New Mexico Telehealth Program Shows Promise for Chronic Illness Care
Historical research note (November 2026): This article summarizes May 2011 reporting about the University of New Mexico’s Project ECHO. The figures of 298 teams and more than 10,000 specialty-care consultations describe activity through March 2011; they are not current program totals and do not, by themselves, establish improved patient outcomes. See the 2011 peer-reviewed Health Affairs study and the University of New Mexico’s April 23, 2026 update.
The following historical report describes Project ECHO, a clinician education and case-consultation model developed at the University of New Mexico:
A New Mexico-based program that uses telehealth technology and case-based learning helped increase the number of consultations provided for hepatitis C and other chronic diseases, according to a 2011 Health Affairs study, CMIO reports (CMIO, 5/20).
About the Project
The initiative — called Project ECHO, or Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes — enables specialists from the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center to partner with primary care providers in rural and underserved areas of the state.
The primary care providers undergo an orientation and training at UNM’s School of Medicine in Albuquerque, where they learn about the project’s communication technology and weekly telehealth clinics (Fleming, “Health Affairs Blog,” Health Affairs, 5/19).
For the telehealth clinics, UNM specialists and disease-specific teams of primary care providers meet weekly via videoconference to review specific cases. The specialists and health care providers also work together to coordinate care for patients with chronic illnesses.
Project ECHO also provides online disease management tools to aid in patient consultations and a centralized database to monitor patient outcomes.
Study Findings
According to the study, fewer than 1,600 New Mexico residents had received treatment for hepatitis C and chronic liver disease before Project ECHO began its pilot program in 2003.
However, by March 2011, 298 Project ECHO teams had collaborated on more than 10,000 consultations for hepatitis C and other chronic conditions, the study found.
Expansion of Project
Organizers of the initiative have expanded Project ECHO to address other chronic conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and pediatric obesity. In addition, the Project ECHO model is being replicated at the University of Chicago and the University of Washington in Seattle (CMIO, 5/20).
Original report: iHealthBeat, May 20, 2011 (historical source).
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