Telehealth 101 – Basics of Telehealth & Terms Used
This introductory video will provide you with an understanding of some of the different modalities and terms that are frequently used in telehealth and telehealth policy.
Telemedicine
What Is Telehealth and How Does It Work?
There are services on the internet that let you track COVID-19 in your area or recover from burnout related to COVID. But are these telehealth, telemedicine, or neither? The terms telehealth and telemedicine are often used to mean the same thing, but that’s not exactly accurate. Telemedicine is the use of technology to provide clinical care over distance. […]
New Toolkit Aims to Help Telehealth Programs Negotiate Payer Reimbursement
An organization focused on supporting virtual-first programs has created a toolkit designed to help healthcare providers negotiate reimbursement with third party payers for their telehealth services. By Eric Wicklund October 11, 2021 – An organization focused on assisting healthcare providers with virtual care platforms has released a resource for negotiating third party payer reimbursement. The Payer-V1C Contracting Toolkit is […]
Telemonitoring Reduces Some Exacerbation-Related Health Care Use in COPD
The study aimed to identify the usefulness of telemonitoring to detect and manage acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD). Telemonitoring can reduce emergency department (ED) visits and exacerbation-related readmissions, as well as acute exacerbation-related hospital days in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a recent analysis out of China. The results also showed improvements in mortality […]
Virtual care with remote monitoring reduces patients’ pain, drug errors: study
Patients monitored virtually after nonelective surgery had significantly reduced pain and greater detection and correction of medication errors, according to researchers at McMaster University in Ontario. The national study, published this week in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), analyzed outcomes of post-surgical patients that received care virtually and through remote automated monitoring (RAM). Care included video calls with doctors […]
3 Ways Remote Patient Management Reduces Strain On Our Healthcare Systems
Since late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a great deal of attention to healthcare systems around the globe. One topic that commonly comes up in the news and media is the strain that these healthcare systems face on a daily basis. While the pandemic has shined a light on this issue, many healthcare systems […]
VA offers $1B telehealth contract opportunity
The contract is aimed at procuring remote patient monitoring and telemedicine devices, to be distributed to VA facilities or to veterans. By Kat Jercich September 17, 2021 11:30 AM The Department of Veterans Affairs published a $1 billion contract opportunity this week aimed at procuring remote patient monitoring and telehealth services to meet the needs of veterans. […]
Telehealth supports hospice and palliative care providers, patients and caregivers
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 quickly led to rapid adoption of telehealth across all healthcare sectors, including hospice and palliative care. A year later, hospice and palliative clinicians continue to incorporate telehealth into their daily practices to help establish, implement and inform a plan of care for home-based, seriously ill patients and […]
22 states changed telemedicine laws during the pandemic
Most pursued changes via administrative action, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report, which may not be a permanent solution after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends. By Kat Jercich June 24, 2021 03:01 PM The Commonwealth Fund released an issue brief this week reviewing state actions to expand individual and group health insurance coverage of telemedicine […]
CMS to Permanently Cover Audio-Only Telemedicine for Mental Health
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed permanent Medicare coverage of audio-only mental health telehealth services. Currently, Medicare covers audio-only telehealth under temporary waivers that will expire when the Public Health Emergency (PHE) ends. The change, contained in the 2022 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, is intended to maintain patient access to mental […]
430 healthcare organizations to lawmakers: Address the ‘telehealth cliff’
The American Telemedicine Association and Alliance for Connected Care are among a group of 430 organizations urging Congress to expand virtual care coverage before the COVID-19 public health emergency ends. The organizations sent a letter July 26 to lawmakers asking to approve permanent telehealth provisions for Medicare beneficiaries, including removing geographical barriers for telehealth usage […]
AMA Launches Telehealth Immersion Program to Promote Sustainability
The American Medical Association has launched a new program to help providers craft a long-term strategy for telehealth scalability and sustainability. By Eric Wicklund June 14, 2021 – The American Medical Association has launched a new program aimed at helping providers optimize and expand their telehealth programs. Meg Barron, the AMA’s vice president of digital health strategy, says the […]
Politicians Rush to Preserve Popular Pandemic-Era Telemedicine
Video conferences have long outlived their charm, but one pandemic staple remains popular: the virtual doctor’s visit. Now politicians around the country are racing against deadlines to make sure their constituents aren’t forced back to in-person medicine if they don’t want it. For months, Jim Des Marais, who has ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, has been […]
AMA calls for action to help telehealth flourish post-pandemic
The use of telehealth has exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, but critical issues related to health inequity, state medical licensure requirements, regulation and payment must be addressed for this mode of care to continue to flourish beyond the public health emergency. The AMA House of Delegates (HOD) took several actions with the aim of doing just that. […]