Faced with the need to improve patient satisfaction and reduce unnecessary delays in care, hospitals and medical practices are using telehealth and mHealth tools to create a virtual waiting room. With the COVID-19 crisis putting the kibosh on crowds, hospitals are turning to telehealth and mHealth to take the wait out of healthcare. The crowded, […]
A group of Senators is asking CMS to expand coverage for telehealth services delivered by home health care providers. With Congress and the government still haggling over how to extend telehealth coverage beyond the coronavirus pandemic, a group of Senators is pushing for additional flexibilities for home health care providers. In a letter to the heads […]
Last week, the White House hosted a virtual “Roundtable Discussion on Embracing Technology and Telehealth” with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma, Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and Deputy Assistant to the President Brad Smith, and healthcare leaders from across the country. At the event, the White […]
With the rapid use of telehealth resulting from the pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new toolkit to help the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) accelerate their adoption of telehealth coverage during this time. The toolkit is designed to walk states through identifying policies that they will need to address […]
The impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare industry’s ability to innovate has been stunning. We have seen FDA emergency authorizations and relaxed regulatory guidelines enable the development of radical new ventilator ideas, accelerated timelines for vaccine development, and an extraordinary transition to telehealth services. Many of these actions were a response to the exposure of weak spots […]
The Draft Consumer Privacy Framework for Health Data aims to set standards for the collection, use and protection of health data on smartwatches, fitness bands, mHealth apps and other consumer-facing technology. Two digital health organizations have joined forces to develop guidelines to protect health information gathered by consumer-facing mHealth devices. The Draft Consumer Privacy Framework […]
The commission, which advises Congress on issues affecting Medicare, put forth a number of options aimed at maximizing care access while minimizing risk. By Kat Jercich September 09, 2020 04:56 PM In a virtual public meeting this past Friday, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission discussed how – and whether – to permanently expand telehealth […]
For a person living with a rare disease, it can take five years or longer to receive an accurate diagnosis. With more than 40% of patients initially misdiagnosed, this “diagnostic odyssey” can have serious and long-term health consequences for the 300 million individuals affected by rare diseases and their families. It is also incredibly frustrating. A key factor contributing to […]
The grants are part of a two-year program launched by HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to help states and Tribal organizations use telehealth and other resource to tackle the opioid abuse crisis. Federal officials are issuing roughly $1.5 billion to healthcare providers and other organizations to help them use telehealth and […]
SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic, and the corresponding need for social distancing, has catapulted telehealth into the mainstream. According to some estimates, the proportion of ambulatory patient visits using telehealth (video, phone, or e-visit) increased from 10 percent before the pandemic to more than 90 percent during the pandemic. These shifts have been buttressed by temporary […]
The pandemic has led to huge spikes in digital technology adoption as doctors and patients have complied with social distancing guidelines. In fact, according to the Royal College of General Practitioners, 71% of routine consultations were remote in the four weeks leading up to April 12th, compared to 25% in the same period last year. This […]
Proposed rule would bring new treatments, tests and medical technologies to Medicare beneficiaries faster Today, under President Trump’s leadership, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that unleashes innovative technology so Medicare beneficiaries have access to the latest, most cutting-edge devices. Today’s action represents a step forward that will help […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a proposed rule that aims to allow Medicare coverage for “breakthrough devices,” giving providers and patients access to cutting-edge telemedicine and mHealth tools. Federal officials are proposing to expand Medicare coverage for new telemedicine and mHealth technologies classified as “breakthrough medical devices.” The Centers for Medicare […]
Kimberly Sanders was recovering from a heroin addiction when the coronavirus struck. She had been homeless before and struggled to commute long distances for treatments. But because of her failure to attend several appointments, her previous doctors stopped seeing her. Years later, in a bid to get clean, she moved to Estes Park, Colorado, and began attending […]
Other major challenges include remote patient monitoring, interoperability, real-time data analytics, work-from-home resources and patient surveillance, according to a new KLAS report. A new report from research firm KLAS found that nearly half of the 19 healthcare executives surveyed say that either telehealth functionality or capacity has been their primary problem to solve during the early stages […]