Resources and FAQs

ECHO, which stands for Extension for Community Health Outcomes, was developed in 2003 by Dr. Sanjeev Arora at the University of New Mexico (UNM). Project ECHO provides a powerful framework for sharing medical expertise across regions, ensuring patients receive high-quality care while staying connected to the providers they trust and the communities where they live and work.

By utilizing technology, ECHO leverages medical knowledge to reduce disparities in care and promotes case-based learning to help healthcare providers master new skills. Evaluations of ECHO programs at UNM and globally have shown increased patient and provider satisfaction, improved patient retention in their medical home, better or equal health outcomes, and enhanced provider retention in underserved areas. Additionally, the program has been linked to reduced treatment costs for late-stage diseases and strengthened public health prevention efforts.

The ECHO model is not 'traditional telemedicine' where the specialist assumes care of the patient, but instead is a guided practice model where the participating healthcare providers retain responsibility for managing their patients. In other words, specialists at the IU Indianapolis ECHO Center provide telementorship to participating providers who are learning how to apply best practice strategies in their own practices.

Primary care providers from multiple locations around the state of Indiana connect at regularly scheduled times with a team of specialists using the Zoom app. During ECHO sessions providers present patient cases to specialist expert teams who mentor the providers to manage patients with common, complex conditions. These case-based discussions are supplemented with short didactic presentations to improve content knowledge and share evidence-based best practices.

Project ECHO is a unique tool that enables providers to improve their expertise while treating patients with common complex conditions rather than referring them to specialists. Patients will receive care in their local communities with providers they trust – you. As a participant, you will have weekly access to a panel of experts and a community of colleagues from around the state who are committed to improving patient care. Participating in ECHO can increase patient retention in your practice and improve patient satisfaction.

• Provider Development & Retention
  Through Project ECHO, primary care providers acquire new skills and competencies, expanding access to care. They become part of a community of learners, increasing professional satisfaction and decreasing feelings of professional isolation. For a health center, this means that providers are more productive and stay in their positions longer.
• Continued Learning
  Health centers and their providers also enjoy no-cost access to continued learning and specialist consultations during the ECHO sessions. This enables health centers to be part of a knowledge network.
• Increased Efficiency
  ECHO has allowed health centers to see more patients and to better utilize their staff to serve more patients overall. The model allows health centers to be part of a professional network and referral network, making it easier to get patients in to be seen, a process that previously could take weeks. This standardization of ‘best practices’ also strengthens the health system as a whole.

• Didactic presentation of a topic related to medical care.
• Presentation of a patient case(s) by participating providers such as yourself.
• Discussion amongst all the healthcare professionals joining virtually to work through each case in a collaborative fashion and receive guidance from the multidisciplinary expert hub team.

Yes, AMA PRA Category Credit(s)™ is available for most ECHO programs and are awarded by the Indiana University School of Medicine.

The Indiana University School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Standards for Commercial Support, educational programs sponsored by the Indiana University School of Medicine must demonstrate balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor.

For questions about CMEs, please contact:
Division of Continuing Education in Healthcare Professions
(317) 274-0104
cme@iu.edu
cme.medicine.iu.edu