On November 01, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that includes updates and policy changes for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and other Medicare Part B issues, effective on or after January 1, 2023. The calendar year (CY) 2023 PFS final rule is one of several rules that reflect a broader […]
There are practical ways to apply digital care solutions to improve health for all. Pandemic-related hardships affect the mental and physical health of various populations differently. Younger generations, women, and those with children in the home face higher rates of depression and anxiety, while Black and Hispanic adults fare worse than white adults across all […]
You may have heard of or used Telehealth. The growth of Telehealth has increased rapidly after the pandemic of COVID-19. Because during the pandemic of COVID-19, people depended on the Internet for their daily issues, and health was one of the issues faced daily by people. They needed a platform where they could get healthcare […]
Appropriate application of telehealth could make health care delivery more efficient, explains Dr Mike Hoaglin. As a currently practicing physician with plenty of experience working in the emergency department, I’m no stranger to advocating for patients’ access to care within complex and inefficient systems. Barriers to that care range from shortage of in-network supply of […]
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that despite the positive impact of telehealth flexibilities on home health agencies (HHAs), there is a need for further review of the services they provide and the patients it benefits most. As COVID-19 cases grew, so did restrictions on in-person healthcare. This […]
On September 26, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled “Medicare Telehealth: Actions Needed to Strengthen Oversight and Help Providers Educate Patients on Privacy and Security Risks.” The 75-page report describes the utilization of Medicare telehealth services under current pandemic-related waivers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) efforts to identify and monitor risks posed […]
Telehealth remains a major topic of debate and study in the health policy community. This article looks at several recent newsworthy items in the telehealth space. This includes hundreds of groups lobbying the U.S. Senate for telehealth policy extensions, a study showing consumer preference for telehealth visits, and further debate about these services. Hundreds of […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should evaluate how the use of telehealth affected the quality of home healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Office of Inspector General (OIG). The government watchdog issued the recommendation in a report to the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The OIG surveyed 400 […]
Introduction Hospital-at-home programs enable patients to receive acute care in their home environment. These programs have proliferated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent surge in hospitalizations, which has stressed hospital capacity nationally. The model has been well-tested, and studies have shown that hospital-at-home programs can reduce length of stay, improve quality, lower risk of […]
Telehealth use has grown significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a broad coalition of telehealth stakeholders wants the U.S. Senate to continue the policies enabling that growth. In a September 13 letter to Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) the coalition urged the Senate to extend by two years the […]
When President Joe Biden declared the COVID-19 pandemic “over” Sept. 18, his message divided the medical community and sent a clear message: the nation is moving on from COVID-19. On Oct. 13, HHS extended the public health emergency once again and sent another clear message: the healthcare system is not ready to move on. “It’s not that we necessarily want to […]
For healthcare providers treating some of the most underserved populations and communities, the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency is pretty bleak. Federal waivers expanding access to and coverage of telehealth will end with the PHE, forcing them to curtail or even end programs that had seen quite a bit of success over the […]
The Congressional Budget Office identified telehealth as one of the tools to help reduce prices paid by commercial health insurers in a recently released policy analysis. The paper noted both positive and potentially negative consequences, something that might not please proponents of the technological efficiency Policies that could decrease costs by regulating price growth, encouraging […]
The routine physician’s office visit is experiencing disruption at the hands of virtual care technology. According to the newly released J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Telehealth Satisfaction Study, a growing majority of consumers now say they prefer telehealth over in-person visits for a wide range of routine care, including prescription refills, reviews of medication options and […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should implement billing codes and quality assessments for telehealth services, according to new recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The recommendations include calls for billing modifiers or clarified guidance on audio-only telehealth claims, a quality evaluation methodology for those services, and education programs designed to […]