AHRQ Grantee Profile: Sanjeev Arora, M.D., Developer of Project ECHO

AHRQ’s latest grantee profile explains how Sanjeev Arora, M.D., a liver specialist at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, used AHRQ funding to develop a system that helps deliver evidence-based health care to rural and underserved patients. The program, Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes, or Project ECHO, connects specialist mentors with local providers who acquire new skills and expertise via weekly virtual clinics. Additional AHRQ funding is now supporting some states that use this model for opioid-addiction treatment. Learn more about Project ECHO and access profiles of other AHRQ grantees who have made significant contributions to health services research. In additions, check out Director Andy Bindman’s new AHRQ Views blog post about how Project ECHO is helping to translate evidence into practice, and learn more about AHRQ grants and other funding opportunities.

Project ECHO: A Revolution in Medical Education and Care Delivery

Project ECHO is a lifelong learning and guided practice model that revolutionizes medical education and exponentially increases workforce capacity to provide best-practice specialty care and reduce health disparities. The heart of the ECHO model™ is its hub-and-spoke knowledge-sharing networks, led by expert teams who use multi-point videoconferencing to conduct virtual clinics with community providers. In this way, primary care doctors, nurses, and other clinicians learn to provide excellent specialty care to patients in their own communities.

People need access to specialty care for their complex health conditions.
There aren't enough specialists to treat everyone who needs care, especially in rural and underserved communities.
ECHO trains primary care clinicians to provide specialty care services. This means more people can get the care they need.
Patients get the right care, in the right place, at the right time. This improves outcomes and reduces costs.