Telehealth
The Trump administration on April 23 released a toolkit that offers resources and guidance to help states expand telehealth coverage policies for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a drop in patient volumes and technical issues arising with telehealth, some healthcare providers are struggling to get paid for virtual visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Forty-eight percent of physicians are using telemedicine technology to continue treating patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent Merritt Hawkins report.
Congress and CMS have introduced changes to rural health clinic and federally qualified health center requirements and payments to ensure patients have access to services they need during the pandemic.
Amwell has launched a telehealth services platform aimed at smaller physician practices. In a news release, company CEO Roy Schoenberg said the platform focuses on assisting community-based care when physician offices "are closed, or their on-site services are deeply limited."
While CMS has relaxed telehealth regulations to expand care during the COVID-19 pandemic, the action may result in a spike in billing fraud, according to an April 22 Kaiser Health News report.
The Federal Communications Commission approved its second wave of COVID-19 telehealth program applications, funneling $3.7 million to providers including NYU Langone Health and University of Michigan Hospital.
As physicians maneuver the transition to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic, they can still exhibit empathy toward their patients by adopting verbal and nonverbal habits.
Solutionreach, the leader in patient engagement and innovation in healthcare, announced the release of its SR Telehealth solution to help providers remain HIPAA-compliant while streamlining the process of virtual visits from scheduling through the encounter.
Cleveland Clinic released its COVID-19 Digital Health Playbook, including a guide for healthcare organizations to rapidly scale their telehealth offerings.