“They are really going the extra mile to get good data and good labs,” Ruge says of the specialists at the other end of the program.
A BLESSING FOR PATIENTS
The patient Newman will always remember is a man who had started using drugs, including heroin, as a young teenager. He had been incarcerated several times. Newman started giving him suboxone for opiate replacement therapy.
“He became stable, he stopped smoking, and we got some counseling in place,” Newman says. “Then we started hepatitis C treatment.”
Newman was thrilled to get the news that this young man, who is now in his 20s, has been cured of his hepatitis C. “He is planning to move to Colorado and start a whole new life,” she says, with pride. “Without the ECHO program, there would be so many people like him who would not be able to get treatment. It’s such a blessing.”
This is a sentiment Ruge echoes. During his first year and a half with the ECHO program, Ruge started 19 patients on treatment for hepatitis C. “I can honestly say probably half of them would not have been treated within the next five years, if at all,” he surmises, “because the hurdles are too great.”
Many of his patients have very low incomes, so the $30 to $40 it would cost in gas to make the trip to Albuquerque would be a barrier for them, Ruge explains. Others don’t even own a car. If any of them tried to make the trip but were delayed by a snowstorm and had to postpone their appointment, they might never reschedule, he adds.
Because of the ability to help so many, the ECHO program has made Newman feel great about her work. “I’m really happy I landed in this,” she says. “This is like a dream job.”
GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR PAs, NPs
PAs and NPs are well suited to this unique program, according to Newman. “Generally speaking, we’re given a little bit more time to talk to patients,” she says. “We tend to do more of the education piece, so I think it’s a good fit.”
Another plus: Clinicians who participate in the ECHO program can receive continuing medical education credit. And each clinic has a weekly education session or didactic presentation. “I love to learn,” Newman says. “I love having that available to me all the time. It just makes my job that much more enjoyable.”
Clinicians in other states may eventually have similar opportunities. The UNM model has been so successful at improving access to care that many other medical centers—such as the University of Chicago and the University of Washington—are taking Arora’s idea and adopting a similar system.
“It sort of spread in a way he never imagined,” Thornton says. “It’s really a great program. It provides care for people who couldn’t otherwise have it.”
For more information about the ECHO program, visit echo.unm.edu or send an e-mail to echo@salud.unm.edu.