PENDLETON â The pandemic spurred on a surge of telemedicine options, and some medical providers are hoping that trend continues after it is over.
Cheryl Pearce, director of physician clinics for St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton, said the hospital had used telehealth in some cases in the past, including for its stroke recovery program. But the clinics were limited on what telehealth they could provide.
Rural clinics were unable to be reimbursed for telehealth appointments for Medicare patients in their home, for example.
Once the pandemic hit, the Trump administration waived those rules, allowing clinics to continue seeing patients even when everything was shut down.