A new survey exams the attitudes, perspectives, and plans of healthcare leadership that are shaping telemedicine’s application, value, and potential. The research explored telehealth services adoption rates and drivers, budgets and ROI, the technology’s role in delivering care, and the factors important to executives when selecting a solution for their organization.
A new survey exams the attitudes, perspectives, and plans of healthcare leadership that are shaping telemedicine’s application, value, and potential. The research explored telehealth services adoption rates and drivers, budgets and ROI, the technology’s role in delivering care, and the factors important to executives when selecting a solution for their organization.
The cost savings demonstrated in this study will support state Medicaid agencies, payers, and other health systems seeking new ways to improve access and quality while reducing telemedicine consults cost.
Hospitals and healthcare-delivery systems are embracing telehealth, having made substantial investments in infrastructure, training, and process re-engineering. Yet most patients — about eight out of 10 consumers — are still largely unaware of how to access telehealth or whether their insurer will cover it. Through education we can continue progress in closing the Telehealth gap.
2017 Telemedicine and Digital Health Survey reflects a surging demand for telemedicine services among providers and patients, and a broader acceptance of the technology by other major players in the health care industry. In the 2014 inaugural survey three years ago, 87 percent of respondents did not expect their patients to be using telemedicine services by this time. However, according to this year’s survey, those expectations have been defied with approximately three-quarters of respondents currently offering, or planning to offer, such services, and also having strong intentions to grow those programs (53 percent).
An updated version of the fifth edition of the Center for Connected Health Policy’s (CCHP) State Telehealth Laws and Reimbursement Policies Report was released. CCHP’s report is the most comprehensive report on state telehealth laws, regulations and Medicaid policies available and contains the most current and up to date information for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The full report will be available on CCHP’s website, which also includes a state interactive map to more easily access this information. CCHP also created easy to read two-page fact sheet and infographic summarizing the report’s key findings.
Payers continue wrestling with service delivery expenses to the expanded insurance coverage audience, who were previously uninsured or underinsured. Health insurers now meet the needs of these newly-covered individuals and families, including assuring access to specialty care. One strategy insurers employed is the use of telemedicine. Telemedicine expands access to needed care, facilitate better care coordination and help contain costs. These 5 Health Plan Telemedicine Cases demonstrate how to improve benefits and access.
Telehealth services, which unite technology with healthcare, health information, and health education, have grown substantially over the past 15 years and are expected to increase due to new reimbursement strategies for Medicare providers who offer telehealth services as part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). With technology racing out in front of reimbursement policies, any cost savings, quality improvement, or increased access to care waited until now. Measuring telehealth may be the key unlocking a flood of benefits for payers.
Payers interested in the market potential of under-served rural populations long for consistent options for offering affordable policies without provider network limitations. The language policymakers use in telehealth legislation may deter provider networks from offering remote services and tying the hands of payers looking to broad service options, according to a the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP). The CCHP, with funding from the Milbank Memorial Fund, release a report covering the current state of telehealth payer laws.
While clinical settings struggle and shortages raise expenses, how can payers hope to effectively handle the expected flood of behavioral health claims?