Congress Extends Telehealth Flexibilities for Two More Years
With only two weeks remaining in the year, Congress appears poised to pass a government funding deal (the “Further Continuing Appropriations and Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025”) that includes a welcome holiday gift for health care providers and patients – an expansive health care package that would extend certain telehealth flexibilities promulgated during the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”) for an additional two years. The extended telehealth flexibilities were originally set to expire on December 31, 2024. This extension would generally allow providers to continue to serve Medicare patients via telehealth consistent with the current practices.
Report shows overwhelming doctor support for virtual care
Physicians said in this year’s Doximity survey that telemedicine tools have helped them improve disease management and patient access. They also said adherence to treatment plans, patient outcomes and productivity are up.
Tele-ultrasound Offers a Virtual Lifeline for High-Risk Pregnancies in Rural New Mexico
The facts, by now, are impossible to ignore. According to the CDC’s latest findings, 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable [1]. Among the contributing factors is the rising number of maternity care deserts across the United States – counties in which access to the full range of maternity health care services is limited or absent. A 2022 report by March of Dimes confirms that 5% of counties nationwide had less maternity access than two years prior, affecting up to 6.9 million women and almost 500,000 births in the U.S.
Virtual acute care at home cuts length of hospital stay
A study shows that an at-home care model incorporating virtual care, remote patient monitoring and urgent care was linked to shorter hospital stays than standard inpatient care.
Aged care nursing in the digital future
Digital technology can better assist nurses to manage end of life care in residential aged care facilities but ensuring its impact requires better tools, training, and ongoing support, a new study has found.
How digital health is powering population health strategies
Healthcare leaders discuss how digital health technologies are boosting population health efforts by enhancing access and outcomes, helping them achieve value-based care goals.
Modernizing acute care: the economic impact of bedside telehealth
Research reveals three main benefits for healthcare organizations offering inpatient virtual care programs.
VA plans to end telehealth copays and fund virtual care access in rural areas
The agency is proposing telehealth access grants to establish fixed, secure environments outfitted with reliable internet and secure video that connect veterans hobbled by the digital divide to health services.
Does more virtual care mean more low-value care? Study suggests no
Before 2024 ends, Congress will decide whether to keep or change rules about telehealth, or let them expire. And even though the decision will focus on Medicare’s payment for virtual patient care, it will likely impact telehealth access for people with other kinds of health insurance too.
Digital health has evolved rapidly, but medical insurance hasn’t kept up
The benefits of connected care and remote patient monitoring have catapulted digital health into mainstream medical offerings, but issues of reimbursement and insurance technicalities are hindering adoption.