The Federal Communications Commission is adding almost $200 million to the Rural Health Care Program, giving providers more resources to expand broadband connectivity to support telehealth and mHealth platforms. By Eric Wicklund June 30, 2020 – Federal officials are adding almost $200 million to a fund designed to help rural healthcare providers expand their broadband resources, giving them […]
The House of Representatives recently introduced the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act, a bill calling for the permanence of telehealth regulations introduced in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Before the pandemic, Medicare beneficiaries could only utilize telehealth services if there was a physician shortage, and this could only be done at a designated […]
June 30, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has forced healthcare systems around the world to make greater use of telehealth services during lockdown, and lawmakers in the US want to see if those changes could be permanent. Representative Robin Kelly (Democrat – Illinois) tabled a bill in the House on at the beginning of the month […]
There are numerous coding options when it comes to reporting telehealth visits and others that are not the traditional face-to-face office visit. There are numerous options when it comes to reporting visits that are not the traditional face-to-face office visit. This varies somewhat by payer, of course. Medicare has temporarily relaxed some of the geographic […]
In February — the month before COVID-19 hit Boston — Partners Healthcare, the huge health system that includes Massachusetts General Hospital, treated 1,600 patients via video visits. By April, the number of patients seeking care through Partners’ video service had swelled to 242,000. “We’re not the only ones,” said Joe Kvedar, a dermatology professor at […]
On June 23, 2020, the US Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury issued tri-agency FAQs (Part 43) that clarify important health and welfare provisions under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which became law on March 18, 2020, and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted on March 27, 2020. […]
With the abrupt transition to telehealth, the paradigm of care has shifted from legacy thinking to digital innovation By Anthony PannozzoJune 25, 2020 Healthcare has often been accused (fairly and unfairly) of being too slow to change or adapt to new technologies and the ideas they inspire. While change is hard for everyone, in a space […]
Although providing services to patients virtually can improve provider efficiency, it’s important to consider individual technological capabilities. By Kat JercichJune 26, 2020 Home-based primary care allows individuals with chronic conditions – especially older people – to stay in their homes longer, so reducing hospitalization rates and improving quality of life. As the COVID-19 crisis has made […]
During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we have seen a dramatic shift from in-person visits to telehealth services around the globe, unveiling what may be the new normal for providing healthcare services. Regions around the world have quickly adapted to providing telehealth services as a means to prevent possible exposure to COVID-19 and allow for critical […]
Friday, June 26th, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 26, 2020)—The preview of the CY 2021 home health proposed rule, Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2021 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update; Home Health Quality Reporting Requirements; and Home Infusion Therapy Services Requirements, has been posted. The proposal is light compared to recent years’ proposed rules, but […]
Dive Brief: CMS proposed a rule on Thursday that would make looser restrictions on home health providers’ use of telehealth permanent after the pandemic. Home health agencies will be able to “continue to utilize telecommunications technologies in providing care to beneficiaries under the Medicare home health benefit beyond the COVID-19” emergency, such as remote patient […]
By Bailey Bryant | June 25, 2020 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to make telehealth flexibilities for home health providers introduced in light of the coronavirus permanent. Yet providers would still be forced to provide the virtual care without payment. CMS detailed that proposal and others Thursday afternoon, along with its annual suggested update […]
The Community Care Cooperative is raising $5 million to provide telehealth capabilities to local health centers. Mallory Hackett, Associate Editor The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation this week donated $1 million to support the Massachusetts-based Community Care Cooperative’s campaign to increase telehealth capacities for its network of health centers throughout the state. C3 aims to advance […]
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule [CMS-1730-P] that proposes routine updates to the home health payment rates for calendar year (CY) 2021, in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements. This proposed rule also includes a proposal to make permanent the regulatory changes related to telecommunications technologies in […]
The pandemic may have vaulted us into the future of medicine, but the leap to remote and home-based care is far from complete. by Jacquelyn BengfortTwitter The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shifted the ways in which patients access medical care. An Epic Health Research Network study found that between mid-March and mid-April, 2020, telemedicine appointments grew at a […]