New legislation introduced this week would expand access to telehealth options for rural residents. The KEEP Telehealth Options Act would require the federal government to study the actions taken to expand access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic and report on how to improve those services. The bill was introduced by Senator Deb Fischer, […]
CMS is proposing changes to the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) that would encourage the use of telehealth and mHealth platforms and tools to expand dialysis treatment to the home. By Eric Wicklund July 21, 2020 – Federal officials are throwing support behind telehealth and mHealth platform that would help providers extend dialysis treatment […]
Organizations and experts offer insights and predictions about what lies ahead post-COVID-19. KEY TAKEAWAYS Legislation proposed by the House addresses the most urgent priorities to permanently extend telehealth waivers. Clinical appropriateness, payment, and fraud are among the topics that will be explored during the next phase of telehealth expansion. Incentives to invest in technology, licensure […]
Federally qualified health centers looking to expand their telehealth footprint need to take a closer look at why their patients are having problems accessing healthcare. Transportation issues, insurance availability, home life and school and work pressures all can play a part in whether someone can or can’t visit the doctor, said Christina Quinlan, director of […]
In response to the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued waivers permitting reimbursement for telehealth visits, the waiver of certain copayments and relaxed technology requirements. As Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., recently stated, the health care sector and government “have been forced to cram 10 years’ worth […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risks for seniors who receive in-home elder care. Caregivers use masks, handwashing, and social distancing to increase the safety of home visits, but for many, reducing the frequency of visits can be a valuable piece in the puzzle of pandemic safety protocol. Especially for seniors eligible for lower level […]
The Boston-based MA FQHC Telehealth Consortium was created for Federally Qualified Health Centers to come together to master telehealth so that their patients could access quality care despite the pandemic. Before this time, FQHCs generally struggled to get telehealth off the ground because of the expense, lack of reimbursement and issues related to access. THE […]
President Donald Trump said telemedicine is a top priority for his administration and is working to make the temporary regulatory changes permanent during a July 16 news briefing. After the pandemic hit, the administration removed barriers that allowed physicians to work across state lines to provide telemedicine. It also made changes to temporarily boost reimbursement for […]
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is real-time or near real-time evaluation of a patient’s clinical status outside of a traditional healthcare setting. RPM leverages wireless devices (e.g., weight scale, blood pressure monitor), often integrated with a software platform, to monitor patients’ health status. Providers can use RPM to manage patients with a range of chronic conditions […]
Abstract Rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forced an abrupt shift in the traditional US health care delivery model to meet the needs of patients, staff, and communities. Through federal policy changes on telehealth, patient care shifted from in-person to telephone or video visits, and health care providers reached out to patients most at […]
In response to the telehealth expansions and increased usage during the pandemic, CMS is reviewing the temporary regulation changes it made and assessing which should become permanent, according to CMS Administrator Seema Verma. In a July 15 Health Affairs article, Ms. Verma addressed the benefits that telehealth expansions have crafted during the pandemic and what challenges CMS […]
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services made sweeping changes that expanded telehealth coverage for Medicare patients. A bill introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday would make some of them permanent. The Protecting Access to Post-Covid-19 Telehealth Act would codify one of the most significant changes made during the […]
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.–The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has broadly affected how health care is provided in the United States. One notable change is the expanded use of telehealth services, which have been quickly adopted by many health care providers and payers, including Medicare, to ensure patients’ access to care while reducing their risk of […]
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, venturing outside in New York felt like preparing for battle. Germs were invisible bullets from which we tried to shield ourselves using masks and distancing. Staying home was of course the safest course of action, but for some, going out to see a doctor was crucial to their […]
During the Coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken unprecedented action to expand telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries. Since people were advised to stay at home to reduce risk of exposure of COVID-19, there was an urgency to increase access to telehealth services to help people who need routine care and […]