Telehealth demonstrated its potential value as a way to supplement medical care during the pandemic, greatly improving access and accessibility, and is likely here to stay. But, experts said at a panel this week, changes in regulatory oversight and technological upgrades will be needed to ensure that the already marginalized — the elderly, the poor,… Read More »
The Federal Communications Commission will soon move to issue a final order for its new $ 100 million Connected Care Pilot Program, which is intended to boost the use of telehealth for underserved patient populations. In July, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requesting public comment on the initiative aimed at cost savings… Read More »
In a virtual public meeting this past Friday, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission discussed how – and whether – to permanently expand telehealth in Medicare. Before the pandemic, Medicare’s physician fee schedule covered a limited set of telehealth services in rural locations. During the public health emergency, the Centers for Medicare and… Read More »
Dive Brief: HHS on Thursday released a plan to enhance rural healthcare services as the pandemic continues to highlight the steep healthcare barriers these regions face. But the plan falls short of the complete overhaul some experts say the problem requires, and a fair amount of the projects and directives it includes are already in place.… Read More »
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has put together further detailed guidance for how healthcare providers should be documenting and reporting electronic clinical quality measures for telehealth encounters. The new telehealth-eligible eCQMs are for any eligible professionals or eligible clinicians participating in CMS quality reporting programs for performance period 2020, including the Merit-based Incentive… Read More »