Posts Tagged ‘telehealth’
Feds Warn of Remote Patient Monitoring Fraud: Patients and Healthcare Providers Beware
Remote Patient Monitoring Fraud Scheme
Read MoreHere’s What’s Being Done to Increase Access to Telehealth
Last month, a new piece of bipartisan legislation that would extend certain telehealth services covered by Medicare and evaluate the impact of telehealth services on Medicare beneficiaries, was introduced by Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Todd Young (R-IN). “By extending the current telehealth waivers by two years after the end of the COVID-19 PHE…
Read MoreCMS Proposes Permanently Covering Audio-Only Telehealth for Mental Health Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released its proposed 2022 Physician Fee Schedule, which includes payment rates for Medicare next year, as well as several other policy proposals that might impact physicians. Among them, CMS wants to make permanent Medicare coverage of audio-only mental health services via telehealth. Many patients until now…
Read MoreAs Telehealth Waivers Expire, Now What?
Telehealth waivers issued during the COVID-19 pandemic that loosened government regulations and reimbursement requirements have or will be coming to an end in many states. In Florida, Gov. Ron Desantis’ executive order declaring a public health emergency expired on June 26. Waivers allowed for the use of non-compliant platforms such a FaceTime. The Florida waiver…
Read MoreTelehealth Program to Award Another $250M to Providers
Late last month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a report and order to set up a second round of funding to the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. It will provide nearly $250 million to support efforts by healthcare providers to address coronavirus by providing telecommunications services, information services, and devices needed to enable the provision of…
Read MoreTelemedicine in OIG’s Crosshairs as Fraud Mounts
When the pandemic hit and a public health emergency was declared, the government began to issue waivers designed to give providers more flexibility in how they could treat patients. One area that saw restrictions lifted considerably has been telemedicine, an industry that has been gaining traction in recent years. As we wrote about, the use…
Read MoreAs Telehealth Use Skyrockets CMS Expands Payment List
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that more than 34.5 million services were delivered via telehealth to patients in Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from March through June. That equates to an approximately 2,632 percent jump compared to the same period in 2019. However, CMS noted that since…
Read MorePandemic Poses HIPAA Compliance Issues for Providers
You’re seeing a patient virtually via telemedicine when suddenly a family member walks into the room and can be seen going about their business, picking up laundry, getting keys to the car, grabbing a snack from the refrigerator, what have you. What to do? It’s a scenario that recently played out not once, but twice,…
Read MoreTelehealth Stakeholders Ask Congress to Help Ensure Technology’s Future
As we first wrote about in May, telehealth in the age of COVID-19 has been gaining a lot of traction. Patients and doctors alike have found it to be a safer, and often more convenient alternative to in-person visits, especially in rural areas where healthcare delivery options are limited. Its increase in use has led…
Read MoreTelemedicine Gains Traction in the Age of COVID-19
A recent survey conducted by Merritt Hawkins, a physician recruitment firm, found that nearly half of doctors are using telemedicine to treat patients as the COVID-19 pandemic changes how they deliver healthcare. That is up from just 18 percent when a similar survey was conducted in 2018. It’s not just physicians who are turning to…
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