Telehealth

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated telemedicine expansions and provisions but as states approach emergency order expirations, the status of coverage and regulations remains uncertain. 

CMS released its telehealth guidance for electronic clinical quality measures for telehealth-eligible clinicians in 2021.

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to ramp up its telehealth services at Walmart locations across the country once the coronavirus pandemic "winds down," according to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, Military.com reports. 

Traditional retailers Walgreens, Walmart and CVS have entered the healthcare arena in a variety of ways, including telehealth.

At $1.7 billion, telehealth companies led financing activity for the first half of 2020's record $6.3 billion in digital health funding, according to a recent Mercom Capital Group report.

Rhode Island healthcare providers are urging lawmakers to expand telemedicine regulations ahead of the state's Aug. 2 expiration of the executive order requiring insurers to cover virtual care, according to Providence Journal.

Since the coronavirus pandemic started, female physicians have been 25 percent more likely to adopt telemedicine than male physicians, according to a July 9 Doximity report.

Thirty-one percent of physicians across the U.S. have experienced challenges with developing an online personality when using telehealth at their practices, according to a recent Sage Growth Partners report.

Charleston-based Medical University of South Carolina is developing a telemedicine prototype to assist hospitals and patients when intensive care units are over capacity.

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.