How ECHO Works
In an ECHO program, providers present de-identified patient cases to expert teams who mentor the providers to manage patients with complex conditions. These case-based discussions are supplemented with short didactic presentations to improve content knowledge and share evidence-based practices.
Participants in an ECHO clinic can:
- Present and discuss your challenging cases.
- Enhance your ability to extend specialty care to your patients.
- Reduce your patients’ travel time and wait time for specialty care.
Participants can include: physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, community health workers, pharmacists, and emergency medical technicians.
Benefits for healthcare providers and organizations:
- Enables providers to practice at the top of their licenses, confidently treating patients with common complex conditions.
- Allows patients to stay in their local communities and receive treatment from their primary care providers.
- Enhances clinician development by enabling primary care providers to acquire new skills and competencies.
- Rural providers become part of a community of learning, increasing professional satisfaction, allowing providers
to be more productive and motivating them to stay in rural communities
longer.
Technology requirements:
You can participate in ECHO clinics using a computer with webcam and microphone, a laptop or hand-held mobile device, or a room set up for small-group videoconferencing.
Our ECHO clinics use a cloud-based video-conferencing system called Zoom, which runs reliably on both high- and low-speed internet connections.