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House extends virtual care flexibilities beyond public health emergency

Healthcare IT News - Telehealth

House of Representatives approved an omnibus spending bill late Wednesday night that extends temporary telehealth flexibilities under Medicare beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate, several COVID-19-era telehealth policies will remain in place for about five months after the public health emergency ends. WHY IT MATTERS.

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Study of 36.5M people reveals huge jump in pandemic telehealth use

Healthcare IT News - Telehealth

A cohort study of more than 36 million people in the United States found a dramatic increase in telehealth use during the first four months of the COVID-19 pandemic. By undertaking this study, we sought to gain an understanding of the patterns of virtual care during this initial phase of the COVID-19 era," wrote the researchers.

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Lose the COVID-19 public health emergency, but keep the progress

Healthcare IT News - Telehealth

Biden’s statement, which divided the public health community and the public, has wide-reaching implications for the fate of connected health and vital telehealth services. Department of Health and Human Services Alex Azar signed the first Public Health Emergency declaration , declaring COVID-19 a national emergency.

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The End Of The Public Health Emergency Part 1 – Permanent Medicare Changes and Their Effects

Mend

In part 1 of our blog series, Mend reviews the permanent Medicare changes to the Telehealth policy. The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) has been in place for three years. Permanent Medicare Changes Relating to Telehealth Policy At the start of COVID-19, the CMS used emergency waivers to streamline access to virtual care.

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Lose the COVID-19 public health emergency, but keep the progress, says HIMSS GR director

Healthcare IT News - Telehealth

Biden’s statement, which divided the public health community and the public, has wide-reaching implications for the fate of connected health and vital telehealth services. Department of Health and Human Services Alex Azar signed the first Public Health Emergency declaration , declaring COVID-19 a national emergency.

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Study of 40.7M adults finds telehealth comparable for chronic conditions

Healthcare IT News - Telehealth

A study of 40.7 "Telehealth accounted for a large share of ambulatory encounters at the peak of the pandemic and remained prevalent after infection rates subsided," said researchers in the study, which was funded in part by the American Telemedicine Association. Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

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Anticipating the end of the public health emergency

Henry Kotula

The Biden administration recently signaled that it will extend the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), which has been in place for nearly two-and-a-half years, beyond its current July 15 expiration date. As shown in the graphic above, a number of key pandemic-era policies would end if the PHE were discontinued.