The implications of pulling back access to virtual care now would be nothing less than significant. The broad mandates that expanded telehealth coverage for Medicare and Medicaid recipients due to the COVID-19 pandemic are proving their worth. Many patients who typically didn’t have ready (or sometimes any) access to this type of coverage are now being reached. […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has clarified how providers can use telehealth and mHealth to establish and run remote patient monitoring programs, with changes that some feel could hinder care at home. The federal government is clarifying how it regulates remote patient monitoring, with changes that could significantly affect – and potentially restrict […]
COVID-19 sparked historic patient engagement technology adoption, but healthcare will need to lean on provider testimony to keep these gains. If healthcare wants to keep up the gains in patient engagement technology adoption it saw at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s going to need to tap the providers that patients trust, according to […]
HHS, FCC and USDA on Sept. 1 signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on efforts to improve telehealth services and address health disparities in rural areas. The Rural Telehealth Initiative ultimately aims to use telehealth to supplement gaps in the healthcare system for rural Americans, who have been impacted by hospital closures and lack of specialty […]
Over the past five months, Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have dramatically, but temporarily, expanded coverage and reimbursement for telehealth services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes are in effect for the duration of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Public Health Emergency (PHE). As there are significant […]
On August 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) updates for the 2021 calendar year, addressing among other policy changes how CMS will treat telehealth codes for the duration of and following the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Background: CMS’ Process for Reviewing New Telehealth Codes CMS […]
This article will explore Medicaid expansion during COVID-19. We all know that COVID has uprooted our lives. Telehealth is the new post-COVID norm, whereas it was in infancy pre-COVID. Perhaps the pandemic has spurred on Medicaid expansion as well. I would be remiss if I did not mention that increased practice of telehealth and Medicaid […]
The rapid adoption of virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic may be winding down compared to levels it reached early in the COVID-19 pandemic. But that shift marked a “sea change” in healthcare that will have a long-term impact on how care is delivered, said Mayo Clinic health IT leader John Halamka. “Organizations were at 5% telehealth visits […]
COVID-19 accelerated adoption of a digital front door, introducing virtual care access at scale. How can organizations utilize that door after the pandemic wanes? Healthcare organizations looking to unlock the digital front door in healthcare should build up their health IT infrastructure, consider a patient-centered approach, and factor in the impact virtual care will have […]
Telehealth has recently taken off as a way to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, but even though telehealth has been around for several years, clinics had difficulty adopting it pre-COVID-19. This caused clinics to not view telehealth as a viable option, and it was often seen as a last resort approach to healthcare. As reducing […]
What is telehealth?The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defines telehealth as the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support and promote long-distance clinical health care, patient andprofessional health-related education, and public health and healthadministration. Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, storeand-forward imaging, streaming media, […]
Telehealth plays an increasingly critical part in treating patients, improving health outcomes and lowering costs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to work together on the Rural Telehealth Initiative, a joint effort to collaborate and share information to address health […]
Finalized policy changes expand new technology add-on payment pathway for certain antimicrobials On September 2, CMS issued the FY 2021 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System and Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTCH) final rule, which includes important provisions designed to ensure access to potentially life-saving diagnostics and therapies for hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries. The changes […]
On August 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) updates for the 2021 calendar year, addressing among other policy changes how CMS will treat telehealth codes for the duration of and following the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Background: CMS’ Process for Reviewing New Telehealth Codes CMS […]
Improvements in access, usability and scheduling brought on by the pandemic will outlast the current public health crisis. Five months after COVID-19 was formally declared a pandemic, the disease continues to deeply impact the healthcare and life sciences industry. Care providers are faced with critical shortages of both staff and supplies. COVID-19 has deeply exacerbated […]
