Telehealth EHR integration has a number of critical benefits for both providers and patients. By Christopher Jason October 09, 2020 – Telehealth is increasingly becoming an option for remote patient care. But with clinician burden — most of which is caused by excessive health IT use — quickly mounting, clinical experts are looking for ways to streamline telehealth […]
— Reports of quality improvement at hospitals across the country by Nicole Lou, Staff Writer, MedPage Today October 9, 2020 Standardized processes and patient education were key to faster, better care for people with heart disease or suspected heart disease. These and other lessons were emphasized in quality improvement initiatives shared at this year’s virtual ACC Quality Summit hosted […]
Even after the pandemic, patients will be unwilling to return to the less-streamlined status quo, says Clive Smith. By Kat Jercich October 09, 2020 01:29 PM As the COVID-19 crisis began sweeping through the country this spring, hospitals sought a way for clinicians to treat infectious patients while maintaining distance from them if possible. In that […]
The eHealth Initiative has released a list of policy recommendations designed to improve telehealth adoption and coverage during and after the coronavirus pandemic. By Eric Wicklund October 09, 2020 – The eHealth Initiative has unveiled recommendations for federal policy changes to help expand telehealth access and coverage during and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. The 22-page report comes roughly a […]
Bipartisan letter to CMS seeks to ensure coverage for the full range of essential hearing, speech, and language services Today, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) led a letter with 32 other colleagues to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma, urging her to expand Medicare telehealth coverage of valuable audiology and speech-language pathology during […]
Covid-19 has catapulted medicine into a new, virtual world. Although telemedicine has been around for years, it’s quickly transitioned in the last 6 months from a “nice-to-have” for medical practices, to a real necessity. Today, physicians rely on telemedicine to see their patients, as well as diagnose and treat minor and chronic conditions. But what […]
Before Covid-19, pursuing Federal broadband grant funds was orderly and straightforward. Some grants paid for broadband infrastructure that was restricted to school premises. Federal grants funded healthcare-related broadband in public hospitals and clinics. Other agency programs funded broadband in city and county offices, libraries, and public facilities. A couple of smaller agencies funded residential and […]
Telehealth was available prior to COVID-19 but its use certainly wasn’t as widespread as it is today. Telemedicine has been used for some time in the U.S. and has been preferable to some, worrisome to others. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit, it seems to have quickly become the norm and seems to be […]
Eligible providers will get payment of 2% of annual revenue from patient care plus an add-on payment. New COVID-19 relief funding is being released. The Trump Administration has announced $20 billion in new funding for providers fighting COVID-19, but the president has ended negotiations with Democratic leaders over a new relief package until after the […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to new rules and expectations for clinical trials. Following guidance from federal agencies, institutions such as UT Southwestern adjusted clinical trial operations. To protect patient safety, changes such as utilizing remote consents, conducting telehealth study visits, and shipping oral study treatment to patients’ homes have streamlined the clinical trial participation […]
The COVID-19 pandemic was a real turning point, not only for people, but also for businesses across the world. Organizations had to change their operating models overnight and adapt to new ways of working to ensure business continuity and to manage the demands of the pandemic. Organizations, especially in the most impacted sectors like healthcare, […]
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the United States, states, payers, and providers are looking for ways to expand access to telehealth services. Telehealth is an essential tool in ensuring patients are able to access the healthcare services they need in as safe a manner as possible. In order to provide our clients with quick and […]
To ensure telehealth provisions lifted during the COVID-19 pandemic become permanent, U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., are focusing on broadband access and Medicare reimbursement initiatives, according to NextGov. Three details: 1. The lawmakers said that HIPAA relaxations enacted during the public health emergency, including allowing telehealth visits over platforms such as Zoom […]
A new J.D. Power survey showed that patient satisfaction scores for telehealth reached 860 on a 1,000-point scale. By Sara Heath October 07, 2020 – Telehealth is one of the top health sectors yielding a high patient satisfaction score, but just about half of patients are still citing some barriers to virtual care access, according to the J.D. Power 2020 […]