Arizona Telemedicine Program model (ATP). Weinstein, an international expert on telemedicine, to be director of a new Arizona state-wide program. In 1996, the Arizona Telemedicine Program was born. Since then, the program has succeeded in creating partnerships among
a wide variety of not-for-profit and profit healthcare organizations, and has created new interagency relationships within the state government. Functioning as a "virtual corporation," the Arizona Telemedicine Program is creating new paradigms for healthcare delivery over the information superhighway. Currently the Arizona Telemedicine Program is providing medical services via both real-time and store-and-forward technologies in twenty communities throughout Arizona. The program is recognized as one of the premier programs at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and has received numerous awards at the national level for its research and innovations. Guidelines for Social Media Comments: http://uanow.org/participate
08/04/2025
There is still time to register for the conference the Arizona Telemedicine Program is co-hosting with Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center. This 1-day, in-person conference is in beautiful and cool Show Low, AZ. If you're available on August 15th, please register and join us to hear from experts on how telehealth is being leveraged to prevent and manage chronic diseases in medically underserved communities. This event offers valuable opportunities to connect with fellow professionals and exhibitors. We hope to see you there!
It’s that time of year again! CMS has released the Proposed Rule for the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Are you ready?
Join us on August 12th from 12–1 p.m. MST as our expert partner, Carol Yarbrough, breaks down the key proposed changes, highlights potential impacts on reimbursement and practice operations, and provides insights to help your practice prepare for 2026.
Don’t miss this opportunity to stay ahead and have your questions answered live!
✨ Upcoming Webinar ✨
Join the Northeast Telehealth Resource Center (NETRC) for an insightful session on advancing care for children and adolescents with obesity through telehealth.
🗓 Title: Leveraging Telehealth in Pediatric Obesity Care: A Multidisciplinary Model with Big Impact
📅 Date: July 23, 2025
🕚 Time: 11:00 AM (PT)
💻 Hosted by: NETRC
👩⚕️ Presented by: Dr. Valerie O’Hara, DO, FAAP, FOMA, ABOM - Pediatric Obesity Physician Specialist, Founder & Medical Director of the WOW Clinic
Dr. O’Hara will share insights from the TeleWOW program, a cutting-edge telehealth model transforming access to pediatric obesity care in rural and underserved areas. She’ll highlight how integrating medical, nutrition, and behavioral health professionals can significantly improve outcomes for young patients managing chronic disease.
🔗 Register here - https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HcxV6hihSRCeySlN8fyM5w
07/11/2025
Join us on Wednesday, July 16, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (MST) for our virtual Arizona Telemedicine Council meeting.
We’ll cover timely topics including:
• Leveraging telehealth to provide behavioral healthcare for youth in the Department of Child Safety
• Promoting chronic disease self-management through telemedicine and digital health technologies
• An overview of AHCCCS’ Telehealth Utilization Dashboard
• TeleSANE program highlights
• Arizona Telemedicine Program updates
This meeting is free and open to all healthcare providers, administrators, and anyone interested in telehealth across Arizona and beyond. Don’t miss this chance to learn, connect, and stay current on telehealth developments in Arizona.
Register here: https://telemedicine.arizona.edu/about-us/atc
07/08/2025
There is still time to register for Connecting Rural Health: Telehealth Strategies for Chronic Disease Prevention. This 1-day conference is in beautiful and cool Show Low, AZ.
Hear from experts on how telehealth solutions can be leveraged to prevent and manage chronic diseases in medically underserved populations. Through engaging expert speakers in telehealth and chronic care prevention and management, you'll gain actionable insights into the latest telehealth technologies, evidence-based strategies, and collaborative models that are transforming chronic disease care in rural settings.
Registration link: https://telemedicine.arizona.edu/training/connecting-rural-health-telehealth-strategies-chronic-disease-prevention/show-low/2025-08
07/04/2025
Join the AIH-AHEC and the Arizona Telemedicine Program for an engaging CME-approved webinar with Dr. Yvette Brown-Shirley, MD. Learn how healthcare providers and clinical staff working with tribal communities can better recognize, evaluate, and manage concussions in youth and adolescent athletes.
Earn 1 CME credit and walk away with practical tools to support young athletes’ health and safety.
Register today and we’ll see you on July 17 at 12 p.m. MST! https://telemedicine.arizona.edu/event/webinar/2025-07-17-lets-play-ball-recognizing-and-managing-concussions-youth-and-adolescent
06/20/2025
The latest edition of the Southwest Telehealth Resource Center newsletter is here! Inside, you'll find new telehealth resources, upcoming events, and state-specific updates from across our region. Whether you're a provider, health system leader, or industry professional, there's something for you.
Read the latest issue: https://southwesttrc.org/index.php/resources/newsletters/2025/2025-06
Subscribe to future updates: https://southwesttrc.org/
Stay informed. Stay connected.
06/20/2025
Join us for the 2025 Healthcare AI Boot Camp! This foundational training is designed to equip participants with a clear understanding of core AI concepts and their practical applications in healthcare, setting the stage for engagement with real-world challenges.
Session 2 will take place on June 25 at 12:00 p.m. PST and will feature SWTRC’s Elizabeth Krupinski and Jordan Berg from the The National Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center (TTAC). The session, titled Foundations: What is AI?, will explore the fundamental concepts of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Register here: https://healthaibootcamp.org/
06/12/2025
Space is limited, so be sure to register for this dynamic event hosted by Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center, the Arizona Telemedicine Program, and the Southwest Telehealth Resource Center!
Connecting Rural Health: Telehealth Strategies for Chronic Disease Prevention
📅 August 15, 2025 I 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
📍 Show Low, Arizona
This one-day conference brings together healthcare professionals, policymakers, researchers, and technology leaders to explore actionable telehealth strategies that improve care for rural and medically underserved communities.
Topics include:
- Telehealth-enabled chronic disease management
- Remote patient monitoring
- Behavioral health integration
- Digital tools for patient engagement
- Policy and reimbursement frameworks
- Sustainable funding strategies
Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with thought leaders and innovators driving the future of rural healthcare.
🔗 Register now: https://telemedicine.arizona.edu/training/connecting-rural-health-telehealth-strategies-chronic-disease-prevention/show-low/2025-08
06/09/2025
What a week it was last week! The Arizona Telemedicine Program and the Southwest Telehealth Resource Center had the opportunity to exhibit, attend, and present at two impactful events: the Arizona Center for Rural Health's Rural Health Conference and the Western Region Flex Conference.
It was a full week of reconnecting with partners and peers, building new relationships, and engaging in thoughtful conversations about the future of rural health and telemedicine.
A heartfelt thank you to the organizers of both conferences! Your efforts created meaningful spaces for collaboration and knowledge sharing. The content and discussions were incredibly valuable, and we’re already looking forward to the next opportunity to come together.
05/28/2025
In partnership with the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers, the Southwest Telehealth Resource Center is excited to host the upcoming webinar: "The Future of Telemedicine and Digital Health to Catalyze Care Delivery."
Join us on June 12 as Dr. Joseph Finkelstein, Scientific Advisor to the Arizona Telemedicine Program, shares his insights on emerging trends in telemedicine and digital health. He will highlight real-world applications of AI-driven solutions and their growing impact on how care is delivered.
Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable perspectives on the future of healthcare.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Wq9U-WlRSmuKdAZejwSgfg
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Arizona Telemedicine Program posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
In 1995, Arizona State Representative Robert “Bob” Burns (now Senator Burns) worked with legislative staffer John Lee to develop the Arizona Telemedicine Program model (ATP). Telemedicine is the use of telecommunications technology to provide training for healthcare providers and specialist consults to providers and patients who are located in areas that do not have that level of service available. The University of Arizona College of Medicine was directed to establish a pilot telemedicine program with eight sites to serve the Arizona prison system and rural underserved communities. The U of A recruited Dr. Ronald S. Weinstein, an international expert on telemedicine, to be director of the new Arizona state-wide program.
Senator Burns and Dr. Weinstein have partnered in developing and managing the ATP since its inception.
The Arizona Telemedicine Program is a large, multidisciplinary, university-based program that provides telemedicine services, distance learning, informatics training, and telemedicine technology assessment capabilities to communities throughout Arizona, the sixth largest state in the United States, in square miles. The program has succeeded in creating partnerships among a wide variety of not-for-profit and profit healthcare organizations, and has created new interagency relationships within the state government. Functioning as a "virtual corporation," the Arizona Telemedicine Program is creating new paradigms for healthcare delivery over the information superhighway. The program is recognized as one of the premier programs at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and has received numerous awards at the national level for its research and innovations.
A major contributing factor to the success of the Arizona Telemedicine Program is its strong commitment to research, and its track record in technology transfer. In 1973, the Department of Radiology at the College of Medicine formed a Digital Imaging Group which has been exceptionally productive over the years, and remains a recognized program in the field. The research group includes physicians as well as Ph.D.s in computer sciences and electrical engineering, cognitive psychology, and optical sciences. In 1990, Dr. Ronald S. Weinstein, a pioneer in the field of robotic telemedicine, was recruited to the University of Arizona and initiated collaboration with the radiology team.
Dr. Weinstein has had a career-long interest in telemedicine. He trained at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard at the time that the first multi-service telemedicine program was established between Logan Airport and the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In 1986, Dr. Weinstein invented robotic telepathology for which he holds US Patents. His Telepathology Research Laboratory at Rush Medical College, in Chicago, where he was Department Head for 15 years prior to coming to Arizona, carried out pioneering research on the diagnostic accuracy of telepathology, developed the first robotic telemedicine application, and designed the first commercial robotic telepathology system. In 1992, Dr. Weinstein established the Arizona International Telemedicine Network which provided telepathology consultations in Mexico and China. His work was widely acknowledged and, in 1993, Dr. Weinstein was invited to give the opening lecture at the First International Conference on Clinical Applications of Telemedicine, in Tromso, Norway. The Dean of the Arizona College of Medicine, Dr. James E. Dalen, gave a lecture on “Rural Healthcare” at the same meeting. Thus, there was significant interest in telemedicine in Arizona prior to the establishment of the Arizona Telemedicine Program.
In 1996, the Legislature of the State of Arizona funded the Arizona Telemedicine Program and mandated that it provide telemedicine services to a broad range of healthcare service users including geographically isolated communities, Indian tribes, and Department of Corrections rural prisons. Leveraging the state startup funds, the Arizona Telemedicine Program succeeded in obtaining additional funding and support from many healthcare systems, state agencies, federal grant programs, and third party payors.
Currently the Arizona Telemedicine Program is providing medical services via both real-time and store-and-forward technologies in twenty communities. This year, 500 hours of continuing medical education and continuing education will be delivered to thirty-four communities using bi-direction video conferencing. The Arizona Telemedicine Program has created two additional statewide programs, Project Nightingale and e-Healthcare Arizona. Project Nightingale, created by Dr. Weinstein, is a unique, dedicated broadband healthcare infrastructure which functions as a telecommunications collaborative providing access to T-1/ATM telecommunications on a private network throughout the state on a cost-sharing basis. e-Healthcare Arizona provides state agencies with a vehicle for collaborating on various programs in disease prevention, public education, correctional telemedicine and, more recently, children's healthcare and home health nursing. In addition, the Arizona Telemedicine Program has recently instituted innovative programs in home health care for patients with artificial hearts awaiting transplantation, patients requiring ostomy home-nursing services, and children in need of occupational and physical therapy. Telenursing services are being implemented in Phoenix schools.
Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the Arizona Telemedicine Program has been to create strong ties between the University of Arizona College of Medicine, various healthcare providers, and the state legislature. Bridges built between state agencies, local governments and legislative bodies are fostering a high level of awareness of the importance of telemedicine and e-health to achieving the state's healthcare goals. The program also serves as a platform upon which the state's only College of Medicine can demonstrate its value to exceptionally broad constituencies throughout Arizona and the nation as a clinical research center, a tertiary care facility, and as an educational institution.
