Mercy will use a $2.2 million from the Federal Communications Commission to expand its telehealth services for patients in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

As telehealth is becoming a mainstay of healthcare, partly spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are exploring ways to improve their telemedicine offerings. Here are four companies that unveiled healthcare-related devices at CES 2022, according to a Jan. 11 report in Time.

The pandemic caused explosive growth in telehealth, but one Colorado physician is saying the tool has added to some medical industry burnout, reported KRDO Jan. 11.

National use of telehealth services fell by 6.8 percent from September to October 2021, the American Journal of Managed Care reported Jan. 10. 

Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Health's telehealth services, which normally cost $49 per visit, are now being offered for free as the health system sees an increase in COVID-19 cases, Wink News reported Jan. 7.

Low-income, non-English-speaking patients of Hispanic and Asian ethnicities may be less likely to use telemedicine, according to a new study published Jan. 5. 

Female, primary care and behavior specialists were more likely to implement virtual care early on during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with male and surgical specialty physicians, a Dec. 30 study published in JAMA Network Open found.

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.

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.

As the COVID-19 pandemic helped spur a boom in telehealth services, some rehabilitation centers also embraced the new format of medicine and are considering using telemedicine in the long term, The Gazette reported Dec. 15.

Telemedicine holds strong potential to democratize healthcare, but its use remains unequal, a Dec. 13 report shows. 

Despite overall satisfaction of consumers with telemedicine, patients were less impressed by the services this year as compared to last, a new report from Rock Health published Dec. 13 reveals.