Telehealth

As the healthcare industry strives to provide higher quality care at a lower cost, early intervention to direct patients to the most appropriate level of care settings is essential. 

Congress is set to grant a five-month extension to telehealth flexibilities, created during the pandemic, as part of the 2022 omnibus spending bill made public March 9.

Seventy-two organizations submitted a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration asking to remove the requirement that patients be evaluated in-person before being prescribed controlled substances via telemedicine.

Baptist Hospital of Miami and South Miami, Fla.-based Larkin Health System entered into an agreement to provide telehealth services to fire departments to eliminate an influx of patients in emergency rooms, Miami Today reported March 1.

Nearly 1 in 3 telehealth visits led to an in-person visit, which could lead to an increase in overall healthcare visits, according to results of a survey conducted on JLL that were released on March 2.

Samsung and two telehealth providers developed a national initiative that will provide grants, technology and physician expertise to rural hospitals in need of telehealth access.

As part of its efforts to address the national mental health crisis, the White House endorsed expanded telehealth coverage in a March 1 briefing. Here are three things to know about the administration's plans to increase telehealth access:

Teladoc Health partnered with Amazon Alexa to launch voice-activated, virtual medical care on supported Echo devices.

Non-English speaking patients struggle to access telemedicine as video visit services don't always offer proper translations or third-party interpreters, The Verge reported Feb. 24.

Amwell reported $252.8 million in revenue during 2021, up 3 percent from $245.3 million in 2020.