Telehealth

The American Hospital Association asked lawmakers to reimburse telehealth services under Medicare Advantage plans in a statement presented to the House Committee on Ways and Means June 7.

The National Quality Forum released a draft framework June 1 outlining methods to measure the quality of telehealth programs.

The New Jersey Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee unanimously passed a telemedicine bill in a 11-0 vote June 12, according to nj.com.

There must be flexibility throughout systems and regulations governing broadband access, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the Personal Connected Health Alliance wrote in a June 8 letter to Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

Home-based telemedicine may prove a successful delivery method to address dementia risk in older Americans, according to researchers from the Indianapolis-based Indiana University Center for Aging Research.

As rural hospitals continue to close across the country, communities in need of healthcare services may turn to more cost-effective alternatives such as telemedicine, according to a report out of the College Station-based Texas A&M Rural and Community Health Institute.

Carena, a Seattle-based telemedicine startup, raised $6 million in a recent round of funding, according to GeekWire.com.

eClinicalWorks launched a telehealth solution on its Health & Online Wellness mobile app June 7.

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia will no longer reimburse emergency department visits it deems unnecessary as of July 1. Instead, the insurer will ask patients to take advantage of other services, such as its telehealth platform.  

Philadelphia-based Einstein Healthcare Network selected Teladoc for its new telehealth initiative.