AJMC: Telemedicine Care Quality, Social Vulnerability Index Barriers Measured for Patients with Epilepsy Abstracts from the American Epilepsy Society annual meeting show that telemedicine is capable of meeting the needs of patients with epilepsy, and that the patient portal accessibility for patients experiencing high social vulnerability index needs further research. The survey asked [...]
Healio: Expanded Use of Telemedicine Allowed Broader Access to Care Should be Maintained A study conducted at Massachusetts Eye and Ear found that the COVID-19 pandemic expanded the use of telemedicine, promoting wider access and continuity of care, including for people who live farther away from tertiary eye centers. The study found that [...]
Yale Daily News: Yale Researchers Explore Potential Benefits and Risks of Telehealth A paper by Yale professors analyzed the potential opportunities and pitfalls of telehealth, and also provided suggestions for promoting high-quality, equitable and ethical use of it. The study analyzed three ethical considerations: distributive justice, unintended consequences, and autonomy versus beneficence. Among the benefits [...]
JAMA Internal Medicine: Sex, Racial, and Ethnic Representation in COVID-19 Clinical Trials A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found systemwide differences in representation for several key demographic groups in COVID-19 prevention and treatment trials in the U.S. In this systematic review, female participants were underrepresented in treatment trials, Asian and Black participants [...]
Health Affairs: Audio-Only Telemedicine In Primary Care: Embraced in the NHS, Second Rate in the U.S. Use of telemedicine in primary care soared in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and remains well above pre-pandemic levels. In the US, a major enabler of this shift is equal reimbursement across video, audio, and [...]
JAMA Ophthalmology: Longitudinal Use of Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Utility of Asynchronous Testing for Subspecialty-Level Ophthalmic Care A quality improvement study published in JAMA Ophthalmology demonstrated the potential to enhance ophthalmic telehealth using asynchronous testing, which was effective in subspecialty-level care. The volume of in-person outpatient visits dropped by 83.3 percent across [...]
Senate Finance Committee: Mental Health Parity Discussion Draft Senate Finance Committee Chair Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member Crapo (R-ID), and Sens. Bennet (D-CO) and Burr (R-NC) released the fifth and final legislative discussion draft as part of the Committee’s bipartisan mental health initiative. This discussion draft included policies aimed at improving mental health parity [...]
Massachusetts Association of Health Plans: Bridging the Digital Divide Advancing Telehealth Equity A report, funded by the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, describes how telehealth has proven to be widely beneficial for state residents and provides recommendations to optimize virtual care delivery within the Commonwealth. Researchers found that there were many apparent health [...]
MD Linx: Caring for Out-of-State Patients When Telemedicine is Restricted During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers temporarily changed state laws to allow physicians without a license in a particular state to treat its residents via telemedicine. Between January and June of 2021, among Medicare beneficiaries, 57.2 percent of out-of-state telemedicine visits [...]
Health Affairs: New Coding Modifier Offers Opportunity to Investigate Audio-Only Telehealth (11/18) – Prior to the pandemic, Medicaid program coverage of audio-only telehealth services was limited. During the early stages of the pandemic, Medicaid beneficiaries were significantly less likely to complete telehealth visits compared to commercially insured patients. In September 2021, the American Medical [...]