When state and federal governments temporarily eased privacy and security restrictions on telehealth early in the pandemic, many patients across the country were able to get diagnosed and treated by doctors over phones that don't have video or camera functions. That, in turn, made it possible for health care workers to connect with hard-to-reach patients — people who are poor, elderly or live in remote areas.
Patients who saw their physicians by video or on the phone did not seek substantially more follow-up care than those who had traditional in-person visits, according to a study by Kaiser Permanente that was published November 16 in JAMA Network Open.
Experts predict virtual visits are here to stay, and that could be good news to the nearly 60 million Americans living in rural areas of the country where health care is harder to come by. In fact, 1 in 10 rural adults have seen a nearby hospital or medical clinic shutter, according to a recent AARP report.
Although 30 states now have telemedicine parity laws in place, outdated Medicare rules could roll back provisions, jeopardizing telehealth access for seniors.
Although 30 states now have telemedicine parity laws in place, outdated Medicare rules could roll back provisions, jeopardizing telehealth access for seniors.
A multiyear effort to pipe big-city mental health providers to rural communities over video accomplished a trifecta of telehealth victories: It reached people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to mental health care; it tackled difficult diagnoses that don’t have simple answers; and it stretched how many people the most skilled providers can treat.