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The Partnership Access Line (PAL) at Seattle Children’s Hospital is a child psychiatry consultation program operating in Washington, Wyoming, and Alaska specifically designed to support primary care providers in providing adequate mental health care. Providers may call about any type of mental health issue that arises about any child, either before seeing a patient prepare for a visit or after the appointment. The consultations center on mental health care such as diagnostic clarification, medication adjustment, or treatment planning. 

PAL takes each call as a ‘teachable moment,’ instructing the provider around caring for a particular child while building capacity to administer similar care in the future. In specific cases, the PAL program also offers a one-time in-person or telemedicine appointment for patients with Medicaid. Additionally, the PAL program has a masters-level social worker available to help find mental health resources for the primary care provider’s patient. 

The UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s Hospital Child and Adolescent psychiatrists at PAL provide additional services: medication reviews for Alaska, Washington and Wyoming and psychiatric evaluations via telemedicine serve Wyoming’s Department of Family Services youth.

The UW Perinatal Psychiatry Consultation Line (Perinatal PCL, PAL for Moms) is a state-funded program providing consultation, recommendations and referrals for providers caring for pregnant or postpartum patients with mental health conditions and co-occurring substance use disorders.

Providers call 877.725.4666 (877.PAL.4MOM), complete a brief intake and consult with a UW perinatal psychiatrist, usually immediately or within one business day. After the consultation, providers receive written documentation of recommendations and resources. The phone line is answered weekdays 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. but providers can leave a message at any time.

For more information, contact ppcl@uw.edu or visit the PERC Center to learn more about UW training and resources for perinatal mental health.

The UW Psychiatry Consultation Line (PCL) can help care providers in Washington state who are seeking clinical advice regarding adult patients (18+) with mental health and/or substance use disorders. The program is fast, free and connects providers to faculty psychiatrists at UW Medicine. The line is available 24/7 for prescribing providers and Monday - Friday 8 - 5 p.m. for non-prescribing providers.

Providers call 877.WA.PSYCH (877.927.7924) and complete a short intake prior to discussing the case with a UW Medicine psychiatrist. At the conclusion of the conversation, the caller will receive brief written documentation of the recommendations via email.

For more information, email PCLWA@uw.edu or visit pcl.psychiatry.uw.edu.

The UW Medicine telestroke program connects hospitals in the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI) region to board-certified vascular (stroke) neurologists at the state’s first Joint Commission Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center at Harborview Medical Center . Using a combination of phone, video and internet technologies*, UW Medicine vascular neurologists work with emergency medicine providers to perform patient assessments, review neuroimaging and recommend acute stroke treatments with transfer if appropriate. Our stroke specialists provide comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care at Harborview Medical Center for all types of acute stroke, stroke sequelae and stroke prevention.

If your organization is interested in partnering with the UW Medicine Comprehensive Stroke Center for emergent stroke consultations, please contact us at 206.744.3975 or stroke@uw.edu.

For more information about the telestroke program, download the brochure.

*A contract is required for the full package of support and services.

Help is just a phone call away. The UW Pain & Opioid Consultation Hotline 844.520.PAIN (7246) is available for health care providers, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. For more information, visit the consultation page.

UW Division of Pain Medicine pain pharmacists and physicians provide clinical advice for healthcare providers caring for patients with complex pain medication regimens, particularly high dose opioids. Consultations can include:

• Individualized case consultation for client care and medication management  
• Interpretation of WA Prescription Monitoring Program record to provide guidance to primary care providers on dosing
• Individualized opioid taper plans         
• Systematic management of withdrawal syndrome       
• Evaluation and recommendation for non-opioid/adjuvant analgesic treatment
• Consultation regarding triage and risk screening
• Resource for support of evaluation of Substance Use Disorder Washington Recovery Help Line 866-789-1511             
• Education/review Center for Disease Control (CDC) opioid guidelines: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/rr/rr6501e1.htm         
• Provide resources for local pain clinics for patient referrals: 
• http://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/PainClinicClosures/PainClinicAvailability    
• Also available: “TelePain Pain Management Education and Case Consultation Series,” which meets requirements for consultation by a pain specialist provider in accordance with WAC 246-919-860: Wednesdays from 12:00-1:30 p.m. http://depts.washington.edu/anesth/care/pain/telepain

Please note: UW consultants are not able to take over prescribing of opioid or other medications; it is the PCP’s responsibility to prescribe as appropriate. Pain pharmacists are consultants to help guide providers, therefore not liable for any information provided. This phone consultation is not intended to replace consultation by a pain specialist provider in accordance with WAC 246-919-860 and constitute a patient-provider relationship.

UW Medicine will be conducting a virtual Cardiometabolic Project ECHO. Our goal is to inform Primary Care Providers and pharmacists from federally qualified health centers and organizations in the WWAMI region, and to increase the capacity for PCPs to care for their patients living with chronic disease. The sessions aim to improve therapeutic inertia and enhance equity for those living with diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Sessions are held every other Wednesday, from 12:30 - 1:45 p.m. PST.

The first 3,500 providers to register and attend sessions will be able to receive free CME and maintenance of certification (MOC). Our program is ACPE-accredited, and pharmacists can register and attend sessions to claim free CPE. All live sessions will be recorded and made available on-demand and can be used for further learning, CME/CPE, and MOC.

Register here. For more information contact our project coordinator at cmECHO@uw.edu.

The cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) ECHO clinics connect experts in the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences to community mental health providers from rural and underserved areas to enhance capacity to deliver CBT for psychosis (CBTp), an evidence-based psychotherapeutic treatment for schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

In Washington, two bi-weekly CBT ECHO clinics enable providers to build proficiency in individual and group-based CBTp.

Sessions are open to providers who have participated in a preliminary CBTp training (either in person or virtually).

The clinics advance efforts to enhance access to care for individuals with serious mental illness and create self-sustaining communities of practice among CBTp providers.

This is the first ECHO program in the world focused exclusively on schizophrenia spectrum disorders and the first ECHO program to assist providers in developing competencies in group or individual evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions. Contact the implementation team at cbtecho@uw.edu.

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ECHO Autism Washington is a recurring telehealth training designed to disseminate evidence-based practices in diagnosis and management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to primary care providers identified through the existing Health Care Authority Centers of Excellence system. ECHO Autism Washington is a partnership between UW LEND and the Washington State Legislature. Learning takes place through case presentations and didactics from an interdisciplinary panel of experts with the goal of increasing access to medical services for people across Washington State impacted by ASD. Contact echoautismwa@uw.edu for more information.

The First Episode Psychosis (FEP) ECHO clinic connects experts in the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences with clinicians across the Washington State New Journeys early intervention network to enhance delivery of coordinated specialty care for youth and young adults experiencing a first episode of psychosis.

• Sessions are currently open only to members on a Washington State New Journeys team.
• Members receive continuing clinical education and team-based consultation around challenging clinical scenarios.  
• The clinic advances efforts to enhance access to care for individuals experiencing a first episode psychosis and to facilitate self-sustaining early intervention teams across geographically diverse areas of the state.

The UW FEP ECHO clinic is one of three ECHO clinics in the nation focused exclusively on first episode psychosis. For more information, contact the implementation team at fepecho@uw.edu or learn more about UW training and resources for first episode psychosis at http://depts.washington.edu/ebpa/projects/fep.

The University of Washington, Family Health Centers of San Diego, the ECHO Institute at the University of New Mexico, and University of Colorado have collaborated to provide a monthly webinar-style ECHO learning session to rapidly disseminate Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) findings and emerging best practices. This large-scale national monthly ECHO webinar series will offer brief didactic presentations by subject matter experts, examples of emerging best practices and models of care, and a facilitated Q&A.

Learn more and register to attend.

The Programs for Assertive Community Care (PACT) ECHO clinic connects experts in the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences to community mental health providers working on PACT teams throughout the state of Washington. PACT is an evidence-based practice for individuals experiencing serious mental illness in which a multi-disciplinary team provides psychiatric, psychotherapeutic, nursing, and other rehabilitative and behavioral health services to individuals living with serious mental illness directly in the community. The PACT ECHO clinic:

• Occurs monthly, and is open to all PACT teams within Washington state.
• Follows a standard ECHO format, in which each session generally consists of a didactic from the UW panel or a guest speaker, followed by a case presentation by a PACT team seeking clinical consultation from the UW panel and the rest of the PACT attendees.
• Supplements the UW's other training, consultation, and fidelity review projects for PACT, and provides an open forum for PACT teams to discuss challenges and successes amongst a learning community of their peers.

This is among the first ECHO program in the world focused exclusively on schizophrenia spectrum disorders and the first ECHO program to focus particularly on PACT or ACT. For more information, contact the implementation team at PACTecho@uw.edu or visit https://depts.washington.edu/ebpa/projects/pact.

In a virtual classroom, Project ECHO Dementia brings together experts in dementia and frontline care providers throughout Washington state who wish to become regional/local experts in dementia detection, diagnosis and support. Our focus is on rural and under-represented populations.

Sessions are held the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month from 12:15 - 1:30 p.m. PST. Spoke site participants are generally MDs, DOs, ARNPs, RNs, PAs and social workers.

Find resources here or contact Allyson Schrier (allysons@uw.edu).

Through Project ECHO-Geriatrics, a multidisciplinary team from the University of Washington assists primary care clinicians in the care of geriatric patients.

• Sessions are held on the third Friday of the month, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
• The project primarily targets residents within the Family Medicine Residency Network, which includes 29 residency programs across the WWAMI region.
• We also welcome participation from all clinical staff, including faculty, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, social workers, pharmacists and students in training. 

To learn more or participate, contact Aimee Verrall (email) or Katherine Bennett, MD (email, 206.744.6458).

For family advocates, care coordinators, case managers, resource navigators, Health Care Workers, parent and self-advocates, clinicians and any other professionals who support the IDD/ASD population and seek to gain deeper understanding and knowledge of IDD/ASD resources, services, information and supports. Sessions cover discussion of resources, services, supports and information related to individuals with IDD/ASD diagnosis, ages 0 through the lifespan.

Sessions are held the 3rd Wednesday of each month, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. PST. Learn more or participate.

For providers across Washington state who are managing the psychiatric care of youth and young adults with IDD and behavioral health needs and are enrolled or considering enrollment with a Medicaid Managed Care Organization.

Sessions are held the 1st Wednesday of every month from March 2, 2022 – February 8, 2023 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. PST. Learn more or participate.

ECHO IDD Wraparound is a recurring telehealth program designed to provide training and support to Washington state’s community healthcare providers who work with children and young adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) and behavioral health needs. This program is a partnership between Washington State’s Health Care Authority and the UW Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program. The program’s interdisciplinary resource team includes experts from the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Autism Center (SCAC). By creating a unique partnership between community care providers and IDD and behavioral health specialists at UW and SCAC, we will enrich and empower each other in practice and work collectively to enhance care for children and young adults with dual diagnosis and their families. These bimonthly clinic sessions include learning and teaching through case presentations and didactics. Please contact echoiddd@uw.edu for more information. 

The University of Washington Tele-Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (UW TASP) supports hospitals in the fight against antibiotic resistance through infectious disease tele-education and mentoring and by providing Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) resources, toolkits, policies and procedures.

The UW TASP community are physicians, nurses, pharmacists, infection preventionists, microbiologists and other allied healthcare professionals all with the common goal of improving patient care. Faculty include UW physicians, pharmacists, microbiologists and nurses who are clinicians, researchers and teachers.

UW TASP combines:

• Weekly teleconferences with clinical didactics and case presentations
• Detailed, written recommendations and assessments of case presentations
• Tele-mentoring with UW infectious disease physicians, pharmacists, nurses and clinical microbiologists
• Resource library with supporting literature, policies and procedure templates for AMS, Employee Health and Infection Prevention
• AMS site assessment and annual site visits
• Remote grand rounds
• Annual conference

For additional information please visit uwtasp.org.

TB Project ECHO goal is to mentor and share learning opportunities with clinicians and public health professionals who manage patients with latent tuberculosis (TB) infection and/or TB disease in Washington state and the greater Pacific Northwest region.

Sessions are held each Monday, 12:30-1:30 p.m. PST. Every session is built around patient management questions that participants submit for discussion and recommendations. At least once a month, sessions also include a brief didactic. Participants access TB Project ECHO remotely and may earn continuing medical education and continuing nursing education credits for didactic sessions.

TB Project ECHO is a collaborative project between the Washington State Department of Health, Seattle & King County Public Health, Firland Northwest TB Center and the University of Washington.

To learn more or participate, contact the WA State Department of Health, TB Program at TBServices@doh.wa.gov or call 206.418.5500.

Traumatic Brain Injury - Behavioral Health ECHO connects front-line providers with specialists to discuss evidence-based treatments and case consultation on the management of behavioral health problems in patients with TBI.

Sessions are held online monthly every 1st and 3rd Fridays at 12:00-1:30 PM PST. For additional information please visit https://tbi-bh-echo.psychiatry.uw.edu/.

Mountain West AIDS Education and Training Center (MWAETC) delivers in-depth clinical mentorship and training to build the confidence and skills of rural, low-volume healthcare providers and clinics in the western U.S. so they can provide high-quality human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care to patients.

Using secure, fully interactive videoconferencing, MWAETC ECHO offers weekly online interactive clinical updates and comprehensive educational case discussions with community healthcare providers and a multidisciplinary panel of experts in infectious disease, addiction medicine, psychiatry, family medicine, pharmacy, social work and case management.

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UW Psychiatry and Addictions Case Conference​​ series (UW PACC) is a CME-accredited program designed to expand the mental health and addictions care capacity of healthcare professionals, especially in remote, underserved areas of Washington. The series is appropriate for primary care providers including MDs, ARNPs, PAs and mental health providers wishing to engage in a proven model of distance learning. UW PACC sessions take place every Thursday 12:00-1:30 p.m.

Each session will include a 20-minute educational presentation from the year-long curriculum, followed by in-depth case consultations between community providers and a panel of experts in mental health and addictions at the UW. The goal of UW PACC is to develop a regional peer learning and support network for treating mental health and addictions that will ultimately result in better patient care.

We invite you to participate and encourage you to bring some of your clinical case questions to the discussion by submitting a Case Consultation. Feel free to join at any time and attend as regularly as you wish.

REGISTER

Submit a case for discussion

Please contact us with any questions at uwpacc@uw.edu or visit http://ictp.uw.edu/programs/uw-pacc.

Project ECHO for Viral Hepatitis is a UW Medicine project to mentor clinicians in underserved and rural areas treating hepatitis B and C. Through weekly videoconferences, it provides participants with access to: 

• UW Medicine specialists in infectious disease, hepatology and addiction medicine
• Brief updates on evidence-based strategies to diagnose, treat and manage viral hepatitis
• Continuing medical education credits per hour of participation
• Phone consultation with specialists during non-scheduled time if patients experience complications

Sessions are held each Tuesday, 12-1:30 p.m.

Since 2008, more than 100 clinics have participated, presenting nearly 3,000 patients. The strategy is as safe and effective as in-person, specialty care.

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