About the AT&T Center for Telehealth Research and Policy at UTMB

Goals and mission statement

The specific measurable goals of the AT&T Center are as follows:

The mission of the AT&T Center for Telehealth Research and Policy is to operate sponsored programs in experimental telehealth, perform outcomes studies, and undertake policy development in the areas of telemedicine, telehealth, and technology-supported medicine.

The center studies the operational, clinical, and distance education programs of the UTMB Electronic Health Network, as well as the industry as a whole. It also is an information clearinghouse on telehealth issues, nationally and internationally. Critical research on outcomes, effectiveness, and best practices in telehealth take place in the center, whose staff also develops, promotes, and communicates policies relating to telehealth.

The AT&T Center for Telehealth Research and Policy at UTMB, the only center devoted entirely to the scientific study of telemedicine and the development of telehealth policy in the United States, was founded in 2002 with a generous grant from the SBC Foundation (now the AT&T Foundation). By funding the AT&T Center as early as 2002, the AT&T Foundation showed great foresight in placing the center and UTMB at the forefront of telehealth research.

What is telehealth?

Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health, and health administration. Technologies used in telehealth typically are videoconferencing, the Internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications.

Telehealth focuses on the transfer of basic patient information over networks and the diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and education of patients using systems that allow access to expert advice and patient information. A technical definition of telehealth technology would include those devices and software that enable health care providers and educators to diagnose, consult with, monitor, treat, and educate patients and consumers remotely. In order for the devices and software to be effective, however, it is necessary to integrate technology with health care applications and clinical procedures. The integration of devices and applications with clinical processes must then be integrated with provider workflow or protocols that would add value to a network of providers and patients.

Contact information

AT&T Center for Telehealth Research and Policy
Electronic Health Network
University of Texas Medical Branch
301 University Blvd.
Galveston, TX 77555-1042