Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) uses technology to leverage scarce resources, reduces disparities in care by demonopolizing knowledge, provides case-based learning to enhance mastery of complex information and increase impact, and uses web-based databases to monitor outcomes.
IU Indianapolis ECHO Center
Description of the video:
Project ECHO is a performance optimizer. Think of it as a high speed internet connection for the healthcare system. It spreads new medical knowledge throughout the healthcare system from university medical centers and other specialty sites to the front lines of community care. Rather than information flowing in one direction, community providers learn from specialists, they learn from each other, and specialists learn from community providers as new best practices emerge. Under ECHO, community providers use video technology to participate in guided practice with specialist mentors.
They acquire new skills that allow them to treat patients that they otherwise would have referred out. Patients with complex chronic conditions get high quality care where they live from providers they know. No waiting months to see a specialist. No long drives back and forth to get critical care. ECHO exponentially increases access to specialty care by moving knowledge instead of moving patients. Suffering and pain are reduced, and lives are improved and even saved. Project ECHO - changing the world fast.
This is a cost-free partnership between local primary care providers and the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health to improve access to high-quality treatment for common, complex, and chronic diseases in Indiana. With support from interdisciplinary teams of medical specialists based in Indianapolis, the IU Indianapolis ECHO Center uses technology to facilitate mentoring and knowledge sharing, enabling clinicians to provide best-practice care locally.
25ECHO Programs to Date
1,223+Organizations Represented
8,481+Participants to Date
89Indiana Counties Joining
46 + D.C.States Represented
7Countries Represented
Benefits of Participating
- Free continuing medical education (CME) credits
- The opportunity to present your complex cases and receive feedback from IU specialists and your peers
- Improve your skills and practice at the top of your license
- Retain patients in their medical home
- Open access to all ECHO references and resources
What Happens During an ECHO Session?
Each ECHO program includes regularly scheduled sessions with a cohort of healthcare professionals from Indiana and beyond. Sessions consist of a brief lecture on a topic related to medical care and a review of 2-3 patient cases submitted by participating providers or our hub team. Cases will be thoroughly discussed in a collaborative fashion by those in the live session. Asking clarifying questions, providing treatment recommendations, barriers to care, insurance considerations, and available wrap-around services in the community. Each ECHO program aims to also address the social determinants of health of the patient case.
Key Roles of an ECHO
The Hub Team
Every ECHO program is led by a group of experts called the “Hub team.” Hub teams are comprised of subject matter experts (SMEs) in their chosen field who share their expertise and deliver training to participating community providers. Each ECHO program has a hub team of approximately 4-6 individuals made up of specialists, primary care providers, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and individuals with lived experience.
Hub team members create curriculums with topics that are timely and intentional to the program. During a live session, they share their knowledge and expertise when applicable, facilitate transdisciplinary learning, and may also be responsible for delivering content. While all hub team members are responsible for facilitating discussion, there is a designated facilitator for each live ECHO whose primary responsibility is to guide discussions, encourage participation, and foster an interactive learning environment.
The Program Management Specialist
Every ECHO program also has a designated Program Management Specialist who manages the operational and logistical aspects of the program to ensure it runs smoothly. Their responsibilities include organizing and scheduling both didactic and case speakers, coordinating communication between the hub team and program participants, supporting participant needs such as continuing education credits, and distributing educational materials. They also track data metrics to support program evaluation for continuous quality improvement.
The Program Management Specialist ensures the operational aspects of the ECHO program run smoothly while the Hub team focuses on delivering high-quality training and support. Together, the Hub team and Program Management Specialist drive the vision and goals for the program.
Land Acknowledgment
The IU Indianapolis ECHO Center acknowledges our location on the traditional and ancestral territory of the Miami, Potawatomi, and Shawnee people. We honor the heritage of Native peoples, what they teach us about the stewardship of the earth, and their continuing efforts today to protect the planet. Founded in 1969, IU Indianapolis stands on the historic homelands of Native peoples and, more recently, that of a vibrant Black community, also displaced. As the present stewards of the land, we honor them all as we live, work, and study at IU Indianapolis.Learn more about the Land Acknowledgment at IU Indianapolis
*Participants to date, Indiana counties joining, states represented and countries represented are based on iECHO registration data, Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network (NHCAN) ECHO participants, and Indiana Peer Education Program (INPEP) ECHO. The number of organizations represented is based on the organization locations our participants join from/represent through their employment with said organization per iECHO registration data.