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
Laws determining telehealth access vary widely across the 50 states, according to a report released Jan. 5 by Reason Foundation, Cicero Institute and Pioneer Institute.
Senior healthcare platform Independa will equip each 2021 and 2022 LG television with a telehealth app and health education platform, The Verge reported Jan. 4.
AT&T will be providing its nationwide Internet-of-Things network to Smart Meter's remote patient monitoring devices.
Replacing and augmenting regular in-person visits with virtual care results in similar health outcomes and patient satisfaction, U.S. News & World Report reported Jan. 3
Onancock, Va.-based Eastern Shore Rural Health is mandating visits by phone or video for people who are experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine in Edinburg has expanded its free telehealth mental health program to nine school districts in the state.
The Federal Communications Commission approved Dec. 21 an additional 68 applicants for funding in its second round of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, totaling $42.7 million in the round.
Requiring telehealth reimbursement at the same rates as in-person services will prevent savings for patients, writes Angela Dills, PhD, in The Hill Dec. 21
Many hospitals and health systems had begun forays into telehealth before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. But all were caught off guard by COVID-19 and the drastic and immediate need to implement or scale telehealth.
In collaboration with Amwell
The share of rural households that interacted with healthcare providers online increased from 34 percent in 2019 to 54 percent in 2021, according to a report released Dec. 16 by Connected Nation, a nonprofit focused on expanding broadband access.