In February — the month before COVID-19 hit Boston — Partners Healthcare, the huge health system that includes Massachusetts General Hospital, treated 1,600 patients via video visits. By April, the number of patients seeking care through Partners’ video service had swelled to 242,000. “We’re not the only ones,” said Joe Kvedar, a dermatology professor at […]
Although providing services to patients virtually can improve provider efficiency, it’s important to consider individual technological capabilities. By Kat JercichJune 26, 2020 Home-based primary care allows individuals with chronic conditions – especially older people – to stay in their homes longer, so reducing hospitalization rates and improving quality of life. As the COVID-19 crisis has made […]
The pandemic may have vaulted us into the future of medicine, but the leap to remote and home-based care is far from complete. by Jacquelyn BengfortTwitter The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shifted the ways in which patients access medical care. An Epic Health Research Network study found that between mid-March and mid-April, 2020, telemedicine appointments grew at a […]
The pandemic has changed the way we view healthcare, especially doctor visits for the entire family. The new normal to ensure the health and safety of all persons is through the use of telemedicine, according to Linda Inmon, Extension associate-family and consumer sciences at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Telehealth, also called telemedicine, […]
Near the outset of the grueling war against Covid-19, President Donald Trump directed my agency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to recommend the postponement of non-emergency elective surgeries and procedures. The looming threat of a shortage of personal protective equipment and other supplies for health care workers in the face of a surge […]
What a time to be alive. Despite this phrase being a personal favorite, I would guess that most of us think of these six-words—or some variation thereof—on a daily basis. At the beginning of this year, most Americans likely expected the presidential election to dominate the news cycle of 2020. Fast-forward a few short months, […]
When the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began to spread rapidly in the US in early March, nearly every institution across the country was given a Darwinian ultimatum: adapt, or get left behind. The medical field was no different. For many medical professionals, telemedicine was widely discussed theory of practice; its actual use was a more limited, […]
By KEN TERRY Telehealth has been a lifeline for many doctors and patients during the pandemic, and the decisions of CMS and many private payers to cover telehealth visits—in some cases, at full parity with in-person visits–has helped physician practices stave off bankruptcy. Assuming that these policies remain in effect after the pandemic, I agree with […]
By Kat Jercich During the opening keynote of the 2020 American Telemedicine Association conference, ATA CEO Ann Mond Johnson pointed to the transformative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on telehealth. “This health emergency has launched telehealth” to new heights, Johnson said. Given the social distancing measures that necessitated a limitation on in-person care, “consumers realized telehealth […]
“Social distancing,” a euphemism for an infection prevention and containment strategy, will undoubtedly live in the annals of meme history for its incredibly disrupting effects on the world. Fortunately, advancements in technology that allow one to upload the same memes to the internet have also enabled medical providers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by […]
Sudden adoption of virtual care brings long-term legal challenges as the platform’s popularity outlasts the pandemic. Following previous incremental advancements in telehealth, the COVID-19 pandemic thrust the technology to center stage during a public health emergency. Virtually overnight, federal and state regulators relaxed regulations spanning multiple agencies that historically hindered the ability of providers to […]
Tuesday, June 2, 2020 As previously reported, Congress and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have removed longstanding regulatory barriers to the broad deployment of telehealth for general care during the COVID-19 pandemic. In parallel, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has established the Federal Communication Commission (“FCC”) COVID-19 Telehealth Program, (the […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Friday it has finalized changes to Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D. The changes — detailed in a final rule for 2021 — partly seek to strengthen access to telehealth services, an increasingly important component of the health care system amid the ongoing coronavirus emergency. While the […]