Telehealth plays an increasingly critical part in treating patients, improving health outcomes and lowering costs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to work together on the Rural Telehealth Initiative, a joint effort to collaborate and share information to address health […]
Finalized policy changes expand new technology add-on payment pathway for certain antimicrobials On September 2, CMS issued the FY 2021 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System and Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTCH) final rule, which includes important provisions designed to ensure access to potentially life-saving diagnostics and therapies for hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries. The changes […]
On August 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) updates for the 2021 calendar year, addressing among other policy changes how CMS will treat telehealth codes for the duration of and following the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Background: CMS’ Process for Reviewing New Telehealth Codes CMS […]
Improvements in access, usability and scheduling brought on by the pandemic will outlast the current public health crisis. Five months after COVID-19 was formally declared a pandemic, the disease continues to deeply impact the healthcare and life sciences industry. Care providers are faced with critical shortages of both staff and supplies. COVID-19 has deeply exacerbated […]
The latest telehealth expansion bill introduced to Congress would extend CARES Act provisions through the end of 2025 and compel the GAO to issue two reports on the successes and challenges associated with connected health. The drumbeat continues to extend telehealth coverage beyond the coronavirus pandemic, with a new bill introduced this week in the […]
Steven Martel, M.D., CMIO at Central Maine Healthcare, describes his organization’s journey into telehealth during the pandemic, and what needs to happen for usage rates to remain high going forward. It’s been very well-documented that COVID-19 has forced patient care organizations to turn to alternative ways to provide care while limiting exposure to the virus. In this […]
Black patients are four-times more likely to access the emergency department over telehealth than their white peers, highlighting a care access disparity. Key health disparities have emerged in telehealth use and access during the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, with older adults and Black and Hispanic patients being less likely to utilize the technology […]
Jane Van Aken, Development Director at Spirit Digital, outlines the five key necessities for successful implementation and use of remote monitoring. While digital healthcare has existed since the early 1970s, Covid-19 has acted as a catalyst for the NHS’s digital transformation. In order to continue to care for vulnerable patients, including those with chronic conditions […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on the Rural Telehealth Initiative, a joint effort to collaborate and share information to address health disparities, resolve service provider challenges, and promote […]
What You Should Know: – FCC releases Public Notice providing additional information and guidance for potential applicants interested in applying for its Connected Care Pilot Program. – The Connected Care Pilot Program will provide up to $100 million from the Universal Service Fund (USF) over a three-year period to selected applicants to support the provision […]
Knowing it may be met with some skepticism, the Trump administration Thursday announced a sweeping plan that officials say will transform health care in rural America. Even before the coronavirus pandemic reached into the nation’s less-populated regions, rural Americans were sicker, poorer and older than the rest of the country. Hospitals are shuttering at record […]
The coronavirus outbreak, or COVID-19, has fundamentally transformed our lives and communities, contributing to economic declines, disruptions in schooling, and distressed hospital systems. However, the pandemic has generated some silver linings, including the widespread adoption of telehealth that has helped to mitigate the risk of community spread by reducing unnecessary hospital visits and ensuring real-time […]
Nearly 80% of cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonology and respiratory physicians polled for a new survey said their use of virtual care technology has increased. In a new survey of U.S. specialists, 79% said that their use of telemedicine technology had increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report, from data and analytics company GlobalData, found that fewer […]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released the rural action plan, the first department-wide assessment of rural healthcare efforts in 18 years. According to a news release, the plan will serve as a roadmap for the department to strengthen coordination among departments in order to better serve rural communities across the country. […]
BY DR. MEETA SHAH, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 09/08/20 09:30 AM EDT A category of unsung heroes in this pandemic are those that have been behind a video screen. For some patients, telemedicine providers have offered the only safe and convenient access to acute and preventative health care needs for months now. I believe that the conversion to […]