Policy

Making Telemedicine Feasible for Everyone – Especially Those With Physical Challenges

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Telemedicine has for years been touted as providing access to healthcare for everyone, anywhere, anytime and it has been quite successful in doing so in many respects but disparities still exist among a number of patient populations. In particular, those who traditionally have challenges accessing healthcare due to physical challenges often experience similar or even greater challenges with telemedicine. Think about for a minute. Telemedicine is predominantly provided using audio and/or video-based telecommunications technologies. This fundamental fact of how telemedicine visits occur can actually exacerbate digital disparities.

5 Tips To Prepare for Your Medicare Telemedicine Appointment

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Telemedicine is when technology is used to deliver care at a distance. A physician or some other healthcare provider is in a different location than the patient, delivering care virtually, over video or phone. Since the spread of the Covid-19 virus in 2020 telehealth and telemedicine coverage has been expanded, which was previously covered only in a limited fashion. Therefore, there has been a large increase in Medicare recipients seeing physicians using telemedicine. Many types of visits in most specialties can be handled through a virtual or telemedicine visit. This is especially important for the Medicare population, since it is mitigating their risk by not going to an office with exposure to others. In some circumstances it may still be necessary to do an in-person visit, for example to get an x-ray exam, get labs done or have a procedure done. Here are five helpful tips to help you best prepare for a Medicare telemedicine appointment.

Where a person lives shouldn’t dictate the quality of their care

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Utah has a population of over 3 million people spread across 82,144 square miles. Rural communities make up a little more than 10% of Utah's population. The details of Utah’s population raise a challenging question for healthcare: How to provide quality and timely care to the 10% of the population living in rural communities? At Intermountain Healthcare, telehealth is a crucial part of our solution. The Intermountain telehealth journey began when clinical leadership recognized that Park City Hospital was transferring many critically ill patients to Salt Lake City. The distance is not far, but potentially unnecessary transfers were taking place on mountain roads, during bad weather conditions typical of high-elevation, mountainous regions.

When do you Build it and When do you Buy it?

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When it comes to platforms and technology for virtual care, when do you buy and when should you build? Building is certain to cost more up front, but it offers the option of lower costs of ongoing support. In addition, if you build it, you own it and can do what you like without interference. Buying it leverages the experience and expertise of vendors, while alleviating programming and some internal support needs. When it comes to creating a telemedicine offering, the struggle is real. There are countless vendors and options. Large companies have merged into larger major market brands. Many companies, including startups, do one or a few things very well as targeted solutions. Getting information on product decisions can be difficult as vendors do not always provide actual use cases. They often leave that up to the customer to define then say how their system could fulfill those needs. Searching for something like ‘TeleICU’ returns more articles and vendors than one could reasonably read.

Telecommuting: US workers are adjusting from office to home

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Telecommuting, sometimes referred to as telework or working from home (WFH), got off to a slow start in the U.S. in the 1970s. With a viral pandemic forcing workers to consider the risk of infection from proximity to co-workers, nearly half of US workers have locked their office doors and headed for home. That’s more than twice as many as those telecommuting, at least occasionally, from 2017 through 2018, according to the Brookings Institution, a non-profit public -policy organization based in Washington, D.C.

Telerehabilitation: Understanding Digital Practice Physical Therapy to Improve Mobility

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In a world of go-go-go, telerehabilitation is a way to slow down and connect with a physical therapist from your own home. This one-on-one video appointment allows a physical therapist to connect virtually using technology such as your smart phone or computer. As a functional movement profession, many people are surprised to hear physical therapy can be done through video. Truth is, this has been done for years.

Phoenix VA : Electronic Daily Reminders Can Increase Home Telehealth Utilization

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Home telehealth programs can help patients manage chronic disease, while receiving education and daily guidance from a nurse care coordinator or other health professional. For some reason, however, many patients in home telehealth programs do not adhere to daily check-ins. I am the telehealth specialist and facility e-consult coordinator with the Phoenix Veterans Administration Health Care System. As part of my studies toward a doctoral degree in nursing, I have found a potential solution.

Telehealth Reimbursement: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You!

Image of a slide about Rules for telehealth reimbursement

Telemedicine reimbursement is always a hot topic but even hotter with the new CMS regulations.  On February 7, 2019, Jordana Bernard the Director for Policy and Public Affairs at InTouch Health, was the guest presenter for the Southwest Telehealth Resource Center and the Arizona Telemedicine Program webinar series.  The webinar reached over 500 individuals across the US and a few international folks joined in too! Jordana provided a concise and informative overview of all the latest changes in telehealth reimbursement. It was recorded and archived on our website along with her slide deck and a couple of useful handouts (e.g., the list of 98 CPTs that are reimbursed), so if you missed it think about taking the time to view it. These, along with all our previous webinars, can be found at https://telemedicine.arizona.edu/webinars/previous .

Good News from Washington: Congress and CMS are Embracing Telehealth

Practitioner on phone call

The 115th Congress (2017-2018) took big steps forward for telehealth.

First, members introduced 119 bills that included the term “telehealth” or “telemedicine,” a 42% increase over telehealth legislation introduced in the 114th Congress.

Second, the bipartisan Congressional Telehealth Caucus formed to “discuss how best to improve remote care to Americans who need it most.” Yes, you read that right: Bipartisan! There is enormous bipartisan support for telehealth in Congress.