Remote patient monitoring (RPM) isn’t a new concept, but interest and adoption have increased significantly in the past 18 months. The pandemic took remote care from an enticing notion to the need-to-have status it holds now. Covid-19 spurred healthcare systems and organizations around the world to explore and execute medical monitoring differently.
Most payment parity mandates require insurers to reimburse telehealth services on the same basis as equivalent in-person services. When permitted to differ, telemedicine reimbursement rates (and costs for patients) tend to be lower. Payment parity mandates thus act as price floors for telemedicine by pegging the service to more expensive ones.
Top AMA staffers outlined key federal and state regulatory and legislative changes that facilitated rapid telehealth adoption during the public health emergency (PHE) and also noted what still needs to be done.
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that it would permanently remove a key restriction on medication used to terminate pregnancies, allowing so-called "abortion pills" to be available by mail and prescribed through telehealth medical consultations.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation that extends for the next two years the requirement adopted at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic that health benefits plans reimburse health care providers for telehealth and telemedicine services at the same rate as in-person services, with limited exceptions.
Like the pivot to ecommerce by retailers, digital healthcare may be the healthcare standard of the future. It includes telemedicine, at-home monitoring devices, mobile health apps, and electronic patient portals. Now, healthcare organizations of all sizes and functions are starting to use more digital tools and tracking their success. From a small private practice to large hospital systems, technology can offer a range of benefits to improve patient care while better managing internal resources and expenditures.