– Marie McAden, Special to The Guardian (The Augusta Chronicle)
“It was “lights, camera, action!” in Varnville last week when a production crew from South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV) came to town to videotape a segment on a new telehealth service being offered at Beaufort Memorial Harrison Peeples Health Care Center.”
-Forbes
“As the federal government, via Medicare/Medicaid, and insurance companies strive to keep “heads out of beds” (e.g., patients managed into an outpatient setting [your doctor’s office] vs. inpatient/hospital settings), the need for more clinicians and better access to care grows unabated. In an effort to manage both increased demand (e.g., access) by patients and patients (appropriately) nudged into clinic settings, telehealth and its component pieces provide needed access to healthcare, possible cost savings, and, in many cases, improved continuity of care/care management via patient monitoring and adherence to treatment protocols.”
-mHealth Intelligence
“Telehealth advocates are once again asking the Justice Department to follow through with its pledge to create a special registration process for healthcare providers who want to prescribe controlled substances through a telemedicine platform.
As required by the Special Registration for Telemedicine Act of 2018, which was part of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act signed into law by President Trump in late 2018, the US Drug Enforcement Agency has until October 24 to set the ground rules for providers with a special registration to prescribe controlled substances.
With that deadline fast approaching, the Center for Telehealth & e-Health Law (CTeL) sent a letter to Scott Brinks, section chief of the DEA’s Regulatory Drafting & Policy Support Section, urging the agency to create that special registration, which would enable provider to prescribe controlled substances without the need for a prior in-person exam.”
Click here to read the entire article.
-mHealth Intelligence
Remote patient monitoring and telehealth play prominently in the 2020 CPT codes unveiled this month by the American Medical Association.
Among the 248 new codes added to the list for the coming year, the AMA has created six for online digital evaluation services, or e-visits, in which care providers can connect with patients at home to exchange information. Three codes – 99421, 99422 and 99423 – relate to patient-initiated digital communication provided by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional, while three others – 98970, 98971 and 98972 – focus on communications with a “non-physician healthcare professional.”
The new codes represent a continuing trend toward RPM services, as hospitals and health systems look to extend care to the home or other non-traditional settings and collaborate with patients and other care providers on care management.
-JAMA Pediatrics
“Findings In this Medicaid claims data analysis, there was no association found between a school-based telehealth program implemented in a rural South Carolina county and all-cause emergency department visits among children ages 3 to 17 years enrolled in Medicaid. However, an additional analysis of a subsample of children with asthma suggested that this program was associated with a more than 20% overall reduction in emergency department visits.”
– Kyle Wiggers (VentureBeat Newsletters)
“Gigstreem (formerly Rainbow Broadband), a Tysons, Virginia-based internet service provider targeting residential and commercial customers, today announced that it has raised $10 million in a series A round led by RET Ventures, with participation from LNC Partners.
Gigstreem offers six-month contracts with an early termination fee to customers in New York, Baltimore, Orlando, South Carolina, and Virginia. Fully symmetrical 150Mbps tiers start at $50, going up to $80 and $100 for 400Mbps and 1Gbps, respectively.”
– Matthew Gavidia (AJMC Newsroom)
“School-based telemedicine was shown to potentially enhance healthcare benefits for children with chronic diseases, such as asthma, in rural and medically underserved communities, according to a study published today in JAMA Pediatrics.”
– Mary Katherine Wildeman (The Post & Courier)
“Berkeley County is asking for its citizens’ help in figuring out who in the county doesn’t have adequate broadband internet service. Governments looking to make investments in broadband, which includes fiber optic, satellite, cable and DSL connections, need to know exactly where service is lacking in order to know where to spend.”
-Becker’s Hospital Review
“As the southeastern U.S. braces for the impact of Hurricane Dorian, several hospitals and health systems have announced that they will provide telehealth services free of charge to patients affected by the storm.
Hurricane Dorian has already caused at least five deaths in the Bahamas, according to The New York Times. As of Sept. 3, the now-Category 2 hurricane has begun moving slowly away from the Bahamas and toward Florida, with the storm expected to reach Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia by the end of the week.
Here are seven hospitals and health systems offering free virtual visits due to the hurricane:
– Linda Childers (Oncology Nurse News)
“Getting a cancer diagnosis is a life changing experience for all patients, but for those who live in rural areas, receiving appropriate care and treatment can pose additional challenges.”
Palmetto Care Connections (PCC) is the telehealth network for South Carolina that offers telehealth support services to rural and underserved health care providers.
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