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
Telemedicine helped decrease by half the time between scheduling and appointments for primary care visits conducted before the pandemic, according to a Feb. 3 study published in Telemedicine and e-Health.
Telehealth usage soared during the first six months of the pandemic. Usage has been declining since, but telehealth is still utilized more than before COVID-19, according to research published Feb. 10 in the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.
Ivermectin, a medicine used to treat parasitic worms, is being prescribed via telemedicine by a minority of physicians to treat COVID-19, despite FDA and CDC warnings against it, NPR reported Feb. 9.
During the pandemic, the use of telemedicine surged, offering opportunities for care for people stuck indoors. However, it's not without its downfalls, presenting some serious challenges to be solved, The Legal Examiner reported Feb. 8.
Epic has the top EMR-centric virtual care platform, and Caregility has the top non-EMR-based virtual care platform, according to KLAS Research's 2022 "Best in KLAS" rankings, released Feb. 8.
SOC Telemed struck a deal to be acquired by private equity healthcare investment firm Patient Square Capital. SOC Telemed would be private upon completion of the deal.
Across the U.S., mental health conditions were the No. 1 telehealth diagnosis in November 2021, according to new data from Fair Health.
While telehealth took off during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also been marred by inequitable use and access. A new study reveals demographic disparities in telehealth usage depending on whether patients access those services via video or audio call.
New York City-based NYU Langone Health made sweeping expansions to its telehealth program during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an increase of urgent video visits by nearly 700 percent and nonurgent video visits by more than 4,300 percent between March…
A group of 45 elected officials urged congressional leadership to include a short-term extension of Medicare for telehealth services.