Telehealth

Telehealth has experienced unprecedented growth as the COVID-19 pandemic forced healthcare providers globally to reimagine the way they treat patients. Before the pandemic, policy barriers inhibited the widespread use of telehealth, but a relaxation of those policies at the start…

While telehealth has proved essential to reduce the spread of COVID-19 among both patients and providers, virtual care initiatives are failing to reach certain rural hospital patients.

While still higher than pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, telemedicine visits have begun to steadily decline across the U.S. since peaking in mid-April, according to a June 25 Commonwealth Fund report.

While it has emerged as a lifeline for patient care across the U.S. during the pandemic, telemedicine cannot capture the patient-physician interactions and personal contact in-person visits deliver, according to Marcin Chwistek, MD.

Most gastroenterology and hepatology patients and their physicians have favored telemedicine visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent Penn Medicine survey.

When CMS issued sweeping regulatory changes on March 30 to address COVID-19 patient surge, Cleveland Clinic assembled a team of IT, coding and billing experts to help translate the new telehealth policies and waivers into clinician-friendly electronic workflows. 

Ten health insurers in Oregon including Kaiser Permanente and Providence have committed to extending telehealth coverage for a broad range of services through the end of the year, KKLC reports. 

The Federal Communications Commission approved its 12th wave of COVID-19 telehealth program applications June 24, granting another $29.41 million to 77 healthcare providers nationwide.

Sacramento-based UC Davis Health will provide pediatric telehealth services to 14 Northern California counties through a new agreement with Partnership HealthPlan of California, effective July 1.

Minneapolis-based M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center will expand its telemedicine hub pilot to local homeless shelter for patients who need mental health and addiction therapy, Pioneer Press reports.