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Empirical evidence for the effects of ECHO and ECHO-like models (EELM) on patient and provider outcomes remains modest

• Based on a literature review and a technical expert panel, the quality of evidence for the effectiveness of EELM is rated as "low" or "very low" based on generally accepted systems of measurement. However, it is important to note that many models of care delivery are supported only by low-quality evidence.
• In the areas that researchers have measured, EELM mostly show positive effects.
• The intention of EELM is to increase access to specialty care by educating generalist health providers, particularly those in locales with limited access such as rural and remote areas. However, there is a need for targeted funding to evaluate EELM effectively.

Across the United States and internationally, multiple health care sites have embraced technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity-building models. Such models use technology to connect generalist providers, often located in remote areas, with specialist teams that help train these providers to deliver care for patients with conditions that they might not feel adequately prepared to handle but are nevertheless within their scope of practice. The first implementation of this model, Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), launched in 2003 in New Mexico. Project ECHO began with a focus on supporting the management of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in rural regions of the state. This model has since been adapted to many different sites within the United States and other countries, and these models now address a wide range of medical conditions and other issues that providers face. This report documents what is known about ECHO and ECHO-like models (EELM). Generally speaking, the quality of evidence for the effectiveness of EELM could use improvement, but EELM mostly show positive effects in the small but growing body of research of EELM, which thus far measures more provider outcomes than patient outcomes.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  EELM in Context: History, Promise, and Challenges

• Chapter Three

  Methods

• Chapter Four

  Findings: Inventory

• Chapter Five

  Findings: Evidence Review

• Chapter Six

  Findings of Technical Expert Panel: Evaluation Options

• Chapter Seven

  Example Evaluation Study Designs

• Chapter Eight

  Implications and Conclusions

• Appendix A

  Search Technique for Inventory

• Appendix B

  Search Technique for Evidence Review

• Appendix C

  Studies Used in Evidence Review

• Appendix D

  Studies Considered as Examples of EELM Evaluations

• Appendix E

  Case Studies: Technology-Based Health Care Collaborative Learning & Capacity- Building Models

• Appendix F

  Inventory