The 10th annual meeting of the American Telemedicine Association took place at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado, April 17-20, 2005. The meeting was filled with presentations, exhibits and networking among a diverse group of attendees representing every corner of the United States and 43 other countries. The University of South Florida offered Continuing Education Credits for meeting attendees.

Educational Programs
Reflecting the growing and diverse interest in telemedicine, the meeting included over 300 peer-reviewed oral and poster presentations covering 35 subject areas from Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy to Mental Health to Wireless Applications. Presentations at the meeting also included 8 short and long courses, sessions held by partner organizations and exhibitor/customer case studies.

Five program tracks were added to the educational sessions: Home Telehealthand Remote Monitoring, Business & Finance, Health IT and Telecommunications, Federal & State Programs, and Telemedicine Success Stories: Exhibitor/Customer Case Study Presentations. The large number of presentations in each of these areas is another indication of the varied growth and vitality of the telemedicine field.

ATA President Joseph K. Kvedar, MD opened the meeting at a plenary on Sunday afternoon. The opening session included the keynote presentation by Holly G. Atkinson, MD, Award-winning Medical Journalist, whose presentation focused on the consumer: The Telemedicine Consumer Perspective (ppt).

Monday's general session included a keynote address by Colonel James A. Romano, Jr., Acting Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research & Materiel Command (USAMRMC), Fort Detrick, MD and COL Ronald K. Poropatich, M.D.. At the end of the session, the Army's General Maxwell Thurman Award was given to Gary R. Gilbert, PhD, Chief, Knowledge Engineering Group & Program Manager of the United States Army Medical Research & Materiel Command (USAMRMC), Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) Fort Detrick, MD.

Tuesday's general session included the Kenneth Bird Annual Distinguished Lecture given this year by Christopher D. McFadden, CFA from Goldman Sachs, New York, NY. Also during this session, the ATA Presidents Awards were announced as well as the Telemedicine Journal and e-Health Award. The 2005 ATA President's Award for the Advancement of Telemedicine was awarded to NORTH Network. The 2005 ATA Leadership Award for the Advancement of Telemedicine was awarded to Robert J. Waters, JD, Washington, DC. The 2005 Innovation Award was given to two organizations: iNTERFACEWARE and InTouch Health. The Journal Award was given to the paper titled: "Quebec Population and Telehealth: A Survey of Knowledge and Perceptions." For a complete listing of all the awards please visit the awards page.

Wednesday's Annual Policy Breakfast and Business meeting included remarks by the current ATA President Joseph C. Kvedar, MD and an update on the state of the Association by ATA Executive Director Jonathan D. Linkous. Reports were provided from each of the SIGs and the meeting ended with remarks from Thelma McClosky Armstrong, the incoming President of ATA.

Many of the slides and other handouts from each of the concurrent and plenary presentations are available here.

SIG and Chapter Highlights
SIG-Sponsored Short and Long Courses
Several successful SIG sponsored long and short courses were offered on Sunday to meeting attendees. The Telemental Health SIG co-hosted a long course at an off-site location. Short courses were offered by the Home Telehealth, Business and Finance, Telenursing, and Technology SIGs.

SIG Forums and Chapter Meetings
Special Interest Groups and Chapters held their annual meetings on Monday and Tuesday. Meetings were well attended and groups held lively discussions about progress and work accomplished over the past year and future goals and activities for the 2005-2006 year. The PICATA's meeting was held via videoconference to reach members in the Pacific region who were unable to attend the meeting in person. Some groups held elections or leadership changes were made as people fulfilled their term commitments. The Telerehabilitation SIG, Ocular Telehealth SIG, and the Emergency Preparedness and Response SIG plan to hold leadership elections later this month.

Home Telehealth SIG Sponsored Symposium and Track
On Monday morning the Home Telehealth SIG sponsored a Symposium in Home Telehealth and Remote Monitoring. Val Halamandaris, President of the National Association of Home Care and Hospice, was the opening plenary speaker.

Each SIG and Chapter provided a brief update to the membership at the Annual Policy Breakfast Plenary on Wednesday morning. Groups updated attendees on leadership changes and goals and priorities for the 2005-2006 coming year.

Proposed Name Change: Mental Telehealth SIG to Telemental Health SIG

Leadership changes and 2005-2006 Goals and Priorities will be posted on each SIG and Chapter web page later this month.

Exhibit Showcase
Attendees visiting the exhibition hall were able to visit booths by 115 organizations displaying the latest developments in technology and services. Commercial firms occupied over 182 booth spaces to display their products and services. Exhibitors included a wide range of companies including device manufacturers, system developers, communications and technology companies, and medical networking consultants.

ATA is planning on a number of educational events over the next year. The 2006 Annual Meeting will be held May 7-10, 2006 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.

Thanks to ALL for making
ATA 2005 a success!

ATA 2005 Attendees: