Project ECHO Distributes Medical Knowledge

As the associate executive director of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva oversees significant advances in the practice and research of pediatric medicine. In 2016, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva participated in the national conference of ECHO: the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes, a partner of the AAP.

Originating at the University of New Mexico, ECHO provides a model of delivering knowledge and experience from advanced medical facilities to underserved populations of the state, particularly those in rural areas. One goal of ECHO is to spread information about children and youth who have epilepsy.

ECHO links primary care doctors in the field with specialists at major medical centers in real time via telehealth technology. Utilising this communications technology, specialists can use case-based learning and clinical management tools to train outlying primary care providers in advanced treatment methods. 

Each week, centrally located doctors go on “virtual grand rounds” with local providers, analyzing cases and devising new methods of treatment. Participants in these learning events develop skills for conditions in addition to epilepsy, such as chronic pain or hepatitis C.

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