Who is TAO?

The Telehealth Alliance of Oregon (TAO) is a non-profit membership organization.  Membership is open to anyone interested in supporting the mission and goals of the organization. TAO welcomes telehealth service providers, organizations interested in providing telehealth services,

 suppliers of equipment, software or transport for telehealth services,  healthcare insurance providers or anyone interested in improving healthcare through telecommunications.

TAO's Vision

Access to affordable quality healthcare for all Oregonians

TAO's Mission

To advance telehealth knowledge, practice and policy in Oregon

TAO's Goals

Improve access to high quality health care and healthcare workforce education through the use of broadband telecommunications;
Promote collaborations that advance the use of telehealth to deliver affordable high quality health care;
Provide and promote education about telehealth;
Provide technical assistance to existing telehealth programs or healthcare providers seeking to establish telehealth programs in Oregon; and
Promote research that supports appropriate decision-making for telehealth providers, insurers and policy makers.

TAO's Priorities

Developing and providing specific resources to health care providers that include:

• evaluation and selection of equipment and software needed to provide a broad array of telehealth services;
• planning, developing and implementing  telehealth programs;
• management of telehealth programs; and
• information regarding telehealth policies and regulations at the State and Federal levels.

Providing a vehicle for organizations and practitioners to aggregate demand for purchasing telecommunications services to gain the benefits of economies of scale necessary to make telehealth services affordable;

Providing technical and research assistance to aid organizations, agencies and providers in making decisions about their technology and telecommunications services needs;

Investigating and studying conditions and possibilities that will result in the removal of barriers to telehealth services providers in serving Oregonians;

Assembling and coordinating information relative to the status, scope, cost and possibilities of improving telehealth services in Oregon and reporting such information to the health care community, state policy makers, and the telecommunications services community;

Publishing, disseminating and distributing information and statistics acquired on the impacts of the improvements, or the lack thereof, of telehealth services in Oregon; and

Cooperating with health care providers, payers, telecommunications providers, planning agencies and policy makers for the purpose of promoting collaborations to improve access to and delivery of telehealth services.

TAO History

TAO began in 2001 as a committee of the Oregon Telecommunications Coordinating Council.  The Council was created by the legislature and served as advisors to the Governor and the legislature regarding telecommunications in Oregon.  At the time there was intense interest in telemedicine and healthcare workforce education in the state.  The committee soon realized that there were enormous challenges to be dealt with if telehealth was to grow beyond the handful of grant-funded programs scattered throughout the state.  The committee believed that they would be better able to accomplish the tasks before them if they forms a separate organization. TAO was incorporated in 2005 and was recognized as a 501(c)(3) by the IRS in 2007.  TAO is governed by a 15 member volunteer board and currently has no paid staff.