Telemedicine News & Updates 12-13-2016

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Posted By: Annmarie Budniak December 13, 2016

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For many, the patient-doctor relationship is an evolving one where trust and comfort levels grow with each visit. Patients want to feel they are heard and understood and that their doctor knows them well. Doctors want to provide the best care possible and help their patients live a healthy lifestyle and quickly recover from illness. Some providers and patients show concern when the use of telemedicine is suggested. Simple Visit (@SimpleVisitMD), a company that offers HIPAA-compliant video visits that can be used across any communication platform, seeks to highlight the positive effects telemedicine can have on the patient-doctor relationship and how it may even strengthen it.

Four Hospitals Receive Patient Education and Engagement Innovation Awards at TigrCon 2016
In November Telehealth Services (@TIGREddie) hosted TigrCon16, the company’s annual client conference. Four hospitals, Charleston Area Medical Center Health System (@CAMC_HS), Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center (@mercyhealth), Eskenazi Health (@EskenaziHealth), and CoxHealth (@CoxHealth), received Innovation Awards from TeleHealth Services for outstanding achievements and best practices to improve patient engagement. University of Utah Health Care (@UofUHealthCare) received honorable mention.

Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center’s Video Education Increases Staff Efficiency and Improves Patient Satisfaction
Interactive video-based patient education is saving staff time while also increasing patient satisfaction for the endoscopy unit at Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center. The improvements were immediate after leveraging the hospital’s SmarTigr solution from TeleHealth Services, a provider of interactive patient engagement solutions.

Telehealth Market by Component, Software, Services, End User & Mode of Delivery – Global Forecast to 2021 – Research and Markets
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Telehealth Market – Global Forecast to 2021” report to their offering. The healthcare industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation globally, a shift from a volume-based business to a value-based business.The telehealth market is projected to reach USD 9.35 billion by 2021 from USD 2.78 billion in 2016, at a CAGR of 27.5% in the next five years (2016 to 2021).

Telemedicine and the Sharing Economy: The “Uber” for Healthcare
The American Journal of Managed Care (@AJMC_Journal) reports that telehealth platforms, which include both competitors and complements to traditional care delivery, will offer many benefits for both consumers and clinicians, and may promote increased specialization and competition in service delivery. Traditional medical services providers face a challenge similar to that faced by traditional taxicabs after Uber entered the marketplace: how to compete with a connection services platform that threatens to disrupt existing, regulated, and licensed service providers.

Teladoc News
The American Hospital Association Exclusively Endorses the Teladoc Telehealth Technology Platform and Licensable Software Solution
The American Hospital Association (@ahahospitals) recently announced it has exclusively endorsed the Telehealth Technology Platform and Licensable Software Solution from Teladoc, Inc. (@teladoc). Following a proprietary due diligence process, Health Forum, the strategic business enterprise of the American Hospital Association, awards the AHA Endorsement to products and services that help member hospitals and health care organizations achieve operational excellence.

Teladoc Sets Record with 100,000 Telehealth Visits during November
Teladoc, Inc., a leader in telehealth, providing access to care for millions, announced that a company record was set during the month of November with a total of 101,600 patient visits. The impressive milestone was fueled by an increase in utilization among existing members, along with new members and expanded clinical services.

Federal and State Government News
Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act Requires Exploration of Digital Health Opportunities
The National Law Review (@natlawreview) reports that on December 6, 2016, the US House of Representatives passed the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act (S. 2873) (the ECHO Act), which was unanimously passed by the US Senate on November 29, 2016. The ECHO Act seeks to expand the use of health care technology and programming to connect underserved communities and populations with critical health care services.

Michigan Senate to Vote on Telehealth Standards
Michigan lawmakers are getting ready to approve legislation that would set standards for the emerging telemedicine industry in the state. The bill would require medical providers to get patient consent before providing health services remotely, rather than meeting the patient in person. The new legislation is aimed at setting a foundation for the practice of telemedicine in Michigan.

New Jersey Seeks to Regulate Telemedicine
The New Jersey Law Journal (@NJLJ) recently reported that New Jersey lawmakers are coming close to enacting legislation that would regulate the practice of telemedicine, in which patients remotely receive medical evaluation or counseling from their health care providers, generally over the internet or by phone. The Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee recently listened to testimony on a bill which would establish a set of guidelines that health care providers would have to follow if they treat patients without an in-office visit. The bill would allow health care providers to be paid at the same rate as an in-office visit.

 

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.