The COVID-19 pandemic revealed much about our Nation’s capacity—and shortcomings—when faced with an urgent health crisis. One positive aspect it exposed is our ability to adapt. A case in point is telehealth. Like many others, I found the healthcare community’s ability to innovate nothing short of amazing. In February 2020, just before the pandemic emerged, […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday proposed plans to expand the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) model nationwide by the start of next year. The agency did so in its proposed payment rule for 2022. In addition to the HHVBP expansion, CMS proposed to increase Medicare payments to home health […]
A study assessing use of remote patient monitoring in patients with type 2 diabetes outlines the impact continued participation in digital monitoring programs can have on glycemic control among this patient population. Once a distant idea discussed at scientific sessions as an approach years away from implementation, use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring have […]
Federal agencies took several actions last week to spur broadband deployment, helping to alleviate what the pandemic has already highlighted – Americans need greater access to reliable, high-speed Internet services to continue to engage in the virtual activities, such as telehealth and distancing learning, that have now become a normal part of our daily lives. […]
When we think about 2020, healthcare inevitably comes up. While organizations continue on their mission to manage the pandemic, it’s also time for them to begin thinking about future-proofing themselves to create a more robust system of delivery. This holds especially true for home health organizations that need to actively reorganize themselves for better patient […]
There is no question that during the pandemic and duration of the public health emergency, telehealth rose to the occasion demonstrating its tremendous benefits to the health care industry and will likely remain an integral part of the health care delivery system. As we move out of the pandemic and the public health emergency wanes, […]
The COVID-19 pandemic prodded governments into a “tipping point” that brought long-overdue digital transformations, yet also revealed the distances many still have to go, according to a new report this week from the consulting firm Deloitte. The study, which queried 800 government officials from eight countries including the United States, found that many agencies are […]
Cancer patients who receive hospital-at-home care are less likely to experience unplanned hospitalizations, new research suggests. Those individuals likewise account for lower health care costs. The new findings — focused on Huntsman at Home, a cancer hospital-at-home model operated by the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah — were published earlier this month […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 25, 2021)—Recently, legislation has been introduced in both the Senate and House of Representatives that would make various improvements to the provision of telehealth. The Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2021 (S. 1512/H.R. 2903) is being led by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Roger […]
It is not a coincidence that two symbolic healthcare policy events took place this week. I’m talking about the Senate’s confirmation of Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the introduction of H.R. 3447, the Permanency for Audio-Only Telehealth Act. The latter would allow for Medicare coverage of audio-only telehealth services […]
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced the bipartisan Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act to make current telehealth flexibilities permanent. This legislation would ensure rural and underserved community healthcare providers are able to continue offering telehealth services after the current public health emergency ends. […]
Texas may be among the first of many states to enact laws that encourage providers to continue electronically communicating with and monitoring their patients after COVID-19 emergency regulations and governors’ orders expire. State legislatures are acknowledging the advantages telehealth offered during COVID-19 and are making major changes to pre-pandemic law to accommodate its continued use […]
A study by researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center has found that cancer patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who received care at home via remote patient monitoring were significantly less likely to require hospitalization for their illness, compared to cancer patients with COVID-19 who did not participate in the program. Results of the study were presented Friday, June 4, at […]
With the pandemic in the rear-view mirror, people are going back to the ER, and payers are trying to steer them instead toward mHealth apps, telehealth platforms and retail clinics. By Eric Wicklund June 09, 2021 – With hospital emergency departments moving back toward pre-COVID-19 traffic levels, some payers are renewing efforts to steer their members away from […]
Medicare nursing home residents would keep their access to some telehealth flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic long after the public health crisis is over under a new proposal from a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The legislation — Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act — was introduced late last week by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Joe […]