The American Hospital Association (AHA) is calling on President Donald J. Trump to make permanent telehealth flexibilities introduced as part of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The call comes in a letter addressed directly to Trump sent Aug. 19. It says that the flexibilities put in place by the U.S. Department of Health and […]
The grants, part of a $35 million package announced last week, target programs that expand telehealth access for emergency services, rural health research and telementoring. Federal officials have announced almost $12 million in grants aimed at expanding access to telehealth services in rural parts of the country. The awards are part of more than $35 million […]
It’s been 24 years since the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law. Designed to protect the privacy, security and integrity of protected health information (PHI), the law has been notoriously difficult to comply with and requires organizations to have specific measures in place to safeguard this information. Combine these challenges […]
Following President Trump’s executive order on virtual care, the American Hospital Association issued a series of recommendations supporting access to telehealth after the public health emergency ends. The American Hospital Association sent an open letter to President Donald Trump this week recommending actions that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services should take to safeguard patient access […]
With COVID-19 still rampant, health systems and EMS providers are partnering in mobile integrated health programs that stress telehealth and mHealth in the home. The coronavirus pandemic is helping to shine the spotlight on the use of telehealth and mHealth to improve care coordination in places ranging from a patient’s home to an accident scene. […]
When the dust settles and COVID-19 is finally behind us, there are many aspects of this “new normal” that I will not miss, but there’s a lot that I hope sticks around, like valuable time at home with my family and creative ways to stay connected virtually. As a society, though, our most important lasting […]
Dive Brief: The American Hospital Association wants HHS to ensure the telehealth flexibilities it has allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic will continue permanently, according to a Tuesday letter it sent to the agency. Specifically, AHA wants hospitals to permanently be allowed to bill and get reimbursed for certain Medicare services provided virtually. It wants CMS to expand […]
Like providers, patients and families are adapting to rising use of telehealth in hospice care during the COVID-19 pandemic, as apparent plans to make temporary regulatory flexibilities permanent start to move forward. If telehealth remains a growing priority among hospices, gauging patient and family satisfaction with those services will be critical, particularly as they prepare to […]
With the coronavirus crisis, health systems catapulted the industry into the future by accelerating virtual care initiatives that will forever change the way healthcare is delivered in the U.S. As 2020 launched, healthcare executives had no way of knowing the havoc a novel virus that had emerged in Wuhan, China, would wreak on the healthcare […]
The novel coronavirus (nCV) pandemic represents an unprecedented challenge to our health care system. Yet as a physician (Bruggeman) and U.S. senator/physician (Cassidy), we know that it is often times of challenge that bring out the most innovation as our health care system adapts to changing conditions to ensure that patients receive the care that […]
Covid-19 has transformed the traditional doctor’s office visit as we know it, moving it away from physical offices by adding online connections. That doesn’t mean virtual care is the sole future of health care. Instead, I hope it will become part of a new balance that embraces the potential of anywhere care. To get there, the United […]
U.S. healthcare was gearing up for a rebound that includes telehealth. But then the pandemic surged back. Don’t bother asking Keith Blechman, M.D., when his practice will get “back to normal.” Operations at his Upper East Side plastic surgery practice in Manhattan have shifted so drastically in the months since the COVID-19 pandemic began that […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have released the best practices for telehealth in a final report that also gives solutions to help reduce barriers for telehealth to help substance use disorders. CMS released the report to help increase telehealth services and the effectiveness of Medicaid services through telehealth, according to a press […]
CMS is planning to eliminate 74 of the 83 codes created to cover telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic, though it’s adding 13 new codes and could be swayed by public comments to add more coverage. August 14, 2020 – While Congress debates extending telehealth coverage and President Trump tries to compel it through an Executive Order, […]
Highlights The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the Calendar Year (CY) 2021 Proposed Rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), which contains updates to the Quality Payment Program (QPP). The MPFS dictates Medicare rates and policies under Part B, while the QPP implements two value-based payment programs: the Merit-Based Incentive Payment […]