Tag: telemedicine

Telehealth Is on the Rise

Telehealth is gaining in usage, says a new report, but there are still some barriers in place that are hindering wider implementation.

Telehealth is gaining in usage, or so found the State of the States Report: Coverage and Reimbursement from the American Telemedicine Association. However, there are still some barriers in place that are hindering wider implementation.

The report, which offers an in-depth analysis of telehealth laws and policies, was released last week, along with a statement from the ATA. In the statement, Ann Mond Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the ATA, said, “This year’s ATA report illustrates the increasing recognition of telehealth, and can guide federal and state lawmakers to identify and address policy gaps. Collectively, states are realizing the many benefits of telehealth and are implementing policies that advance utilization.”

Key findings from the ATA report include:

  • The eight most common types of telehealth providers include physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, licensed mental health professionals, psychologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and dentists.
  • Since 2017, when the ATA issued their last report, 40 states and the District of Columbia have adopted telehealth policies or have received awards to expand telehealth coverage and reimbursement.
  • 36 states and D.C. have parity policies for private payer coverage, and only 21 states and D.C. have coverage parity policies in Medicaid.
  • 28 states have Medicaid payment parity policies, and only 16 mandate payment parity for private payers.
  • The majority of states have no restrictions on eligible provider types; ten states have authorized six or more types of providers to treat patients through telehealth.
  • Currently, 29 states do not specify where a patient must be located in order to receive care via telehealth.

“It’s clear that more states are adopting telehealth solutions, but some lack the authority or resources needed to fully deploy telehealth across the state. ATA supports expanding research opportunities to increase innovation and reduce costs, to help incentivize states to continue to adopt telehealth services,” added Mond Johnson.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

FCC Sets Vote on $100M Telehealth Program for Rural U.S.

The FCC will vote next month on a $100 million program that aims to expand telehealth to rural patients and veterans by funding technology for providers.

The Federal Communications Commissions will vote next month on the Connected Care Pilot Program, an effort to develop and expand telehealth programs for the United States’ underserved rural residents and veterans that comes with a $100 million price tag. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announced the July 10th vote yesterday during a visit to a rural health clinic in Laurel Fork, VA.

The three-year program, which has the backing of multiple health organizations, focuses on funding healthcare providers through the Universal Service Fund to secure broadband services to enable low-income patients and veterans to access telehealth services.

“With advances in telemedicine, healthcare is no longer limited to the confines of traditional brick and mortar health care facilities With an Internet connection, patients can now access high-quality care right on their smartphones, tablets, or other devices, regardless of where they are located. I think the FCC should support this new trend towards connected care, which is the healthcare equivalent of moving from Blockbuster to Netflix,” Carr said in a statement released yesterday. He went on to explain that the program, which was revealed nearly a year prior to the proposed vote in July of 2018, “will focus on ensuring that low-income Americans and veterans can access this technology.”

The Connected Care Pilot Program aims to expand access to care, improve outcomes, and reduce costs by creating a “a model for the adoption of connected care technologies and bridging the doctor divide in rural America,” per the statement released by Carr.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

New App Connects Patients with Advanced Practitioners, RNs via Text

A new app is taking aim at the telehealth space–not to diagnose, but to triage–and advanced practitioners and RNs are the ones on call.

A new startup has taken aim at the telehealth space. However, unlike other apps, the focus is to connect patients with physician assistants and nurse practitioners, as well as registered nurses, instead of physicians. The app, which offers a 24/7 chat-based model, also aims not to diagnose or prescribe, but to triage and inform.

Developed in the Harvard Innovation Lab and launched earlier this month, Nurse-1-1 is designed to offer patients a better and more reliable resource than being left to their own devices, such as Googling symptoms, to determine whether or not they should seek medical attention. It is HIPPA-compliant and encrypted, and offers patients a low-cost model of $12.50 per chat, with or without insurance—which is undoubtedly cheaper than a wasted co-pay, if medical attention isn’t deemed advisable.

To use the service, patients only need to download the app, answer some simple questions, and then they are paired with either a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or registered nurse, who can triage their situation through photos and information shared via the chat.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

Telehealth Saved Providers $2,750 per Patient, New Study Says

The results of a long-awaited study has found that telehealth saves providers nearly $3K per patient when used for post-discharge knee replacement PT.

Telehealth saves healthcare providers nearly $2,750 per patient when used in place of in-person physical therapy for post-discharge knee replacement patients, according to a long-awaited study by the Duke University School of Medicine’s Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).

The VERITAS (Virtual Exercise Rehabilitation In-home Therapy: A Research Study) project began in 2016 and followed nearly 300 people who had undergone a total knee replacement surgery. Researchers split the group into two groups; half of participants received traditional in-person physical therapy, and the other half received physical therapy via a remote patient monitoring platform known as VERA.

Researchers found that both methods of treatment were similarly effective in reducing knee instability and improving knee function, but that providers using the telehealth platform with clinical oversight saved an average of $2,745 per patient.

The findings of the study strengthen the case for physical therapists who are considering telemedicine as a way of expanding their businesses and boosting patient engagement.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

The Doctor Is in, but Millennials Seem to Be Out

More millennials are shunning the traditional primary care model, in favor of retail clinics, free-standing urgent care centers, and telemedicine.

For years, office-based primary care visits have been a staple of American healthcare. However, millennials—the roughly 83 million Americans born between 1981 and 1996—seem to prefer the convenience, speed, connectivity, and price transparency of retail clinics, free-standing urgent care centers, and online telemedicine sites over traditional doctor’s appointments, reports The Washington Post.

In a national poll conducted in July by the Kaiser Family Foundation that surveyed 1,2000 randomly selected adults, it was found that 26% said they did not have a primary care provider. When that percentage was broken down by age groups, there was a staggering difference. 45% of 18- to 29-year-olds had no primary-care provider, compared with 28% of respondents aged 30 to 49, 18% of those 50 to 64, and 12% aged 65+.

A 2017 survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald and Associates showed similar numbers: 33% of millennials reported not having a regular doctor, compared with 15% of those aged 50 to 64.

“There is a generational shift. These trends are more evident among millennials, but not unique to them. I think people’s expectations have changed. Convenience [is prized] in almost every aspect of our lives, from shopping to online banking,” Ateev Mehrotra, MD, an associate professor at Boston’s Harvard Medical School, is quoted as saying in the article.

This shift is upending the office-based primary care model, with more primary care practices hiring on additional physicians or nurse practitioners in an effort to reduce wait times, as well as embracing digital tools, such as patient portals, in an attempt to woo millennials back to primary care, not only for the practice’s bottom line, but for patient safety.

Some experts warn that straying from the traditional primary care model may be driving up health costs and worsening the problem of unnecessary care, including the dangerous misuse of antibiotics.

“We all need care that is coordinated and longitudinal. Regardless of how healthy you are, you need someone who knows you,” said Michael Munger, MD, President of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

As Telemedicine Grows up, It Needs Some Ground Rules

Telemedicine has been hampered by its inability to craft clinical guidelines.

from Healthcare Dive

Telemedicine is a booming sector of the healthcare industry: Investments are ramping up as health systems fine-tune their EHRs, explore remote patient monitoring and look toward population health management. But with this growth comes a need for guidance and regulation. Nearly everyone agrees this is necessary, but issues — including a lack of data, interoperability problems and segmented interests — present obstacles.

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Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

Does Telemedicine Save or Cost Money?

Telehealth companies have long asserted that increased access to physicians via video or phone saves money by reducing office visits.

from KevinMD

Over 1 million virtual doctor visits were reported in 2015. Telehealth companies have long asserted that increased access to physicians via video or phone conferencing saves money by reducing office visits and Emergency Department care. But a new study calls this cost savings into question. Increased convenience can increase utilization, which may improve access, but not reduce costs.

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Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.

The Nuts and Bolts of Preparing for Audiology Telepractice

A telepractice expert shares what you need to know before—and how to prepare for—providing online services.

from ASHA

Audiologists may be able to use telepractice to expand their client base and better provide access to care. And although audiology telepractice regulations vary by state, there are a few universal components that all audiologists need to consider before they sit down for their first session in front of the computer.

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Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.