The utilization of telehealth services has increased significantly over the past few years, as those in the healthcare industry have started to realize the benefits it offers. Telemedicine allows organizations to maximize existing service lines; add new specialties without the associated costs and hassle of hiring full-time, in-house clinicians; and increase patient satisfaction. It also provides better […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided some guidance within the “Medicare and Medicaid Programs Policy and Regulatory Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency” interim final rule (IFR), allowing for remote patient monitoring, or RPM. This type of patient care is very helpful for ongoing treatment during the COVID-19 […]
Telemedicine reimbursement and other regulatory flexibilities enabled providers to quickly pivot operations for COVID-19, but temporary policies also poised the health policy landscape for significant change after the pandemic. In the wake of the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US, policymakers quickly relaxed long-standing healthcare regulations, including telemedicine reimbursement and healthcare fraud prevention […]
With concerns of COVID-19 having a disproportionate impact on certain individuals, such as minorities and the elderly, public health experts are requiring more detailed data, provided on a real-time basis – further supporting the reliability and integrity of data being central to healthcare. Though rates of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have somewhat stabilized, […]
In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak many health care practices were forced to implement telehealth as quickly as possible, and often didn’t have enough run way to deeply consider an ideal long-term workflow. If your practices’ initial reaction was to put something in place that was good enough for now but could be […]
From predicting outbreaks to devising treatments, doctors are turning to AI in an effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Why it matters: While machine learning algorithms were already becoming a part of health care, COVID-19 is likely to accelerate their adoption. But lack of data and testing time could hinder their effectiveness — for this […]
According to the proposed rule, CMS projects total Medicare spending on inpatient hospital services, including capital, will increase by about $2.07 billion in FY 2021. CMS’ fiscal year (FY) 2021 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule, released May 11, includes a proposed increase to hospital payment rates, the creation of a new Medicare-Severity Diagnosis-Related Group […]
A case in point is the information infrastructure of the American healthcare system, which will play a critical role in understanding and battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Just as the capacity of some national health systems have been overwhelmed by the number of COVID-19 cases—most notably in Italy—healthcare providers and professionals in the U.S. run the risk […]
CMS wants all providers to cancel or postpone all low-acuity surgeries. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is limiting “all non-essential planned surgeries and procedures, including dental, until further notice,” according to statement the agency released March 18. This measure is designed to have a twofold effect: increase the amount of ventilators and […]
For the past several decades, patients, providers, and payers have lamented the health of the U.S. healthcare system. Just this past fall, JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, estimated that close to 30% of healthcare spending in the U.S. “may be considered waste.”1 Over these same several decades, an important technology — artificial intelligence […]