On August 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the advance copy of its proposed 2021 Physician Fee Schedule rule, which contains new telehealth services covered under Medicare. Compared to...more
The telemedicine industry was pleased to learn CMS recently proposed adding new services to its list of Medicare-covered telehealth services. But what may be more interesting are the services CMS declined to add, and why....more
8/10/2018
/ Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Comment Period ,
EMTALA ,
HCPCS ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Medicare ,
Proposed Rules ,
Social Security Act ,
Telecommunications ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
Hospital-based telemedicine services continue to rapidly expand across the country, allowing providers to deliver care to rural areas and better allocate the staffing and availability of specialist physicians such as...more
The Joint Commission has proposed changes to its accreditation standards to account for direct-to-patient telehealth services. The new standards will apply to Joint Commission-accredited hospitals and ambulatory health care...more
Editor’s Note: This article is the second in a series addressing telemedicine prescribing and controlled substances, designed to give some much needed practical guidance and orientation to established healthcare providers,...more
4/18/2017
/ Controlled Substances ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Exemptions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Emergencies ,
Native American Issues ,
Physicians ,
Prescribing Authority ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Ryan Haight Act ,
Telemedicine ,
Veterans
Editor’s Note: This article is the first of a series addressing telemedicine prescribing and controlled substances, designed to give some much needed practical guidance and orientation to established health care providers,...more
More good news for hospitals, health care providers, and entrepreneurs interested in telehealth and Chronic Care Management (CCM). CMS just recently introduced a new educational initiative called Connected Care: the Chronic...more
The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals and other health care organizations, recently announced it will not permit hospitals and other health care organizations to use secure text messaging platforms to transmit...more
The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals and other health care organizations, hit pause on its prior May 2016 announcement to allow secure text messaging in hospitals and other health care organizations. The use of...more
Foley Partner Nathaniel Lacktman, head of the firm’s telemedicine and virtual care practice, participated in a comprehensive Q&A discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the telehealth market with Healthcare...more
The North Dakota Board of Medicine issued proposed regulations designed to move the Peace Garden State to the list of telemedicine-friendly states. The rules properly focus on the quality of care delivered, rather than the...more
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) can share costs of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services among their hospitals, providers/suppliers, and other ACO participants, according to federal regulations under the...more
11/3/2015
/ ACOs ,
Alternative Payment Models (APM) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Fee-for-Service ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Shared Savings Program ,
OIG ,
Suppliers ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Value-Based Purchasing ,
Waivers
A physician in New Hampshire can now establish a valid doctor-patient relationship without needing a prior in-person exam. This is among several recent changes in New Hampshire’s telemedicine laws that offer new opportunities...more
10/27/2015
/ Controlled Substances ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Electronic Prescribing ,
Exemptions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
In-Person Exam ,
Licensing Rules ,
Mental Health ,
New Legislation ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Standard of Care ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
After New York became the 22nd state to enact a telemedicine commercial coverage statute, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an amendment changing the statute. The amendment makes sweeping changes to telehealth coverage under New...more
10/20/2015
/ Amended Legislation ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Nurse Practitioners ,
Nurses ,
Physicians ,
Psychological Counseling ,
Reimbursements ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
As U.S. hospitals and health care providers continue to explore China’s market for international health care business opportunities, including telemedicine, they often consider providing services or products to consumers...more
9/28/2015
/ Advertising ,
China ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Endorsements ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Sanctions ,
Telemedicine
CMS just introduced proposed rules to clarify the requirements and payment opportunities when hospitals want to bill Medicare for Chronic Care Management (“CCM”) services.
CCM is an exciting service covered by Medicare...more
7/15/2015
/ Billing ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OPPS ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Telehealth
Note: This is a companion piece to our parallel article discussing the various Delaware commercial insurance coverage requirements in the Act.
Delaware Gov. Jack Merkell signed into law, on July 7, 2015, a bill...more
7/10/2015
/ Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
New Legislation ,
Nurses ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
Declaring “liberty and independence” from the constraints of brick and mortar health care, Delaware became the 29th state to enact a telemedicine commercial reimbursement statute. The legislation (HB-69) was sponsored by...more
Connecticut marks the 28th state to enact a telemedicine commercial reimbursement statute. The legislation (SB-467) was sponsored by Senators Looney, Duff, Crisco and Gerratana with twenty co-sponsor senators, and was signed...more
After more than 18 months in the works, and with much public coverage in the telemedicine industry, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) made its Interstate Medical Licensure Compact available for review by state...more