Telemedicine News & Updates 4-20-2017

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Posted By: Annmarie Budniak April 20, 2017

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

ATA Leadership Survey: Patient-centered Healthcare and EHR Interoperability Cited by Executives as Top Advancements in Telemedicine
The American Telemedicine Association (@AmericanTelemed) recently released findings from their 2017 Telemedicine Executive Leadership Survey. The study reveals that telemedicine executives are overwhelmingly optimistic about the future of the telehealth industry and are planning near-term investments to keep pace with rapid transformation and growth of the industry.

Introducing the DOT Telemedicine Backpack at ATA 2017
swyMed (@swyMeNow) takes telemedicine to a new frontier with a plug-and-play backpack that for the first time enables real-time video telemedicine in mobile environments. The swyMed DOT Telemedicine Backpack gives mobile care providers the ability to connect to doctors for real-time video medicine –anywhere, any time – truly a “Doc-on-Tap.” Stop by swyMed’s booth (#2713) at ATA 2017 to see the world’s first truly mobile solution for video telemedicine.

Providers turning to telehealth to improve care quality, GAO report finds
The most common reason healthcare providers say they choose telehealth or remote patient monitoring is a belief that the technology has the potential to improve care quality, a new federal report shows. Findings published Friday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office showed both patient and provider associations report that improving or maintaining quality care is the main driver behind telehealth adoption

How Telehealth Platforms Will Reshape U.S. Healthcare Delivery
The Huffington Post reports that telehealth in the United States is entering a new phase of accelerating growth. However, the telehealth industry is still young. In many ways, today’s telehealth industry is comparable to the Internet services industry, when the reigning speed of Internet access was 56.6 kbps. As far higher broadband speeds became the norm, entire industries were upended. Similarly, as the telehealth industry matures, healthcare delivery across our nation will experience disruptive shifts.

Finally… A Clinic Grade Telemedicine Solution for Under $1K
Breaking through a critical cost barrier for a high quality telemedicine solution, Telemedicine Web Services recently announced the launch of it Concierge Telemedicine system. Concierge Telemedicine uses the popular and pervasive WebRTC from Google as its video engine and TMWS’s own cloud connectivity service. The basic CTM Patient Kit includes the industry leading PCP-USB telemedicine stethoscope, a blood pressure meter, a versatile exam cam with ENT attachments and TMWS’s telemedicine system software.

Salus Telehealth CEO Paula Guy to Join ‘Women in Telemedicine’ Panel during ATA 2017 Telehealth 2.0 Conference
Salus Telehealth, Inc. (@SalusTelehealth) recently announced that CEO Paula Guy will be part of a distinguished panel at ATA 2017 Telehealth 2.0. The session, “Women in Telemedicine: Leading the Charge of Healthcare Innovation,” is the conference’s first-ever program featuring all female telehealth executives, and will focus on the role of female leaders in transforming the telehealth industry. Charlotte Yeh, Chief Medical Officer for AARP, will moderate the discussion, which will take place on Monday, April 24 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. EST.

Telehealth Business: Boom Times, but Profits May Wait
Investors are plowing millions into telehealth startups. Millennials could be eager adopters. But these are early times and it may take years—and some regulatory changes—for profits to materialize. Some telemedicine companies are making money, says Linkous. “If you are a company with your own physicians, yes, there are profitable companies,” he says. But if you are a Mayo or some other large health care system, says Linkous, you may not see telemedicine as a revenue center but as a way to improve quality, lower costs of other services, and expand your reach.

Five Market Trends Affecting Telehealth Adoption
If “location, location, location” are the three most important rules in real estate, then “convenience, convenience, convenience” may be the mantra in healthcare today. The expectation of care-on-demand is driving the growth of telehealth. Live-video encounters that allow patients to stay at home and use a web camera to communicate are becoming popular. Still, while the market is rapidly growing, there are many issues that affect telehealth adoption in practices. Diagnostic Imaging (@Dx_imaging) lists the top five.

Investment Trends in Telemedicine and Digital Health

Senate bill would expand telemedicine coverage for Medicare patients
Days after a bill was introduced to the Senate that would allow Medicare to test covering more telehealth models, the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee introduced a bill that would put more Medicare money into telemedicine. The bill reflects a growing push to care for patients not only when they’re sick enough to go to the hospital but before, preventing the exacerbation of problems that can lead to great overall healthcare costs.

Prescribing Controlled Substances Without an In-Person Exam: The Practice of Telemedicine Under the Ryan Haight Act
As providers are becoming more comfortable with delivering care via telemedicine technologies, many of them are looking to explore services other than low acuity triage consults. One area of patient service opportunity – and particular confusion – is prescribing controlled substances via telemedicine. As discussed in greater detail in the first article in this series, the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act was designed to combat the rogue internet pharmacies that proliferated in the late 1990s, selling controlled substances online. Although the Act was intended to target “rogue” internet pharmacies, legitimate healthcare providers who prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine must carefully review the regulations to ensure compliance. Among other things, the Act requires a practitioner to have conducted at least one in-person medical evaluation of the patient prior to issuing a prescription for a controlled substance.

In State News:
State lawmakers calling for more telehealth care
The Alaska Legislature passed a resolution earlier this month calling for additional federal resources to help expand access to telehealth care in rural Alaska, according to a news release from the Alaska House Majority Coalition. House Joint Resolution 14, sponsored by Rep. Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, asks the Federal Communications Commission to increase the Rural Health Care Universal Service Support Budget to adjust for inflation and keep up with advances in broadband technology, according to the news release.

Health system partners with startup on telehealth expansion
Miami Children’s Health System is harnessing the potential of telemedicine to deliver better care to its patients. The parent organization of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital (@Nicklaus4Kids) recently announced that it will partner with New York City-based startup TytoCare (@TytoCare) to expand its MCH Anywhere telehealth platform. TytoCare is the developer of a handheld remote examination device and telehealth platform designed to improve remote diagnoses. The partnership aims to improve care delivered by doctors within the Miami Children’s health system, particularly when it comes to post-operative patients or those with complex or more acute medical needs and conditions.

South Carolina Department of Corrections Turns to Telehealth, for Public Safety and Costs
The South Carolina Department of Corrections aims to cut costs and increase public safety by minimizing inmate medical transports. They will begin using telehealth at five of their facilities, to connect Medical University of South Carolina providers to inmates over video.

House Sends Telemedicine Expansion Bill To Governor
House lawmakers voted to send a bill to the governor that expands Indiana’s telemedicine services, though some legislators are still uncomfortable with that expansion. The telemedicine bill expands those remote care services to Indiana’s Medicaid patients. And it lifts a ban on prescribing certain controlled substances via telemedicine, such as Ritalin and Adderall.

Upcoming Events:

ATA 2017 International Conference and Tradeshow (#T2Telehealth)
What: Telehealth 2.0 – The Transformation Advantage
When: April 23-25, 2017
Where: Orlando, FL

SPS 2017 Telehealth Conference
What: 3rd National Telemedicine & Telehealth Service Provider Showcase
When: October 2-3, 2017
Where: Phoenix, AZ

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.