Life has turned upside down in the past few months. With the outbreak of COVID-19, many things have changed including the position of telehealth in healthcare delivery. CMS restricted Medicare reimbursement to telehealth services that met one of the below three criteria:
CMS issues proposal to continue telehealth flexibilities, in home health proposed rule
According to CMS estimates, Medicare payments to home health agencies in 2021 would increase in the aggregate by 2.6% or $540 million, as per the proposed policies.
Post-COVID-19 challenge for telehealth would be to integrate in-person care
Telehealth use by patient and provider has skyrocketed since coronavirus began spreading across the U.S.
Dr. Joe Kvedar, president-elect of the American Telemedicine Association, said that the new challenge will be to integrate in-person care back into the reshaped clinical workflows.
Upto $250B of healthcare spending could shift to virtual: McKinsey report
More patients and providers are being exposed to telehealth and virtual care. In such a scenario, a report was published by McKinsey predicting that $250 billion of current U.S. healthcare spending could be virtualized.
COVID-19 accelerating the adoption of innovative telehealth programs
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telehealth programs and features in healthcare facilities all over the country.
Telemedicine offers major advantages: