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News and Reports
Modern Healthcare: (5/9) - The latest Modern Healthcare CEO Survey finds that health system CEOs see a wave of innovation in telehealth over the next year. In addition, 92.9% of CEOs cited telehealth as a technology with the most potential to support response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Intel: (5/11) – A new blog post from Steve Allen, Director of Clinical Systems Segment, Health and Life Sciences at Intel describes how COVID-19 has allowed the telemedicine genie out of the bottle. He states that, “"We cannot afford to revert to restrictions on telemedicine.... we must start now to ensure that telemedicine continues to be the standard of care for patients nationwide."
New York Times: (5/11) – Dr. Emil Baccash, a geriatrician in Brooklyn, N.Y. said he strongly suspects that, “when the virus goes away, some patients who have used telemedicine will prefer televisits to coming to the doctor’s office.” “Telemedicine will definitely be part of the future of medicine,” he said.
New York Times: (5/11) – Doctors and patients are turning to telemedicine during COVID-19. “This is a kind of turning point for virtual health,” Dr. Shah said. “We’re actually seeing how it can be used in a public health crisis.”
UVA Today: (5/11) – Telemedicine tools developed to fight Ebola at UVA Health has potential in the fight against COVID-19. “One of the few bright spots of the COVID-19 crisis is that it’s shown us how remarkably powerful and versatile telemedicine can be during outbreaks of novel contagious diseases,” said UVA Health epidemiologist Dr. Costi Sifri.
Kaiser Family Foundation: (5/11) – KFF released a new report examining opportunities and barriers for telemedicine in the U.S. during the COVID-19 emergency and beyond. KFF found that while use of telemedicine has expanded rapidly during the crisis, a number of gaps remain in ensuring access. KFF offered several options to further expand telemedicine access including service parity and payment parity, allow the home as an “originating site”, allow use of audio-only phone for patients who do not have live-video technology, and invest in telecommunications infrastructure for less-resourced sites of care, and ensuring internet access to patients in rural areas.
Managed Healthcare Executive: (5/11) – An independent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults from April 8-10, found that among those 65+ who indicate their provider began offering telemedicine during COVID-19, 86% said they appreciate having the option to consult their doctor remotely. The survey also revealed that 52% reported that while they have not used telemedicine, they would if the need arose.
Tech Crunch: (5/11) – Clinicians at Mount Sinai have begun using Google Nest cameras in patient's rooms to provide video-based patient symptom and vital sign tracking – as well as two-way communication.
Bloomberg Law: (5/13) – Former Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Honorary Chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance penned an op-ed writing that Medicare and state telemedicine restrictions have been eased during the coronavirus pandemic, and these changes need to be made permanent.
Healthcare IT News: (5/13) – A study from RAND Corporation finds that psychiatrists offering telemedicine for the first time have had largely positive perceptions of the transition. However, many say they plan to return to in-person care when possible due to the challenges of handling psychiatric medicine virtually.
Healthcare IT News: (5/14) – MedStar Health leveraged an existing telehealth platform to respond to telehealth demand due to COVID-19, enabling 100,000 video visits between March 23 and May 1.
Business Wire: (5/14) - BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is making in-network telehealth services permanent, making them the first major insurer to embrace telehealth for the long-term. From March 16 to April 14, the insurer managed 71,000 telehealth claims for its members – 18 times more than the number of claims submitted during the same time period in 2019.
Healthcare IT News: (5/14) – The biggest barrier to telehealth now may be income divides. A new report finds that just 36% of people making less than $25,000 a year say they have access to telehealth, while 70% of those earning $100,000 or more have access.
Healthcare Dive: (5/14) – Doctor on Demand became the first telehealth vendor to move into Medicare Part B which serves more than 33 million Americans, thanks to changes made during and for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Healthcare Finance News: (5/14) – COVID-19 telehealth waivers won’t last beyond the public health emergency, but Congress will likely be pressured to make lasting changes especially in reimbursement.
Health Tech Magazine: (5/14) – Some of the ways in which telehealth is now more important than ever include: 1) it protects medical personnel and patients; 2) it enables radiologists to read from anywhere, potentially changing forever how radiologists work; 3) it increases healthcare access in senior living communities; 4) it helps conserve supplies and bed space; 5) it supports specialists such as cardiology and psychiatry; 6) it brings care to populations in need.
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