Telehealth

The Massachusetts Association of Health Plans is sponsoring an 18-month study to examine how access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic has varied based on race, ethnicity and socioeconomic factors, according to a Dec. 2 news release.

HHS will continue to allow clinicians to provide telehealth services across state lines for covered services, including diagnostic tests, to fight the spread of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth at many U.S. hospitals and prompted temporary federal regulatory changes that allowed organizations greater flexibility in this area.

New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health is partnering with virtual care and communication platform Conversa Health to launch a COVID-19 screening tool for employers and schools across the state, according to a Dec. 3 news release.

Across the U.S., telehealth claim lines fell 16.5 percent from 6.07 percent in August to 5.07 percent in September, according to data released Dec. 1 from healthcare cost data organization Fair Health.

CMS released the 2021 physician fee schedule Dec. 1 with expanded telehealth services, remote physiologic monitoring updates and an extension for telecommunications tech supervision.

CMS released the 2021 physician fee schedule Dec. 1 with expanded telehealth services.

The shift to a greater use of telemedicine during the pandemic presents a new opportunity to reduce reliance on, and subsequent overcrowding in, emergency rooms, according to Austin Frakt, PhD.

While telehealth adoption has allowed clinical care to safely continue during the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual visits have presented some unintended consequences for patients and clinicians, according to Lisa Rotenstein, MD, and Lawrence Friedman, MD.

Telehealth use among Anthem's Medicare Advantage members grew exponentially during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report the insurer published Nov. 17.