The realization of the full potential of telemedicine has taken longer than many of us anticipated, but the COVID-19 pandemic may finally bring about that realization. By Francis J. Serbaroli, Skip Short and Ioanna Zevgaras | November 10, 2020 at 11:45 AM The COVID-19 virus has wreaked havoc upon human lives, our economy, and our health care system. […]
The American Telemedicine Association reflects on telehealth expansion during the Trump Administration and looks forward to progress under President-Elect Biden. By Hannah Nelson November 11, 2020 – In response to the results of the 2020 presidential election with America choosing former Vice President Joe Biden as its 46th president, the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) issued a statement calling for policymakers to expand […]
By: Atibhi Mehra and Anirban Panda Over the years, the healthcare sector has made considerable efforts to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach by placing the patient at the heart of the care delivery model. While it takes decades to bring about a meaningful change in a slow-moving industry such as healthcare, , […]
Although telehealth care access proved beneficial for some patients during the pandemic, in-person options were essential to promoting health equity and trust. By Sara Heath November 10, 2020 – While the COVID-19 pandemic forced other healthcare organizations to spend March and April shuttering their doors and transitioning to telehealth care access options, Cahaba Medical Care in Alabama was […]
Zoom has agreed to upgrade its security practices in a tentative settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which alleges that Zoom lied to users for years by claiming it offered end-to-end encryption. “[S]ince at least 2016, Zoom misled users by touting that it offered ‘end-to-end, 256-bit encryption’ to secure users’ communications, when in fact it […]
There may never be a better time for your medical practice to start developing its telemedicine portfolio. Recently, the federal government has made it easier for healthcare providers to provide and bill for telemedicine services. While some of these changes are temporary, applying only while the COVID-19 public health emergency persists, other changes are permanent. […]
On October 29, 2020, CMS issued the Home Health Prospective Payment System final rule [CMS-1730-F, CMS-1744-IFC, and CMS-5531-IFC], which permanently authorizes use of telecommunications technology as part of patient care under the Medicare home health benefit.[1] The final rule is another regulatory step toward CMS recognizing the critical role of virtual care in the home […]
The Federal Communications Commission will open applications Nov. 6 for its $100 million Connected Care Pilot Program, which aims to improve telehealth access for low-income Americans and veterans. The program, which was introduced by the FCC in 2018, will provide up to $100 million from the Universal Service Fund over a three-year period to help providers implement connected care […]
With forethought and the right technology on board, remote patient monitoring can be a good complement to telehealth, allowing physicians to receive data about their patients’ in real time. As the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown kept people at home to avoid getting sick, especially those with chronic health conditions, experts recommended remote patient monitoring (RPM) […]
The three-year, $100 million program, aimed at boosting broadband connectivity in underserved parts of the country to support telehealth expansion, will accept applications for one month, beginning on November 6. By Eric Wicklund November 05, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission is set to launch its Connected Care Pilot Program, a three-year, $100 million project aimed at expanding telehealth […]
CMS released or proposed five rules since Oct. 28 concerning new payment reforms, price transparency regulations and coverage of a COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s a breakdown of the five rules and proposals, beginning with the most recent: 1. CMS released a final rule Nov. 2 that updates payment rates for dialysis services. It takes effect Jan. 1. The […]
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Medicare 1135 waiver immediately expanded the use of telehealth and bypassed HIPAA requirements, allowing essentially any video chat application to be used for remote patient visits. Within days, free video chat apps of all sorts became widely used by skilled nursing facilities and practically all other healthcare provider […]
The numbers are astonishing: The use of telehealth services in the U.S. has grown from 11% of consumers in 2019 to 46% in 2020. But telemedicine was not Plan A for many of these patients. They adopted it because of the difficulty of face-to-face physician visits during the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Telemedicine can do far more than suffice […]
The 2020 Home Health Final Rule has a “significant change” that home healthcare agencies “should be paying close attention,” according to Aaron Tripp, vice president for reimbursements and financing policy at LeadingAge. During a LeadingAge Coronavirus Update call this week, Tripp noted that although the payment part of the Request for Anticipate Payment will go away next […]
The surge in telehealth brought on by COVID-19 catalyzed an era of care distribution and decentralization powered by care delivered outside the traditional healthcare facility. Business models that build on this momentum will require new payment and regulatory operating models and a frictionless experience for patients. During a fireside chat at the Becker’s Healthcare Telehealth […]
