Indian Health Services Network Expands Telemedicine Alliance with Avel eCare

Federal agency enters new multi-year partnership with Avel eCare with additional telemedicine services to improve the health of tribal communities and ensure access to care in rural areas.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Aug. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Avel eCare today announced it has entered into a new strategic partnership with the Indian Health Services (IHS), a department within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This partnership enables Avel eCare to deliver telemedicine services to more than 145,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives in the rural Midwest health network for the next five years and expands the existing program to include sexual assault medical forensic exams (eSANE) and psychiatric support for emergency departments in the Great Plains Area.

"Telemedicine is one of the best ways to ensure vital access to quality healthcare in these remote, hard-to-reach tribal communities. Before this, many tribal members would either travel hundreds of miles to see a doctor or forgo care altogether. We look forward to furthering our impact on the lives of patients and providers and continuing our work addressing health disparities for this vulnerable population," said Brian Erickson, Vice President and GM of Behavioral Health and Specialty Clinic at Avel eCare.

More than half of the American Indian population live in rural areas, and statistics show American Indians have a life expectancy that is 5.5 years less than the average.

Avel eCare began its relationship with IHS in 2017 when the telemedicine provider was awarded a contract to deliver Specialty Clinic services to reservations in the Great Plains Area, which includes Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. In 2019, the partnership expanded into the Billings Area across Montana and Wyoming.

In the past five years, Avel eCare's providers have scheduled more than 50,000 appointments, transforming care delivery to American Indian patients and helping restore health equity in the process.

For more information on Avel eCare's telemedicine services, visit: www.avelecare.com/services

Avel eCare offers the largest and most comprehensive virtual health networks in the world, partnering with more than 650 health care systems, rural hospitals, outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities, schools, and correctional facilities across the country. 

Media Contact:
Andrea LePain
[email protected]
617-894-1153

SOURCE Avel eCARE/eMedia Junction