Telehealth

The Federal Trade Commission sent a letter May 29 to CMS in support of broad access to telehealth for beneficiaries permanently. 

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., introduced legislation June 1 that would require the HHS secretary to conduct a widespread study on the effectiveness of telehealth before relaxed policies are rescinded, according to Nextgov.

Miramar, Fla.-based telemedicine provider MDLive appointed Cynthia Zelis, MD, as chief medical officer June 3.

While telehealth has been a useful tool to provide care to patients and reduce potential exposure to COVID-19, policymakers must enact ways to ensure barriers such as broadband connectivity and infrastructure do not limit access for vulnerable patient populations, according…

U.S. telehealth claim lines increased 4,347 percent among privately insured individuals from March 2019 to March 2020, according to data released June 2 from FAIR Health.

In response to the pandemic, Phoenix-based Valleywise Health built a telemedicine program from the ground up, facilitating more than 20,000 virtual visits and spurring benefits that will pave the way for future expansion.

The number of CMS beneficiaries has grown from 12,000 weekly telehealth visits to "well into six figures" during the pandemic, and both President Donald Trump and CMS Administrator Seema Verma aim to continue those benefits.

The acceleration of telehealth adoption among consumers and providers has pushed virtual care beyond urgent care services and laid a framework for up to $250 billion of U.S. healthcare spending to be virtualized, according to a recent McKinsey report. 

While the shift to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the physician-patient relationship from in-person to virtual, the experience has also ushered in unexpected human benefits, according to Dave Chokshi, MD.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic became widespread in the U.S., most healthcare industry experts predicted telemedicine would be one of the top healthcare sectors in 2020, according to a recent Venrock report.