(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a flurry of changes to regulations around telehealth and virtual care – the vast majority of which expire once the public health emergency ends.
The current presidential administration and 116th Congress have each signaled their support for virtual care to various degrees over the past year. But neither took decisive, sweeping action that would permanently enshrine some of the major changes to telehealth policy.
So, the question on the minds of many telehealth advocates as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office is: What s next? We are at an inflection point, and inflections bring new challenges, said former senate majority leader Dr. William Frist, R-Tennessee, during the first day of the American Telemedicine Association s four-part EDGE policy conference on Tuesday.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced legislation this week that would expand access to telehealth throughout the state.
The governor s proposal includes broad regulatory and statutory changes to allow for greater flexibility in where and how patient use telehealth, new requirements for insurers regarding telehealth coverage, technology expansions that would further enable virtual care, and professional development and education aimed at facilitating the use of telemedicine among patients and providers. COVID-19 has changed not only the way we live, but the way healthcare providers support their patients, especially in regard to mental health, said Cuomo in a statement.
12 Best Telemedicine Stocks to Buy Now
The World Health Organization defines Telehealth as the delivery of health care services, where patients and providers are separated by distance. Telehealth uses ICT for the exchange of information for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries, research and evaluation, and for the continuing education of health professionals. Telehealth can contribute to achieving universal health coverage by improving access for patients to quality, cost-effective health services wherever they may be. It is particularly valuable for those in remote areas, vulnerable groups and aging populations. Basically, telemedicine gives access to remote patient and provider health care.
10:05 AM
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has published a series of guides and tool kits to help tech developers get a jump on compliance with its 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule.
WHY IT MATTERS
The compliance dates for ONC s information blocking rules may have been pushed back due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, but they still draw nearer by the day.
ONC has provided these new resources meant to help the health IT developer community build products that meet the new certification requirements for standards-based APIs that can be used without special effort.
Among these new resources, the 2015 Edition Cures Update Key Dates compiles the timelines developers need to adhere to in the work to develop certified systems, and help them keep apprised of the requirements they must meet along the way.
Editorial Roundtable Series: COVID-19: Economic Impact on Radiology and What to Expect in 2021
The
Imaging Technology News roundtable discussion is now available on demand
2020 was an unprecedented year, as the world grappled with a global pandemic, economic depression, and workflow disruptions across multiple industries, including radiology.
The New York Times has reported more than 20 million cases of novel coronavirus in the U.S. to date, and more than 350,000 deaths. Globally, the numbers are just as grim. COVID-19 has affected more than 82 million people, and has seen more than 1.5 million deaths.
A July 2020 report from RSNA found that the reduction in demand for imaging services had an abrupt and substantial impact on private radiology practices, which are heavily dependent on examination volumes for practice revenues. According to the report, examination volumes in radiology practices have decreased by 40-90 percent, and the volume reduction is anticipated to persis