Top mHealth trends in 2019 included remote patient monitoring, telehealth reimbursement, substance use disorder care, chronic disease management, and direct-to-consumer mHealth technology. By Samantha McGrail As 2019 comes to an end, healthcare organizations are reflecting on the trends and stories that most influenced their behaviors in the past year. Based on our most clicked stories […]
CMS has released its final rule for the 2020 Physician’s Fee Schedule. We have previously covered how one can set up a chronic care management program in 5 steps. We have also covered the available CPT codes that can be used to bill for chronic care management, which also includes remote patient monitoring. If you want […]
CARE MANAGEMENT SERVICES CMS is taking steps to further refine the codes for transitional care management (TCM) and chronic care management (CCM). They have also created new codes for principal care management (PCM) services for patients that have only one serious condition. Transitional Care Management (TCM) CMS has finalized their proposal to allow for concurrent […]
Until the 1990’s, patients with cancer requiring chemotherapy typically had to be admitted to the hospital to receive treatment. This inpatient care was stressful for patients and expensive. Since then, thanks to improvements in chemotherapy administration and symptom management, most treatment has moved from the inpatient setting to outpatient clinics, which prove more patient-centered and […]
by Chris McCann Oct 23, 2019 Hospital readmissions are an expensive problem in the U.S. both for providers and patients. According to a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the average cost of hospital readmission in 2016 was $14,400 per person. In addition to the financial cost, readmissions further strain clinical resources. With an […]
Simplifying the Management of Complex Care Patients It’s complicated… Having a chronic illness is tough. Having multiple chronic conditions is even tougher. Add financial, emotional, mobility or behavioral factors, and it can seem insurmountable. People who struggle with multiple ongoing health challenges (like diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders, etc.) have complex needs […]
Over the last decade, few issues in politics have been more polarizing than healthcare. It’s driven a deep wedge between Democrats and Republicans, particularly following the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the subsequent efforts to repeal it, and has caused rifts within those parties. Yet despite all the animosity, there is one […]
With the development of the “smart home” concept, the Internet of Things (IoT) and better mHealth technology, remote patient monitoring (RPM) has the potential to bring care management and coordination into the home and make health and wellness an integral part of life. The potential use cases for RPM in mHealth care management include chronic […]
The 2018 Physician Fee Schedule Rule Includes Reimbursement for Remote Patient Monitoring and New Telemedicine CodesMedicare will pay for CPT code 99091 and the 2018 unadjusted reimbursement rate will be $58.67/month.The un-bundled CPT code 99091 in 2018 means that providers will be able to get reimbursed separately for time spent on collection and interpretation of […]
The HEART Act filed early this month is set to relief some of the challenges Medicare regulations has set for congestive heart failure (CHF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in rural areas. The cost saving thus far as indicted by per Rep. Sean Duffy ( R-Wis) in 2012 was well over $80,000, “2012, […]
In the coming years according to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the medical industry could see telehealth technologies being used to monitor maternal and pediatric care, and dermatology. For now though the supporting data amplifies the benefits of telehealth in reducing hospital readmission’s and improving the quality of care for the […]
The medical cost associated with providing Medicare beneficiaries the use of telehealth technologies and remote patient monitoring services can be shared among ACO’s according to federal regulations under the Medical Shared Savings Program (MSSP) waivers. The financial impact revealed by CMS was a saving of nearly $600 million in 2014. by Frederick Geifuss II and […]
Starting in January 1, 2016 New York will be among the number of states providing healthcare reimbursement for telehealth services from both commercial health plans and Medicaid. By Vera Gruessner on October 22, 2015 Telehealth legislation continues to break new ground, as more states adopt telemedicine coverage and payment parity laws are put in place. When payment parity […]
Healthcare leaders give their feedback to the Senate Committee members on how to improve the care management of chronic high-risk patients. The feedback being constant by all and focusing on three key areas the healthcare industry must deploy in order to have comprehensive success: EMR interoperability, improvements in patient engagement and the use of telehealth […]