HHS Secretary Leavitt Travels to Alaska to Advance Rural Health Initiatives

WASHINGTON, July 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt is visiting southern Alaska this
week to strengthen efforts to enhance health care delivery to Alaska Native
communities and to observe best practices in the region.

The three-day trip, which begins today, includes visits to two Alaska Native
villages and two regional Tribal health consortiums to better understand the
challenges of access to care; meetings with Tribal leaders to discuss the
health care goals of the Alaska Native people; and demonstrations of how
telemedicine and telehealth are employed to increase access and quality of
care to Alaska Native communities.

The use of telemedicine and telehealth is making an important impact on
improving access to health care in rural Alaska. Telemedicine is being used
to exchange medical information from one site to another via electronic
communications to improve patient health. Telehealth is the use of electronic
information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance
clinical health care. By utilizing telemedicine and telehealth, patients who
live in rural Alaska have better and timely access to critical care through
medical specialists, such as cardiology, pediatrics and radiology.

"While Alaska faces unique access to care challenges, the health care delivery
systems in place serve as model of effective telehealth and telemedicine for
other rural communities," Secretary Leavitt said. "I look forward to
continuing my work with local, state, and tribal leaders to address barriers
and increase access to care."

Secretary Leavitt will also meet with health care providers, employers, and
insurers to discuss the health care challenges in Alaska and the
transformation of the current health system into a system that delivers high
quality care at low cost. This bold vision for the health care system includes
advancing interoperable health information technology; measuring and
publishing price information to give consumers information they need to make
better decisions on purchasing health care; measuring and publishing quality
information to enable consumers to make better decisions about their care; and
promoting incentives for quality and efficiency of care.

On Thursday, Secretary Leavitt will present Acting Health Commissioner Bill
Hogan the National President's Challenge Award. Alaska was one of five states
which had the highest participation rates in the nation based on population.
The National President's Challenge, which kicked off March 20 and concluded
May 15, was a six-week program launched by the President's Council on Physical
Fitness and Sports to encourage Americans to be more active. Participants
were able to register as individuals or with a team and set goals, log their
activity and track their progress. To complete the challenge, participants 18
and older needed to be active 30 minutes a day, while youth aged 6-17 needed
to be active an hour a day.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are
available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

HHS Press Office, +1-202-690-6343