The CONNECT for Health Act is back before Congress for a 4th time, and backers say the massive telehealth bill could cross the finish line this time on broad bipartisan support and pressure to set long-term connected health policy. By Eric Wicklund April 30, 2021 – Will the fourth time be the charm for the CONNECT for Health […]
HHS is kicking off Black Maternal Health Week by offering three four-year grants, totaling $12 million, to projects aimed at boosting maternal health outcomes among underserved populations in rural America. By Eric Wicklund April 13, 2021 – Federal officials are making $12 million available for three projects that aim to approve maternal and obstetrics care for underserved populations […]
After a slow start, the pandemic forced an embrace of telehealth. Now it’s changing the way patient care takes place. By Walt Ellenberger Most telehealth visits with patients are for routine care, not potentially life-changing diagnoses. Yet Dr. Albert Chan, the chief of digital patient experience at Sutter Health, describes a time when a cardiology […]
3 COVID-19-Driven Healthcare Changes to Make Permanent Living through a pandemic has taught us a lot about necessity — from what we can and cannot live without in our daily lives to the programs, policies and systems that support our nation’s critical infrastructures. Take healthcare, for instance. When a novel coronavirus emerged, it necessitated swift […]
Significant attention has been paid to the recent surge in telehealth. This attention is valid. While usage of telehealth has declined from the initial months of the pandemic, FAIR Health data show that telehealth claim lines had increased more than 2,800% nationally from December 2019 to December 2020. Significant attention has been paid to the recent […]
As a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency, telehealth has evolved and will continue to evolve. As part of this evolution, CMS finalized a rule that expands Medicare coverage for telehealth services. This final rule, along with other new rules and waivers by the federal government, state governments and private payors, has significantly expanded […]
CMS recently expanded its list of telehealth services covered during the COVID-19 pandemic to include 24 new audiology and speech-language pathology services. CMS issued the updated list of codes March 30. The new services include diagnosis and treatment of swallowing problems, therapy for improving cognitive function and assessing speech-generating devices. Here is the list of the 24 new CPT […]
When the COVID-19 pandemic began within the United States in early 2020, residents of long-term care facilities — including assisted living communities, skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes and other facilities — were severely affected by widespread infections and deaths. Operators acted quickly to restrict visitor access and limit resident activities. As a result of social distancing […]
The AMA has again called on the Government to further extend the temporary COVID-19 Medicare Telehealth items until the end of the year. “The Queensland outbreak and the flow-on impact on other states is a timely reminder that the pandemic is far from over,” AMA President, Dr Omar Khorshid said. “With the emergence of new […]
A Cedars-Sinai study finds that patients – especially minorities and underserved populations – took advantage of telehealth to meet with their care providers for cardiovascular services during the pandemic. By Eric Wicklund April 06, 2021 – The COVID-19 threat pushed more people onto telehealth platforms for cardiovascular care, according to new research out of Cedars-Sinai. But it also […]
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is used to monitor patients who are most at-risk for rehospitalizations, likely due to pre-existing chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and respiratory illness. RPM is also increasingly used with rising-risk patients as physicians and agencies seek to better manage these patients earlier in the continuum of care. And RPM is […]
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, no industry was hit more drastically than the healthcare industry. Experts and organizations across the industry had to manage both the enormous volume of COVID patients, while also having to make sure patients with other medical issues could be treated and monitored in a socially distant fashion. As the pandemic […]
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the United States in early 2020, telemedicine took a giant leap forward in popularity. Because of the pandemic and under the direction of federal, state, and local government agencies, necessary relaxation of advance practice provider (APP) supervision and insurance rules redefined access to care through telemedicine, giving providers and healthcare […]
The Federal Communications Commission this week unanimously approved a process for distributing nearly $250 million to help healthcare providers deliver telehealth services. The second round of funding (PDF) for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program builds on the $200 million program established as part of the CARES Act last year. The funding will cover the costs of providers’ telecommunications […]