Telemedicine News & Updates 1-3-2018

TOPICS:

Posted By: Annmarie Budniak January 3, 2018

Stay up to date on the latest and join the conversation with #Telehealth and #Telemedicine.

Views 8 virtual health predictions for 2018
What does 2018 have in store for virtual health and how does that impact advisers and employers? According to a National Business Group on Health study, 96% of large employers are now offering some level of telehealth benefits today. Industry experts predict that the service will deepen as benefit advisers and employers see the rewards of offering this essential perk. What’s next in virtual care delivery? Here are some telehealth trends to look out for in 2018.

5 Big Telehealth Developments in 2017
Telehealth continued to see its availability and capabilities expand throughout 2017. Throughout its inaugural year, Healthcare Analytics News (@HCA_News) closely covered developments in telehealth technologies, markets, and regulations. These are 5 of the best.

FCC votes to waive $400M funding cap on rural telehealth program for FY17
According to Becker’s Hospital Review, the Federal Communications Commission launched a review of its telehealth-focused Rural Health Care Program Dec. 14. The Rural Health Care Program provides eligible healthcare providers with funding for broadband and telecommunications services that enhance high-quality care. However, the FCC anticipates demand for the program is likely to exceed its allocated funding, which is capped at $400 million per year. Under the order adopted by the FCC Dec. 14, the agency waived the Rural Health Care Program’s annual funding cap on a one-time basis.

URAC/Telemedicine Magazine Survey Finds Increased Usage of Telehealth Tools, Tactics
A sweeping new URAC (@URAC) survey provides an interesting snapshot regarding the status of telehealth realities and aspirations among a host of key groups. More than 70 percent of all respondents use telehealth now, and of those who don’t use telehealth, 44 percent plan to within the next five years. Around nine percent of hospitals/health systems say they do not use telehealth, but of those, 43 percent plan to within the next year, 29 percent within two to five years, according to the survey.

Israeli HMO Signs Giant Telemedicine Agreement With U.S. Startup
Israel’s Meuhedet health maintenance organization has signed a deal with the U.S. telemedicine company American Well (@AmericanWell) that could reach a value of $50 million to $60 million, TheMarker has learned. The HMO confirmed the deal but refused to give details, saying it involved commercial secrets. American Well was formed a decade ago by Israeli brothers Ido and Roy Schoenberg to provide medical services by video calls and handling administration, security and record keeping.

CHI Franciscan Health Turns to Telemedicine to Support Caregivers on the Ground
When Tacoma, Wash.-based CHI Franciscan Health launched its virtual health service in 2010, it was the first telehealth program of its kind in the state and seemed to many to be a niche undertaking. But as the program and health IT at large have evolved, it’s become clear that the technology has become a jumping off point for greater patient care.

Can Home Health Visits Help Keep People Out Of The ER?
Telemedicine isn’t just for rural areas without a lot of doctors anymore. In the last few years, urban areas all over the country have been exploring how they can connect to patients virtually to improve access to primary care and keep people from calling 911 for non-urgent problems. In Washington, D.C., Mary’s Center, a community health center, is piloting a program to provide primary care virtually to Medicaid patients who can’t make it in to any of their clinics.

In State News:

9 states with telehealth legislation taking effect in 2018
MedCity News reports, the Center for Connected Health Policy has unveiled a list of telehealth legislation approved in 2017. The roundup includes various policies that took effect this past year, as well as one Hawaii policy that’s effective for the plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2019. But 11 pieces of legislation in nine states will officially take effect in 2018.

1st public telemedicine clinic opens in Alaska: 3 things to know
The first telemedicine clinic and kiosk available to the Alaskan public opened Dec. 12 in the Anchorage (Alaska) 5th Avenue Mall, KTUU-2 reports. Becker’s Hospital Review highlights three things to know about the telemedicine clinic.

For new head of VA on LI, telemedicine is high on to-do list
The job of ushering Long Island’s veterans health system into the future falls upon Huntington-born Scott Guermonprez, a retired Air Force colonel who learned the medical-administration business halfway around the world in Okinawa. Interviewed last month at the medical center, he identified a key initiative — using video and data technology to provide remote care at VA clinics on the Island. Doing so, he said, could eventually spare as many as 40 percent of the medical system’s patients the need to drive to Northport to interact with its doctors for medical or psychiatric care.

Medical providers push back against Maine rules on pot visits
A traveling doctor who treats medical cannabis patients is fighting new state rules that she claims discriminate against disabled, rural and low-income patients. Dr. Mary Callison crisscrosses the state and uses video conferencing to certify and care for hundreds of medical marijuana patients in their own homes. The new rules that will go into effect Feb. 1 require a physical exam before a doctor can certify a medical marijuana patient they are meeting for the first time. The question is about how and where that exam must take place.

Upcoming Events:

ATA 2018 Annual Conference & Tradeshow
What: ATA 2018 Annual Conference & Tradeshow
When: April 29 – May 1, 2018
Where: Chicago, IL
Event Hashtag: #ATA18

CMS Covered Telehealth Services
You can download the list of services payable under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule when furnished via telehealth on the CMS website.