By making the collection of valuable patient data feasible outside of the clinic, remote monitoring can facilitate care for conditions ranging from chronic diseases to recovery from acute episodes of care. For years, it has been touted as one of the most promising opportunities for health care in the digital age. But the pandemic has […]
The press has obsessively focused on supposed government shortfalls regarding COVID-19 testing. However, virtually no attention has been given to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) vigorous and unprecedented efforts to ease regulatory requirements during the pandemic. One such effort involves “immediately in effect” enforcement policies for medical devices that are particularly needed during this health […]
Telehealth policy is changing, thanks to COVID-19, but providers worry some changes won’t last. Regulatory telehealth policy changes enacted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the COVID-19 pandemic have greatly impacted telehealth use among providers. Now, healthcare stakeholders want those changes to remain […]
Last Thursday, the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine (BORIM) approved its first permanent telehealth policy. The Board’s policy provides that: (1) a “face-to-face encounter” is not a pre-requisite for a telehealth visit; and (2) the same standard of care applies to both in-person and telehealth encounters. The Board had previously approved this policy on an “interim” basis in […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is adding almost $200 million to a rural healthcare program to help providers buy telecommunications and broadband services. Rural healthcare providers have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the loss in revenue from canceled or deferred elective procedures and the additional expense of personal protective equipment. At […]
Anticipating a boost in demand for telehealth funding–its the FCC’s $200 million in new COVID-19-related CARES Act funding is already spoken for–the FCC pointed out Tuesday (June 30) that there is almost that much more available if needed. The FCC put out a release saying it was increasing rural health care program funding for 2020, saying […]
Tuesday, June 30, 2020 On March 17, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights’ (“OCR”) announced that—for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency—it would exercise enforcement discretion and waive any potential penalties for HIPAA violations relating to health care providers’ use of “everyday communications technologies” in the provision of services via telehealth (the “HIPAA Waiver”). This move has […]
Medical associations, health systems, vendors and other stakeholders are asking Senate and House leaders to prioritize four areas when enshrining permanent changes to telemedicine regs. By Kat JercichJune 30, 2020 Three hundred and forty healthcare organizations published an open letter Monday asking Senate and House leaders to permanently enshrine changes to policies that would make telehealth accessible in […]
The Federal Communications Commission is adding almost $200 million to the Rural Health Care Program, giving providers more resources to expand broadband connectivity to support telehealth and mHealth platforms. By Eric Wicklund June 30, 2020 – Federal officials are adding almost $200 million to a fund designed to help rural healthcare providers expand their broadband resources, giving them […]
The House of Representatives recently introduced the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act, a bill calling for the permanence of telehealth regulations introduced in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Before the pandemic, Medicare beneficiaries could only utilize telehealth services if there was a physician shortage, and this could only be done at a designated […]
June 30, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has forced healthcare systems around the world to make greater use of telehealth services during lockdown, and lawmakers in the US want to see if those changes could be permanent. Representative Robin Kelly (Democrat – Illinois) tabled a bill in the House on at the beginning of the month […]
There are numerous coding options when it comes to reporting telehealth visits and others that are not the traditional face-to-face office visit. There are numerous options when it comes to reporting visits that are not the traditional face-to-face office visit. This varies somewhat by payer, of course. Medicare has temporarily relaxed some of the geographic […]
In February — the month before COVID-19 hit Boston — Partners Healthcare, the huge health system that includes Massachusetts General Hospital, treated 1,600 patients via video visits. By April, the number of patients seeking care through Partners’ video service had swelled to 242,000. “We’re not the only ones,” said Joe Kvedar, a dermatology professor at […]
On June 23, 2020, the US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury issued tri-agency FAQs (Part 43) that clarify important health and welfare provisions under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which became law on March 18, 2020, and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted on March 27, 2020. […]
With the abrupt transition to telehealth, the paradigm of care has shifted from legacy thinking to digital innovation By Anthony PannozzoJune 25, 2020 Healthcare has often been accused (fairly and unfairly) of being too slow to change or adapt to new technologies and the ideas they inspire. While change is hard for everyone, in a space […]
