Project ECHO

Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a teleconsulting and telementoring partnership between MD Anderson specialists and providers in rural and underserved communities.

Our Goal

Build capacity among community based clinicians via case-based learning and co-management of patients by using videoconferencing technology integrated with clinical management tools to connect primary care providers in rural and underserved areas with specialty consultants.

Overview and Proof of Concept

Project ECHO was developed in 2003 by Dr. Sanjeev Arora of the University of New Mexico (UNM) in response to a high prevalence of untreated Hepatitis C (HCV) in the state. Dr. Arora conducted weekly videoconferences with primary care providers in 16 community clinics and 5 prisons in New Mexico. Patient cases were presented, and a multidisciplinary team at the UNM provided clinical mentoring, evidence-based advice on patient management and regular didactic education sessions. At the end of the three year period, the outcomes of patients treated by primary care providers who participated in Project ECHO were no different than patients treated by specialists at UNM. The results of this study were published in 2011 in the New England Journal of Medicine and concluded that the ECHO model is safe and effective in helping to manage patients with HCV in underserved communities.   

The Project ECHO model has since expanded to manage over 100 complex conditions including infectious diseases, rheumatologic diseases, chronic pain, addiction, HIV, diabetes, complex multisystem disease, cancer prevention and hospice care. Currently over 320 academic centers around the U.S. and globally serve as ECHO hubs.