Telehealth

CMS Administrator Seema Verma discussed the prospects for extending telehealth coverage and pay rates permanently during a recent STAT virtual event.

To help maintain the telemedicine growth achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic, UPMC's chief medical information officer Robert Bart, MD, is focused on opportunities in urgent care, post-operative and prenatal care.

As hospitals and health systems navigate widespread telehealth use in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, transforming traditional in-person processes, such as patient intake, are the natural next steps along the patient care journey.

Wilmington, Del.-based ChristianaCare developed a new virtual telehealth service that offers daily monitoring of employees for COVID-19 symptoms and testing for employers and businesses.

The COVID-19 pandemic has opened doors for telehealth expansion, with states expanding access and insurance coverage. However, as states begin to re-open, many will need to take action to make those changes permanent once emergency orders are lifted.

CNBC reported that Amwell filed for an IPO during the week of June 1.

The Federal Communications Commission approved its ninth wave of COVID-19 telehealth program applications, awarding another $16.46 million to healthcare providers across the country.

A Colorado Senate committee on June 3 passed a bipartisan bill that aims to uphold patients' ability to receive care via telehealth that was implemented during the COVID-19 public health emergency, according to State of Reform.

Anthem Blue Cross of California is embarking on multiple digital health and telehealth initiatives to ease the access to care for its 1.2 million Medi-Cal members, according to a report from State of Reform.

Once the COVID-19 pandemic ends and states begin lifting emergency orders, temporary payment measures for telehealth reimbursement will likely go away unless financial incentives and permanent state regulations are put in place, according to Bloomberg Law.