medicare

American College of Rheumatology: Telehealth Conversion: A Strategy for Optimizing Ambulatory Access  Converting late cancellations and no-show appointments to telemedicine visits increases access to care without the need for rescheduling. Investigators identified adult rheumatology patients with late cancellations (within 24 hours of appointment) or impending no-show appointments from September 2020 to March 2023. Of 624 eligible [...]

Cadence: Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Significantly Improves Health Outcomes and Reduces Total Cost of Care in Hypertension Patients  In a study of over 4,000 hypertension patients, Cadence’s remote patient monitoring solution shows reduced total cost of care and positive clinical outcomes. Researchers analyzed hypertension patients who used the remote monitoring platform from health tech company Cadence from [...]

Annals of Internal Medicine: Effects of Remote Patient Monitoring Use on Care Outcomes Among Medicare Patients With Hypertension Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a promising tool for improving chronic disease management. A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that patients with high blood pressure who frequently tested themselves at home filled their prescriptions [...]

American Heart Association: Health Disparities Among the Many Unique Challenges for People in Rural America  According to data reported in the Call to Action: Rural Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, people living in rural parts of the U.S. are 40% more likely to develop heart disease and [...]

JAMA Internal Medicine: Changes in Physician Electronic Health Record Use With the Expansion of Telemedicine Telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in the time physicians spent working in the EHR, though this work was largely related to documenting visits rather than messaging patients. Physicians who provided care both through telehealth and [...]

AIDS and Behavior: Mixed Methods Analysis of Telehealth Experience, Satisfaction, and Quality of Care During the COVID Pandemic Among Persons with HIV in Washington, DC High satisfaction was seen for telehealth services when used by patients with HIV (PWH). PWH were asked about their use of telehealth for care related to HIV, their housing status, residence, clinic [...]

National Institutes of Health (NIH): Telehealth Supports Retention in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Starting buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder through telehealth was associated with an increased likelihood of staying in treatment longer compared to starting treatment in a non-telehealth setting. A study analyzing Medicaid data from 2019-2020 in Kentucky and Ohio found that receiving buprenorphine [...]

Public Policy Institute of California: Telehealth Usage among Low-income and Undocumented Californians Statewide telehealth use jumped dramatically among low-income Californians covered by Medi-Cal in March 2020, when telehealth visits began to be reimbursed at the same rates as in-person visits. There was comparable trends in California’s community health centers (CHCs)—primary care clinics that serve all comers—for Medi-Cal and [...]

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 [...]