Tag Archives: telehealth

December 2022 Healthy Intersections Podcast

By | December 8, 2022

In this month’s podcast, co-editor Jess Williams recaps blog posts from November and talks about some December journal articles. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Transcription Welcome back to Healthy Intersections, the podcast of themedicalcareblog.com. In this month’s episode, I’ll review some of our blog entries from November and give you a preview… Read More »

Limited Internet Access in Underserved Communities Could Drive Disparities in Telehealth Utilization

Telehealth–the ability for providers to care for patients using computers, tablets, or smartphones–has the potential to expand access to healthcare by allowing people to interact with providers remotely. However, there are disparities in access to the technology that makes it possible to use telehealth. For example, in analyzing Census data on availability of widely used… Read More »

The Medicaid Outcomes Distributed Research Network MODRN [Podcast]

By | October 10, 2022

The Medicaid Outcomes Distributed Research Network (MODRN) was started by AcademyHealth and is a collaborative research network of state Medicaid agencies and university partners. The goal of the network is to allow analysis and learning about Medicaid by facilitating comparison across states and aggregate data with a shorter lag time than other available sources.  This… Read More »

The Future of Telemedicine Depends on Applying Lessons From The Pandemic

By | October 28, 2021

During the pandemic, telemedicine demonstrated it’s power. As we begin to make the shift back to in-person clinical care in a post-pandemic world, it’s important to look at the lessons learned during the pandemic. This will help guide us in how to move forward and improve telemedicine delivery. The History The use of telemedicine is… Read More »

Telehealth and Medicare: What Happens After the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Ends?

What is telehealth? Telehealth involves using technology to facilitate healthcare interactions but has not been used extensively in Medicare in the past. The use of telehealth may be particularly relevant where there are geographic barriers such as a lack of local providers or a public health emergency such as the coronavirus pandemic. There are a… Read More »

Treating the Opioid Crisis: Current Trends and What’s Next, Part 2

Last week, we discussed three noteworthy trends from the past decade in treating the opioid crisis. The first was recognizing medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) as the standard of care. The second was formalizing an addiction medicine specialty. And the third was expanding the availability of MOUD. This week, we’ll consider three additional trends in… Read More »

Treating the Opioid Crisis: Current Trends and What’s Next

Throughout the past decade, the U.S. has seen a dramatic shift in addiction medicine research, clinical practice, and related stigma in seeking care. In a pair of blog posts, we will explore the top six trends related to treating the opioid crisis. And we’ll consider what may be next. The Opioid Epidemic Opioid addiction has… Read More »

Telehealth in Jails and Prisons: Part 2

By | December 18, 2020

This is Part 2 of my interview with Saira Haque, PhD a telehealth expert and the Director of RTI’s Data Interoperability and Clinical Informatics program, and Nick Richardson, PhD a research analyst in RTI’s Applied Justice Research division. Part 1 is here. What are the benefits to using telehealth? Dr. Haque: As mentioned earlier, it… Read More »

Telehealth in Jails and Prisons: Part 1

By | December 21, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, telehealth is becoming increasingly ingrained within our healthcare system. This includes environments beyond the traditional office or hospital setting. With 2.3 million people currently residing in US jails or prisons, healthcare delivery to justice-involved individuals (JIIs) is an important component to consider. (Note: the term “justice-involved individual (JII)” refers to those… Read More »

Rural Telehealth in the COVID Era and Beyond

National Rural Health Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the quality of medical care in rural and medically underserved communities. This year has posed additional challenges to fragile healthcare systems and vulnerable populations. Faced with new barriers, rural communities are adapting and innovating through telehealth. COVID-19 caught the entire country off balance, highlighting structural… Read More »

What’s next for virtual care after the pandemic?

By | October 6, 2020

In March, CMS and other Federal agencies announced temporary telehealth policy changes in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.  These changes promoted continued access to care while allowing for physical distancing.  Virtual care encounters have increased since March.  However, as the public health emergency has continued, there are questions about the future of virtual… Read More »

Updated guidance on using telehealth during this public health emergency

By | April 15, 2020

Yesterday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled new guidance about using telehealth during this public health emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak.  This guidance will help increase access to telehealth services.  In addition, this will help people receive care who may not be able to visit their providers in person.  While the… Read More »

Using Telehealth to Fight the Novel Coronavirus

By | March 10, 2020

COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is spreading across the US and around the world. Can providers use telehealth to help  identify and manage the novel coronavirus while helping organizations manage capacity and prevent the spread of COVID-19?  Read on to find out more. Because of its airborne person-to-person transmission, coronavirus and related… Read More »

The Changing Telehealth Policy Landscape

Although telehealth has been in use for quite some time, uptake has been low. In particular, an inconsistent policy landscape presents a number of obstacles, such as site restrictions on where telehealth can be delivered, provider restrictions on who can deliver services, and reimbursement restrictions around payment for services. However, some recently developed policies aim… Read More »

Using Telehealth to Deliver Care to Patients When and Where They Need It

By | September 24, 2019

Many issues affect the delivery of care to patients who are most in need. Particularly, those who live in rural areas or those who need specialized care may not have access to the care they need.  Patients whose care transitions across acute care and long-term/post-acute care (LTPAC) settings may have additional challenges in receiving coordinated… Read More »

Improving the Patient Care Experience among Persons of Varying Race, Ethnicities, and Languages

By | November 24, 2017

Improving the overall patient care experience is an essential focus for organizations as healthcare delivery continues to evolve. The US Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) notes patient experience as an integral component of healthcare quality, which includes “several aspects of healthcare delivery that patients value highly when… Read More »