It’s no secret that telehealth use skyrocketed in the early stages of COVID-19 as both patients and health systems sought to minimize the risk of transmitting the disease. According to data from the EHR vendor Epic Systems, telehealth visits peaked in mid-April, when they accounted for 69% of all ambulatory care visits. This percentage dropped substantially by […]
The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly shifted our ideas about what is possible at home. Many people continue to work from home, others switched to virtual school, and the video chats with friends and family that became common last March remain a regular part of life. The way we think about the delivery of health care has […]
The FCC is seeking advice on how to distribute the second round of its COVID-19 telehealth program, which recently received an additional $249.95 million in funds. The additional funding was finalized Dec. 27 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The money will support the COVID-19 telehealth program, which the FCC established last April to equip healthcare providers with […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the public health emergency surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic until April, extending key waivers for regulations on a variety of topics such as telehealth. The public health emergency declaration was originally scheduled to expire Jan. 21. HHS Secretary Alex Azar extended the emergency Thursday, according to […]
CMS just issued a correction to its guidance on 2021 Medicare rules for remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) services. The correction is effective January 1, 2021 and revises the preamble commentary in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, previously published on December 1, 2020. It adds language that was inadvertently deleted from the Final Rule, summarizing and responding some […]
As the new year begins and the nation looks to tackle COVID-19 and move on, telehealth will be front and center in a lot of conversations from the halls of Congress to the patient’s home. By Eric Wicklund January 25, 2021 – Telehealth policy and new methods for connected care will figure prominently in healthcare during 2021, and Xtelligent […]
CMS just issued a correction to its guidance on 2021 Medicare rules for remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) services. The correction is effective January 1, 2021 and revises the preamble commentary in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, previously published on December 1, 2020. It adds language that was inadvertently deleted from the Final Rule, summarizing and responding some […]
Remote patient monitoring has finally gone mainstream. After more than two decades of cultivation – from cardiac telemetry to Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure cuffs and now to wearable devices – the technological progress of remote patient monitoring (RPM) has finally intersected with other trends in medicine such as telehealth (and of course COVID) to make this […]
December 9, 2020 Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, and Minority LeaderMcCarthy: The undersigned organizations represent millions of individuals facing serious, acute and chronic healthconditions across the country. Our organizations have a unique perspective on what individuals need toprevent disease, cure illness and manage chronic health conditions. The diversity of our groups […]
[co-authors: Adrienne Peng, and Michelle Fong] 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 […]
Weekly / December 18, 2020 / 69(50);1902–1905 Hanna B. Demeke, PhD1; Leah Zilversmit Pao, PhD1; Hollie Clark, MPH1; Lisa Romero, DrPH1; Antonio Neri, MD1; Rhea Shah, MPH2; Kendra B. McDow, MD1; Erica Tindall, MSN1; Naureen J. Iqbal1; Kendra Hatfield-Timajchy, PhD1; Joshua Bolton, MS3; Xuan Le, AM3; Brionna Hair, PhD3; Stephanie Campbell, MPH3; Cuong Bui3; Paramjit Sandhu, […]
The most recent COVID-19 relief bill that was signed into law in December includes $250 million in new funding for the federal COVID-19 Telehealth Program, previously discussed here. The program was originally established in March, at the beginning of the pandemic, to help expand connectivity among patients and providers across the country. Telehealth has played a vital […]
The program will be implemented in four state community locations, including in Alaska, Michigan, Texas and West Virginia. Jeff Lagasse, Associate Editor The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Health Resources and Services Administration, has awarded $8 million to fund the Telehealth Broadband Pilot program, which assesses the broadband capacity available to rural healthcare […]
There’s lots of work to do expanding access for underserved patients, said experts at the American Telemedicine Association’s EDGE policy conference. By Kat Jercich January 12, 2021 03:33 PM The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a flurry of changes to regulations around telehealth and virtual care – the vast majority of which expire once the public health […]