While telemedicine has rapidly expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, its effect on patient-physician relationships is not likely to create widespread transformation across the healthcare system, according to David Blumenthal, MD.

he House of Representatives recently introduced the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act, a bill calling for the permanence of telehealth regulations introduced in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

The Federal Communications Commission is increasing funding by $197.98 million for its rural healthcare program this year, it said in a June 30 news release.

Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health this month received Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota's Trailblazer Award for its efforts to improve virtual care access during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Google, Ascension and Johns Hopkins Health System are among 340 stakeholders that signed a June 29 letter urging Congress to make permanent the telehealth expansions granted during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Telehealth has experienced unprecedented growth as the COVID-19 pandemic forced healthcare providers globally to reimagine the way they treat patients. Before the pandemic, policy barriers inhibited the widespread use of telehealth, but a relaxation of those policies at the start of the pandemic ushered in the mass adoption of virtual care platforms, and many of these new care models are expected to continue well into the future. 

While telehealth has proved essential to reduce the spread of COVID-19 among both patients and providers, virtual care initiatives are failing to reach certain rural hospital patients.

While still higher than pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, telemedicine visits have begun to steadily decline across the U.S. since peaking in mid-April, according to a June 25 Commonwealth Fund report.

While it has emerged as a lifeline for patient care across the U.S. during the pandemic, telemedicine cannot capture the patient-physician interactions and personal contact in-person visits deliver, according to Marcin Chwistek, MD.

Most gastroenterology and hepatology patients and their physicians have favored telemedicine visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent Penn Medicine survey.

When CMS issued sweeping regulatory changes on March 30 to address COVID-19 patient surge, Cleveland Clinic assembled a team of IT, coding and billing experts to help translate the new telehealth policies and waivers into clinician-friendly electronic workflows. 

Ten health insurers in Oregon including Kaiser Permanente and Providence have committed to extending telehealth coverage for a broad range of services through the end of the year, KKLC reports. 

The Federal Communications Commission approved its 12th wave of COVID-19 telehealth program applications June 24, granting another $29.41 million to 77 healthcare providers nationwide.

Sacramento-based UC Davis Health will provide pediatric telehealth services to 14 Northern California counties through a new agreement with Partnership HealthPlan of California, effective July 1.

Minneapolis-based M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center will expand its telemedicine hub pilot to local homeless shelter for patients who need mental health and addiction therapy, Pioneer Press reports. 

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order June 22 to make telehealth regulations that have been relaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic permanent, the Idaho Statesman reports. 

Washington University and St. Louis University's medical schools plan to make telemedicine training part of their academic curriculums, according to St. Louis Public Radio.

Johns Hopkins Medicine plans to continue building momentum of its telehealth program after the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Baltimore-based health system's CEO anticipating 30 percent of visits to be delivered virtually, The Jerusalem Post reports.

Miami-based Florida International University received a $50,000 grant to study the use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic and address health disparities among low-income and uninsured patients in South Florida.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee this week expressed support to make certain telehealth Medicare policies that were expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic permanent.