The use of telehealth and telemedicine has skyrocketed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to payment and regulatory changes designed to make it easier for patients to get high-quality care while staying safe at home. Knowing how best to use telehealth will help patients continue to receive the care they need, even from a distance.
Digital health is a broad spectrum of measurement technologies that include personal wearable devices and internal devices as well as sensors in people, homes, cars, and communities. Digital health can help identify health risks and assist with diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of health and disease conditions. Digital health has potential to improve health management, but the current state of technology development and deployment...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released final rules pertaining to efforts to reform regulations related to physician self-referral and the anti-kickback statute (AKS). The reforms aim to advance the transition to value-based care and improve patient-care coordination.
A new bill before Congress aims to allow healthcare providers to use telehealth in medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs for substance abuse and provide Medicare coverage for audio-only phone calls. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) 2.0 bill increases funding authorization levels established in the original CARA legislation in 2016 adding measures to tackle the growing opioid abuse crisis.
The 2021 Physician Fee Schedule, unveiled on Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, aims to build upon the momentum for telehealth adoption seen during this year’s coronavirus pandemic. With health systems and hospitals rapidly embracing connected health, the agency has been under pressure to improve access and reimbursement guidelines.
The AMA established the BHI Collaborative with seven other leading medical associations to integrate behavioral and mental health care into primary care practices. The goal is for the patient to receive mental health care within the primary care office, whether from a psychiatrist, other mental health professional or a combination in a team-based care approach.
The integration of behavioral health and primary care services improves patient care and outcomes and can be financially sustainable for practices that rely on fee for service (FFS), value-based care (VBC) payments, or some combination thereof.
The American Medical Association this week resolved to continue advocating for telehealth after the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among underserved communities. After physicians and medical students gathered virtually for five days, delegates adopted a policy directing the AMA to continue working with legislators and regulators to support telehealth advancements.
Jacob Reider, M.D., CEO of the Alliance for Better Health and former acting national coordinator for health IT, said during an event hosted by Fierce Healthcare that public health organizations need to be a part of the conversation, but it's crucial to be cognizant of where they are in terms of ability to share data.
The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was strongly effective in preventing COVID-19 among study volunteers given the shot, early results announced by the companies Monday show, giving a pandemic-wracked world a glimpse of life after quarantines, travel restrictions, masks and school closures.
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