"I am delighted and honored to have been appointed to the board," said Yellowlees, who also is the director of the graduate Health Informatics program at UC Davis. "With the passage of health-care reform legislation this is a critical time to promote the efficacy of telemedicine here and around the world."
Yellowlees pioneered the use of telemedicine in psychiatry starting in the early 1990s, when he became one of the first psychiatrists to treat patients using the then-emerging technology. In addition to telemedicine, Yellowlees is an expert in all aspects of health informatics — which includes the acquisition, storage, retrieval and use of information in medicine — and virtual reality.
An ATA member for more than 10 years, Yellowlees will serve on the 14-member board of directors for four years. He also is the primary author of the organization's guidelines for the use of videoconferencing in mental health. He presented a paper on "Store-and-Forward Telepsychiatry," a practice in which clinical data is stored on one computer and then forwarded to a practitioner at another location for review.
Attended by more than 3,000 participants from throughout the United States and more than 35 countries, the annual ATA meeting highlights telemedicine best practices and advances training. Established in 1993, the American Telemedicine Association is the leading resource and advocate promoting access to medical care for consumers and health professionals via telecommunications technology. ATA seeks to bring together diverse groups from traditional medicine, academic medical centers, technology and telecommunications companies, e-health, medical societies, government and others to overcome barriers to the advancement of telemedicine through the professional, ethical and equitable improvement in health-care delivery. The organization is based in Washington, D.C.
The UC Davis Center for Health and Technology is a recognized leader for its innovative use of the latest in telecommunications technology to improve the delivery of health care. The center pioneered the use of telehealth and e-health programs to enable patients from throughout California to receive direct clinical and specialty care without leaving their own communities. The center also encompasses well-established programs in distance education and medical informatics, as well as a telemedicine learning center. These programs provide specialty services throughout California to rural hospitals and clinics, offering easy access to continuing medical and nursing education for clinicians, administrators and other health-care providers. More than 500 courses are available via interactive video-conferencing, interactive webcasting and on-demand video. The center also plays an important role in use of high-tech communications for emergency preparedness.