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 [...]
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 [...]
Epstein Becker Green: 2022 Telemental Health Regulations Unlock Access and Evolve Compliance Practices A 2022 report from law firm Epstein Becker Green (EBG) shows that an increase in the global prevalence of anxiety and depression is accompanied by requests for more mental health assistance, ultimately leading to states sustaining and widening regulatory flexibilities to expand [...]
American Medical Association: AMA Issues Blueprint for Optimizing Digitally Enabled Care AMA released a Blueprint for Optimizing Digitally Enabled Care, which describes six pillars that can help optimize digital health practices. AMA notes that investments, technology adoption, and patient needs play a significant role in how digitally enabled care evolves and how it can be [...]
Center for Connected Health Policy: State Telehealth Laws and Reimbursement Policies Report, Fall 2022 The Center for Connected Health Policy released their Fall 2022 Summary Report, which highlights certain aspects of telehealth policies. The report found that audio-only telehealth more than doubled since Spring 2021. For licensure, more states than ever before have [...]
Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology: Child Neurology Telemedicine: Analyzing 14,820 Patient Encounters During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic Researchers from the Epilepsy Neurogenetics Initiative (ENGIN) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that, across nearly 50,000 visits, patients continued to use telemedicine effectively even with the reopening of outpatient clinics a [...]
JAMA Health Forum: Receipt of Out-of-State Telemedicine Visits Among Medicare Beneficiaries During the COVID-19 Pandemic This study analyzed out-of-state telemedicine use among Medicare beneficiaries during the first half of 2021. The study found that nearly 40 percent of out-of-state visits were for primary care, while 25 percent were for mental health. Researchers found [...]
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy: ONDCP Announces Report on Improving Telehealth Services for Substance Use Disorder The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released the Telehealth and Substance Use Disorder Services in the Era of Covid-19: Review and Recommendations report. The report by the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy [...]
Health Affairs: Interstate Telehealth Use By Medicare Beneficiaries Before And After COVID-19 Licensure Waivers, 2017–20 A study by the University of Michigan analyzed trends in interstate telehealth use by Medicare beneficiaries during 2017-2020, which covered the period both directly before and during the first year of the pandemic. The study found that the number of out-of-state telehealth [...]