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 […]
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 […]
In August, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that asked for a report on ongoing and future actions to enhance rural health care. HHS released an 82-page response to the order last week. Technology will play a substantial role in a new effort from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to […]
The roadmap released this week includes a four-point strategy to address the challenges facing rural healthcare. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday released an 82-page Rural Action Plan aimed at evaluating and engaging challenges facing rural healthcare in the country. The plan lays out a four-point strategy intended to address hurdles to providing […]
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 […]
Five cardiologists and service line leaders discuss telehealth and how it has affected care delivery in cardiology. Editor’s note: Responses have been edited for clarity and length and are presented alphabetically. Question: How has the uptick in telehealth adoption affected care delivery in cardiology? Will these trends last beyond the pandemic? Eric Adler, MD, cardiologist […]
A group of 14 Democratic senators penned a letter to FCC chairman Ajit Pai on Aug. 20 detailing what they say is the agency’s failure to manage the Rural Health Care Program and COVID-19 Telehealth Program. In the letter, the senators said that FCC “has not made sufficient funding available, has delayed rural healthcare funding decisions, 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 […]
A letter signed by 14 Democratic Senators charges the FCC and Chairman Ajit Pai with failing to properly manage the Rural Health Care Program and the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, thus hindering attempts to expand telehealth access in rural America. A group of lawmakers is taking the Federal Communications Commission and Chairman Ajit Pai to task […]
Sep 10, 2020 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 […]
On August 3, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13941 (the “Executive Order”) which expands access to certain telehealth services post-pandemic. The Executive Order focuses on telehealth access for individuals living in rural areas and implements the following mechanisms: The Secretary of HHS is tasked with developing a new model that will give rural providers flexibilities from […]
A new bill before Congress aims to increase funding for telehealth expansion programs that target improved broadband connectivity. The Accelerating Connected Care and Education Support Services on the Internet (ACCESS the Internet) Act, introduced this past week by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and John Cornyn (R-TX), proposes to add $400 million to Federal Communications Commission’s COVID-19 […]
The need for virtual treatment in the midst of this pandemic is primed to rewrite the rulebook on health for years to come. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent nation-wide lockdowns, telehealth has been rewriting all the rules on the way healthcare has historically been conducted. Virtual health visits shot up 50% in […]
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic since mid-March, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) worked quickly to issue emergency guidance that allowed temporary expansion of payment for telehealth services and provided certain flexibility in providing telehealth services. The COVID pandemic has significantly increased awareness of the benefits of telehealth, as many patients have […]
US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on August 3 that aims to expand telehealth access to Medicare beneficiaries beyond the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency (PHE) period. The executive order focuses on rural healthcare providers in particular, noting the difficulties patients in rural areas face in obtaining accessible, high-quality healthcare services over the years. The […]