The Alliance for Connected Care led a letter urging House and Senate leaders to support the passage of the Telehealth Expansion Act of 2023 (H.R. 1843/S. 1001). This is legislation which the House Ways & Means Committee advanced on a bipartisan basis earlier this year. The Telehealth Expansion Act of 2023 is a bipartisan, [...]
This update includes: Alliance Sign-On Opportunity Alliance Submits Comments to House W&M Committee Rural RFI DEA Announces Second Temporary Extension of Telemedicine Flexibility for Prescription Controlled Medications House E&C Health Legislative Hearing on Telehealth Privacy Act and notable research and news developments
Kaiser Permanente: Telehealth Primary Care Outcomes Remained Steady Well Into 2021 During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaiser Permanente patients became much more likely to visit their primary care doctor by video or phone. A study found these patients had similar medical outcomes whether they saw their doctor in-person or virtually. These findings, on top of our previous [...]
Psychiatric Services: Psychotherapy Disruption Before and After the Transition to Virtual Mental Health Care Induced by the COVID-19 Pandemic According to research published in Psychiatric Services, journal of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the rapid transition to virtual care that occurred with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in better continuity of psychotherapy visits compared to prior [...]
JAMA Network Open: Use of Prenatal Telehealth in the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic Prenatal telehealth use was more common among Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, and Indigenous respondents compared to non-Hispanic White respondents, as well as those living in urban areas vs rural areas. The study highlights the importance of considering patients' preferences when [...]
Epilepsia: Telemedicine as a Path to Bridging Inequities in Patients with Epilepsy Access to epilepsy specialist care is not uniform in the US with prominent gaps in rural areas. In this retrospective study, social determinants of health were collected for all adult patients scheduled in epilepsy clinic, either as an in-person or telemedicine appointment at [...]
The Alliance for Connected Care submitted comments to the House Ways & Means Committee request for information (RFI) on ways to incentivize access to care in rural America. Please find the full comments below or here.
RAND Corporation: Utilization and Spending on Mental Health Services Among Children and Youths With Commercial Insurance Spending on mental health services for children and adolescents has risen by more than one-quarter since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing to rise even as the use of telehealth plateaued. The study found that use of [...]
PR Newswire: Utilization of Audio-Only Telehealth Remains Steady Nationally In July 2023, utilization of audio-only telehealth services remained steady at the national level in urban areas (4.8 percent) and increased slightly in rural areas (rising from 4.5 percent in June to 4.6 percent in July). The biggest change was seen in the rural South, where [...]
JAMA Network Open: Utilization and Spending on Mental Health Services Among Children and Youths With Commercial Insurance Pediatric telehealth for mental health needs filled a critical deficit in the immediate period following the emergence of COVID-19, and continues to account for a substantial portion of pediatric mental health service utilization. Supported by evidence that telehealth [...]