Virtual care news, trends and reimbursement updates
Telehealth news covering program growth, utilization and payment. Becker's tracks telehealth reimbursement policy at the federal and state level and how virtual care fits into health system strategy.
Telehealth
Ochsner LSU Health Monroe (La.), an Ochsner Health System hospital, is adding videoconferencing technology and more care training to its intensive care unit telemedicine program, News Star reports.
Planned Parenthood of Arizona is suing the state over its abortion prevention laws, including those that prohibit telemedicine abortions, AZ Central reports.
Reps. TJ Cox, D-Calif., Mike Thompson, D-Calif., Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Earl Carter, R-Ga., introduced legislation that would allow respiratory therapists to serve as telehealth practitioners for Medicare patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Hazard, Ky.-based Appalachian Regional Healthcare System will launch Advanced ICU Care's remote monitoring technology for intensive care unit patients across all 12 of its hospitals.
Animated avatars may be the next big thing in telehealth, helping reduce healthcare costs without jeopardizing patient care or eliminating jobs, according to orthopedic surgeon Mary O'Connor, MD, and cited in an American Medical Association blog post.
Looking beyond automobile manufacturing to tech-enabled transport, Ford Motor Co., says it will expand its medical transportation program to 40 cities in four years, Reuters reports.
Victoria, Texas-based Crossroads Area Veteran Center is implementing a new telehealth system that will connect veterans to mental health specialists at Corpus Christi (Texas) Vet Center through videoconferencing technology, Victoria Advocate reports.
The Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston will ramp up investments in its transplant telehealth program throughout the rest of the year, SC Now reports.
Pregnant patients who use a mobile prenatal care app and have fewer in-person clinic visits show no difference in patient or provider satisfaction than those who receive all prenatal care and education in person, according to a study published in…
St. Louis-based SSM Health is upping the ante for providers in Wisconsin and Missouri by offering all residents — established patients or not, health insurance or not — $25 virtual visits within an hour of requesting an appointment.