American Journal of Managed Care: Health Systems and Telemedicine Adoption for Diabetes and Hypertension Care This study examines whether practice size and ownership were associated with more extensive adoption and maintenance of telemedicine for adults with diabetes and/or hypertension during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found that solo physician [...]
Longer-Term Effects of Remote Patient Management Following Hospital Discharge After Acute Systolic Heart Failure: The Randomized E-INH Trial Background: The randomized INH (Interdisciplinary Network Heart Failure) trial (N = 715) reported that 6 months' remote patient management (RPM) (HeartNetCare-HF) did not reduce the primary outcome (time to all-cause death/rehospitalization) vs usual care (UC) in patients discharged [...]
North Carolina Medical Journal: Maternal Outreach Through Telehealth for Rural Sites: The MOTHeRS Project The pandemic brought challenges to rural maternal health. The North Carolina Statewide Telepsychiatry Program (NC-STeP), a statewide telepsychiatry program, used telehealth and health technologies to bring multidisciplinary care to three community-based primary care obstetric clinics. The MOTHeRS (Maternal Outreach [...]
Kaiser Family Foundation: Telehealth Delivery of Behavioral Health Care in Medicaid: Findings from a Survey of State Medicaid Programs Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) surveyed state Medicaid officials about policies and trends related to telehealth delivery of behavioral health services. The survey found that states most commonly reported adding audio-only telehealth coverage of behavioral [...]
JAMA Network Open: Estimated Indirect Cost Savings of Using Telehealth Among Nonelderly Patients With Cancer This economic evaluation of cost savings from completed telehealth visits in a single-institution National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center found that telehealth saves time, travel, and money for patients. The main outcome was estimated patient cost savings from [...]
JAMA Pediatrics: Telehealth Treatment of Behavior Problems in Young Children With Developmental Delay In this study, young children with developmental delay (DD) saw improvements in behavior after receiving treatment through telehealth. In this randomized clinical trial, behaviors and caregiving stress between child and caregiver were analyzed at preintervention, midtreatment, postintervention, and during 6-month [...]
This update includes: Krista Drobac's op-ed in The Hill Telehealth priorities CMS and Telehealth and notable research and news developments
JAMA Health Forum: Mental Health Service Utilization Rates Among Commercially Insured Adults in the US During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic This study found that the weekly rate of in-person mental health service utilization decreased by more than 50 percent after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but concurrent increases in [...]
Krista Drobac, executive director of the Alliance for Connected Care, was featured in The Hill. See below for an excerpt: Clock is still ticking on virtual mental health prescribing Congress acted last month to extend important telehealth flexibilities that will ensure millions of Americans and their providers will continue to [...]
Health Affairs: Telerehabilitation Has Potential, But More Research, Funding, And Advocacy Are Needed Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS did not provide reimbursement for telehealth services for physical therapists. However, this reimbursement restriction was temporarily waived during the public health emergency related to the pandemic. The expanded Telehealth Access Act of 2021 (HR2168/S3193), [...]