Telehealth

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, R, this weekend signed Senate Bill 1107, expanding patients' access to video telemedicine services throughout the state, according to the Politico Morning eHealth newsletter.

Cooperstown, N.Y.-based Bassett Healthcare Network will implement video telemedicine at 15 school-based health centers through a partnership with swyMed.

Telemedicine policies are rapidly changing year to year. Since 2016, seven states have improved their coverage and reimbursement of telemedicine services, while three have furthered their restrictions, according to an American Telemedicine Association report.

The Sacramento (Calif.) City Unified School District may implement HippoMD's telemedicine services across the district, according to The Sacramento Bee. However, not all school personnel are on board.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual call for distance learning and telemedicine grant proposals will close July 17.

Only 15 percent of family physicians have used telehealth services, according a study in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

The Congressional Budget Office unveiled its direct spending estimate for the Creating High‐Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic Care Act of 2017.

The majority (94.7 percent) of women who undergo telemedicine abortions are able to terminate their pregnancy without surgical intervention, according to a new study out of University of Texas at Austin.

OCHIN, a national nonprofit health IT, research and innovation organization, has added the California Telehealth Network to its family of companies.

As hospitals look for cost-efficient ways to expand access to care and satisfy consumers' preferences for on-demand healthcare, many organizations are realizing the value of telehealth. More than three-quarters of hospitals and health systems — 76 percent — either have…