Riverwood Healthcare Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Aitkin, Minn., quickly deployed a telehealth network to offer patients care virtually from their homes, according to a recent American Hospital Association case study. To prepare for treating patients during the coronavirus pandemic, RHCC went live on Zoom’s videoconferencing platform. The hospital has been using the virtual care […]
Law360 (April 10, 2020, 7:54 PM EDT) — The coronavirus pandemic has forced the federal government to lift barriers to telemedicine so patients can get care without leaving home. Those regulatory changes may be temporary, but experts say telehealth is here to stay. As the novel coronavirus continues its deadly march across the country, patients […]
The Healthcare Broadband Expansion During COVID-19 Act, introduced on Friday, would set aside $2 billion for the FCC to improve broadband connectivity for telehealth programs taking on the Coronavirus pandemic. April 11, 2020 – A bill submitted to Congress on Friday aims to set aside $2 billion specifically to improve broadband connectivity for telehealth programs to tackle […]
The AMA has been working constantly with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify issues arising due to COVID-19 and to recommend specific actions to improve Medicare coverage of services and reduce regulatory burdens on physicians during this crisis. Featured updates: COVID-19 Below are key actions CMS has taken in response to […]
On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced an additional expansion of telehealth services,[1] widening provider access to its 62 million Medicare beneficiaries. It also strongly encouraged state Medicaid programs and commercial payors to continue to do the same. Such action prioritizes the need of immediate and on-going care for […]
Although the concept of telehealth has existed for decades, it’s been relatively slow to catch on. Getting patients to feel comfortable with the idea of online care—and finding medical professionals who felt confident about conducting their work in a remote setting—has not been easy. Even with willing participants and infrastructure in place, bureaucratic red tape […]
As we’ve previously discussed on the blog, telehealth is playing a critical role in delivering care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both Congress and states continue to take action to expand the use and reimbursement of telehealth services. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) passed by Congress last Friday includes many provisions that further […]
Telehealth is not new to healthcare. Indeed, it can trace its roots to well before World War II with the availability of field telephones to provide a ‘virtual’ presence of a field medic to support battlefield soldier wound operations and procedures. If we jump to the early 1960s, we see its application extending beyond the […]
The FCC has released a guidance document describing how healthcare providers can apply for money from a $200 million fund created to help them improve telehealth and mHealth programs to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic. April 09, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission has released guidance for healthcare providers applying for funding from the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. […]
The Federal Communications Commission said last week that it will use $200 million of COVID-19 funding from Congress to provide telehealth resources in low-income communities that lack connected care resources. The temporary funding, however, is an alarm for lawmakers to support broadband and connective resources as a standard utility that all Americans should have access […]
“Health care providers are making massive financial sacrifices to care for the influx of coronavirus patients,” CMS administrator Seema Verma said in a statement. “Many are rightly complying with federal recommendations to delay non-essential elective surgeries to preserve capacity and personal protective equipment. They shouldn’t be penalized for doing the right thing. Amid a public […]
A pair of House lawmakers introduced legislation Friday that would give the Federal Communications Commission $2 billion to expand a broadband subsidy program for health care providers amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Healthcare Broadband Expansion During COVID-19 Act — backed by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Don Young, R-Alaska — would more than triple the agency’s $605 million […]
“I have heart disease, and I am scared. For years, doctor’s visits and medication have kept me alive. However, now I am afraid if I go to the doctor, I will catch coronavirus and die. If I don’t go, my heart disease could kill me.” I have had similar conversations with seriously ill Americans nationwide […]
Major metropolitan areas such as New York, Seattle, and Detroit have dominated news of the COVID-19 outbreak, but rural hospitals and health care systems must also prepare for a surge of coronavirus patients. Surgeons at one rural health care system on both sides of the New York-Pennsylvania border have reported on their preparedness response plan […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) took “unprecedented” action to reduce red tape for home health care agencies and other Medicare providers on Monday. Although the changes are, in theory, temporary, many home health stakeholders welcomed the newfound flexibility aimed at the COVID-19 pandemic. Some, however, were left scratching their heads, confused […]