Arizona Telemedicine Program to host state, national leaders at Telehealth Policy Summit

• What: 2023 Arizona Telehealth Policy Summit
• When: Tuesday, Oct. 24, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Where: Virginia G. Piper Auditorium, 600 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix
• Registration: https://telemedicine.arizona.edu/training/2023-arizona-telehealth-policy-summit/phoenix-virtual/2023-10-24

On Oct. 24, national and state telehealth experts will convene at the 2023 Arizona Telehealth Policy Summit in Phoenix to discuss the latest on Arizona’s telehealth policies, national telehealth policy trends, and key factors that affect telehealth at the community level.

The University of Arizona Telemedicine Program is hosting the free event, which is targeted toward health care leaders, administrators, regulators, providers, and others interested in telehealth policies and trends.

“Arizona is at the national forefront of telehealth with policies that provide for accessible health care services through the growing range of virtual care options,” said Tara Sklar, JD, MPH, associate director of Telehealth Law and Policy with the Arizona Telemedicine Program and director of the Health Law and Policy Program at the UArizona James E. Rogers College of Law. “Telehealth is at a critical point right now as states and the federal government navigate next steps in regulating virtual health care following the public health emergency.”

The program includes three panels:

• “State of Telehealth in Arizona” will feature Sen. T.J. Shope, Rep. Alma Hernandez and Rep. Patty Contreras and will be moderated by James E. Rogers College of Law Dean Marc Miller, JD.
• “National Trends in Telehealth” will feature academic health law experts Jennifer Huer, JD, LLM, interim executive director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School, David Orentlicher, MD, JD, director of the Health Law Program and Judge Jack and Lulu Lehman Professor of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Sharona Hoffman, JD, LLM, SJD, co-director of the Law-Medicine Center and Edgar A. Hahn Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University, and will be moderated by Sklar.
• “Telehealth Challenges and Opportunities at the Local Level,” will feature former senator Amanda Aguirre, president and CEO of the Regional Center for Border Health, Sandip Bhowmick, vice president of infrastructure and state broadband director at the Arizona Commerce Authority, and Kyle Sawyer, assistant director of public policy and strategic planning at the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, and will be moderated by Janet Major, associate director for innovation and digital health at the Arizona Telemedicine Program.

The summit has built-in networking opportunities for speakers and attendees during registration, a catered break and lunch. Highlights include a welcome and opening remarks from Sklar and Daniel Derksen, MD, associate vice president for health equity, outreach and interprofessional activities at UArizona Health Sciences, and a blessing and land acknowledgement from Carlos Gonzales, MD, FAAFP, assistant vice president of Indigenous affairs for the Global MD program at UArizona Health Sciences.

In-person seating is limited and registration is required. Virtual attendees will have opportunities to ask questions and make comments via moderators using the text communication features of the online seminar platform.