Telehealth Archives - Page 18 of 35

Telehealth

Texas Continues to Embrace Telemedicine

by Lisa Mazur, Marshall E. Jackson, Jr. and Olivia J. Jahn | Oct 10, 2017 | Telehealth

On September 15, 2017, the Texas Medical Board (Board) released proposed rules regarding telemedicine and mental health services (Proposed Rules) to implement Senate Bill 1107, which was passed on May 11, 2017. Most notably, the Proposed Rules provide that a physician-patient relationship can be established solely by the delivery of care via telemedicine services and eliminates the prior requirement that services for new patients be provided at an established medical site and with a telemedicine presenter. These changes to the Board’s approach create the same standard of care for in-person and telemedicine services.

McDermott previously r eported on Senate Bill 1107 and provided relevant background on telemedicine in Texas. The Board is accepting public comments on the Proposed Rules. A public hearing regarding the Proposed Rules will be held at a later date to be determined.

In addition, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) recently adopted final rules regarding the reimbursement of telemedicine in Texas Medicaid (Final Rules) on October 6, 2017. The Final Rules are effective as of December 1, 2017. (more…)

Home Care: The Digital Health Opportunity

by Dale C. Van Demark | Oct 2, 2017 | Telehealth

A recent article in Kaiser Health News highlights the health risks associated with the increased effort to get patients home—namely, the need for families to gain and effectively deploy the skills needed to care for themselves and family members. The article highlights the risks (and increased rates) of infections, particularly in relation to catheters. However, it does not take much imagination to identify other conditions where at home care is critical.

Concise and easy to follow instructions are key, of course, but information technology can play a role here as well. While the business plan for this type of digital health strategy may not be as clear as others, this is the type of sector that could demonstrate the digital health opportunity in the effort to increase value in health care delivery.

The Way Forward for Telemedicine

by Dale C. Van Demark | Sep 25, 2017 | Telehealth

A lot of us have argued that one of the floodgates for telemedicine has been reimbursement. If states and the Federal government more liberally reimbursed or required reimbursement for telemedicine service, we argue then a significant barrier to broader telemedicine will be removed. This is a valid argument, and the potential flurry of activity on Capitol Hill as of this writing (September 20, 2017) gives many hope that Medicare reimbursement for telemedicine may be greatly expanded soon.

Alas, another problem persists. A spate of recent surveys and reports on utilization demonstrate that awareness should be viewed as a similar sort of barrier. It is, of course, a generalization to say this, but consumers are largely unaware of the benefit being made available to them, or are unaware of the appropriate uses of a telemedicine service. It would be foolish to speculate as to the reasons why, but a recent trend may help to erode this barrier.

When it comes to customer service and user engagement, none are better than our technology industry. The West Coast tech giants clearly understand how to engage and attract users. The remarkable success of smart phones provides ample evidence—can you think of any other consumer product of comparably high-cost being as ubiquitous? It is also clear that the health care industry has failed to engage consumers as effectively. There are likely multiple reasons for this. Health care is: (1) highly regulated, resulting in limited ability to be quickly responsive to consumer demands; (2) run by professionals trained in many things, but not sales or consumer satisfaction and engagement; and (3) burdened both by a lack of competition at the point of sale, and by a third-party payment system that has so far proven to be impervious to the forces of disintermediation. (more…)

Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: Framework Needed

by McDermott Will & Emery and Dale C. Van Demark | Sep 15, 2017 | Advertising & Marketing, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, General Interest, Telehealth

Although the incorporation of technology into human endeavours—commercial, political and personal—is a normal component of technological innovation, the advent of artificial intelligence technology is producing significant challenges we have not felt or understood with earlier innovations. For many years, for example, there has been speculation, research and public debate about the impact of the internet, the functioning of search engines, and online advertising techniques on commercial and political decisions.

The alleged “hacking” of the 2016 US presidential election, and the concerns about such activities in the 2017 European elections, will only heighten the interweaving discussions on free speech, national sovereignty, cyber security and the nature of privacy.

The use of artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies has only added to the list of issues and areas of concern. The consequences of automobile accidents involving “self-driving” technologies, the “flash crashes” on securities markets due to algorithmic trading, and bias in systems designed to determine benefit eligibility, are requiring us to consider what happens when we defer judgment to machines, and highlighting the importance of quality in data sets and sensors.

Read Full International News, Fall 2017

Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact Eases the Practice of Nursing across State Lines

by Lisa Mazur and Sandra M. DiVarco | Aug 28, 2017 | General Interest, Telehealth

The Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (Compact) has now been adopted by 26 states, which means the Compact will be taking effect on January 19, 2018. Nurses who seek to practice telemedicine and deliver in-person care across state lines and who meet the Compact’s licensure requirements in these states will have one less obstacle to overcome going forward.

The Compact is an updated version of the original compact allows for registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs) to have one multistate license, which will enable them to practice nursing in person or via technology (e.g., videconference) in both their home state, as well as the other Compact states. Development and implementation of the Compact was not an easy feat, given the need for alignment of licensing standards across the Compact states, including federal and state fingerprint-based criminal background checks.

The 26 states participating in the Compact as of today are Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

For more information about the Compact, please visit: https://www.ncsbn.org/11070.htm.

Next Generation of Patient Care: Balancing Digital Engagement with Patient and Consumer Privacy

by Jennifer S. Geetter and Lisa Mazur | Aug 18, 2017 | Consumer Protection, Data Privacy, Mobile Apps, Telehealth

Jennifer Geetter and Lisa Schmitz Mazur wrote this bylined article on the regulatory implications of technology-supported devices, resources, and solutions that facilitate health patient-provider interaction. “Health industry regulators are struggling with how to apply the existing privacy regulatory regime, and the permitted uses and disclosures for which they provide, in this new world of healthcare innovation,” the authors wrote.

FDA Outlines the New Digital Health Innovation Action Plan and Software Precertification Pilot Program

by McDermott Will & Emery and Vernessa T. Pollard | Aug 7, 2017 | Data Privacy, General Interest, Telehealth

Last Tuesday afternoon, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a webinar to outline a recently-published Digital Health Innovation Action Plan (Plan). In the Plan, the agency recognized that the traditional regulatory approach toward moderate and high risk medical devices is not well suited for the fast-paced, iterative design, development and type of validation used for digital health software products today. Going forward, the agency plans to explore an innovative approach to regulating these types of products. The approach contains three primary prongs: (1) the issuance of new guidance, (2) the Digital Health Software Precertification Program and (3) an internal expansion of FDA’s digital health capabilities.

The webinar was presented by Bakul Patel, Associate Director for Digital Health at FDA. At least 905 attendees logged in to the webinar. (more…)

Round Two: Significant Telehealth Expansion Re-Proposed in Bipartisan Senate Bill

by McDermott Will & Emery, Lisa Mazur and Marshall E. Jackson, Jr. | Jun 27, 2017 | General Interest, Telehealth

On May 3, 2017, the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act of 2017 (S. 1016) (CONNECT Act of 2017) was reintroduced by the same six senators who had initially introduced the legislation in early 2016 and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. As we previously reported on February 29, 2016, this iteration of the proposed bill also focuses on promoting cost savings and quality care under the Medicare program through the use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) services, and incentivizing such digital health technologies by expanding coverage for them under the Medicare program—albeit using different terminology. Chiefly, the CONNECT Act of 2017 serves as a way to expand telehealth and RPM for Medicare beneficiaries, makes it easier for patients to connect with their health care providers and helps reduce costs for patients and providers. As with the previous iteration, the CONNECT Act of 2017 has received statements of support from over 50 organizations, including the American Medical Association, American Telemedicine Association, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Connected Health Initiative, Federation of State Medical Boards, National Coalition on Health Care and an array of vendors and health systems. (more…)

OIG Reports More Than $731 Million in Inappropriate Medicare Meaningful Use Payments

by Amanda Enyeart and Lisa Mazur | Jun 20, 2017 | Big Data, Data Privacy, General Interest, Telehealth

The Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program run by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) garnered attention again last week following the release of a report by the Office of Inspector General of the US Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) describing inappropriate payments to physicians under the program. The report follows on the heels of a high-profile settlement under the False Claims Act between the US Department of Justice and an EHR vendor related to certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT) used in the EHR Incentive Program (which we’ve previously discussed in-depth).

The OIG reviewed payments to 100 eligible professionals (EPs) who received EHR incentive payments between May 2011 and June 2014 and identified 14 inappropriate payments. OIG extrapolated the results of the review to the 250,470 total EPs who received incentive payments during that time period and estimated that CMS made approximately $729 million in inappropriate EHR incentive payments out of a total of just over $6 billion in such payments during the review period. (more…)

Texas Changes its Tone on Telemedicine

by McDermott Will & Emery and Lisa Mazur | Jun 1, 2017 | Mobile Apps, Telehealth, Text Messaging

As one of the last states to retain highly restrictive (and arguably anti-competitive) telemedicine practice standards, health care providers, regulatory boards, technology companies, payors and other stakeholders have been actively monitoring Texas’ approach to telemedicine regulation and the related Teladoc case. Texas has eliminated its most restrictive requirement for delivering care via telemedicine in Texas, increasing opportunities for providers to reach patients using technology. Senate Bill 1107 was passed on May 11, 2017, and the House added an amendment in passing Senate Bill 1107, which was approved in the Senate on May 18. The bill was signed into law by Governor Abbott last weekend.

Read the full article.