President Donald Trump said telemedicine is a top priority for his administration and is working to make the temporary regulatory changes permanent during a July 16 news briefing. After the pandemic hit, the administration removed barriers that allowed physicians to work across state lines to provide telemedicine. It also made changes to temporarily boost reimbursement for […]
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is real-time or near real-time evaluation of a patient’s clinical status outside of a traditional healthcare setting. RPM leverages wireless devices (e.g., weight scale, blood pressure monitor), often integrated with a software platform, to monitor patients’ health status. Providers can use RPM to manage patients with a range of chronic conditions […]
Abstract Rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forced an abrupt shift in the traditional US health care delivery model to meet the needs of patients, staff, and communities. Through federal policy changes on telehealth, patient care shifted from in-person to telephone or video visits, and health care providers reached out to patients most at […]
In response to the telehealth expansions and increased usage during the pandemic, CMS is reviewing the temporary regulation changes it made and assessing which should become permanent, according to CMS Administrator Seema Verma. In a July 15 Health Affairs article, Ms. Verma addressed the benefits that telehealth expansions have crafted during the pandemic and what challenges CMS […]
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services made sweeping changes that expanded telehealth coverage for Medicare patients. A bill introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday would make some of them permanent. The Protecting Access to Post-Covid-19 Telehealth Act would codify one of the most significant changes made during the […]
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.–The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has broadly affected how health care is provided in the United States. One notable change is the expanded use of telehealth services, which have been quickly adopted by many health care providers and payers, including Medicare, to ensure patients’ access to care while reducing their risk of […]
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, venturing outside in New York felt like preparing for battle. Germs were invisible bullets from which we tried to shield ourselves using masks and distancing. Staying home was of course the safest course of action, but for some, going out to see a doctor was crucial to their […]
During the Coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken unprecedented action to expand telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries. Since people were advised to stay at home to reduce risk of exposure of COVID-19, there was an urgency to increase access to telehealth services to help people who need routine care and […]
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated telemedicine expansions and provisions but as states approach emergency order expirations, the status of coverage and regulations remains uncertain. Five things to know: 1. Over the past few months, CMS Administrator Seema Verma has voiced her support for telemedicine expansions. In June, Ms. Verma confirmed that the agency is in the process of […]
CMS released its telehealth guidance for electronic clinical quality measures for telehealth-eligible clinicians in 2021. The agency listed 39 telehealth-eligible eCQMs for the next reporting period: 1. Preventive care and screening: screening for depression and follow-up plan2. Closing the referral loop: receipt of specialist report3. Functional status assessment for total hip replacement4. Functional status assessment for total […]
The documents released earlier this month offer details on 42 eCQMs for telehealth services during the 2020 performance period and 39 eCQMs for telehealth services during the 2021 performance period. By Eric Wicklund July 13, 2020 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released additional details on telehealth reimbursement through quality reporting programs for the 2020 […]
Digital health data is growing at such an astronomical rate that its volume is measured in exabytes – 2,314 exabytes, by one projection. (For the record, one exabyte = one billion gigabytes; and “all words ever spoken by human beings” would need 5 exabytes of storage if saved as text.) The value of this digital health […]
On June 25, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced its proposed Home Health Prospective Payment System Rule, for calendar year 2021 (the “Rule”), which aims to increase home health agency Medicare payment rates. This Rule also includes a provision to make permanent the regulatory changes related to telecommunication technologies in providing […]
Despite reimbursement barriers, home health care providers have long used telehealth and mHealth tools to improve care. Could COVID-19 expand those opportunities? July 10, 2020 – With the world stuck in the midst of a pandemic, health systems are looking to telehealth to shift the balance of care out of the hospital or clinic and into the […]
HHS Secretary Alex Azar said during a July 9 virtual The Hill event that he supports expanding telehealth provisions that were lifted during the coronavirus pandemic and the agency plans to work with Congress for greater coverage. “I think we’d have a revolution if anyone tried to go backwards on this,” Mr. Azar said, according to Politico. “This is […]