Telehealth Archives - Page 20 of 35

Telehealth

End of Year Attention to Health IT and Digital Health Tools in 21st Century Cures

by Daniel F. Gottlieb, Jennifer S. Geetter, Karen S. Sealander, Lisa Mazur and Scott Weinstein | Dec 13, 2016 | Consumer Protection, Data Privacy, Telehealth

On December 7, 2016, the US Congress approved the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures legislation), which is intended to accelerate the “discovery, development and delivery” of medical therapies by encouraging public and private biomedical research investment, facilitating innovation review and approval processes, and continuing to invest and modernize the delivery of health care. The massive bill, however, also served as a vehicle for a variety of other health-related measures, including provisions relating to health information technology (HIT) and related digital health initiatives. President Barack Obama has expressed support for the Cures legislation and is expected to sign the bill this month.

The HIT provisions of the Cures legislation in general seek to:

Reduce administrative and regulatory burdens associated with providers’ use of electronic health records (EHRs)
Advance interoperability
Promote standards for HIT
Curb information blocking
Improve patient care and access to health information in EHRs

As public and private payers increasingly move from fee-for-service payments to value-based payment models, with a focus on maximizing health outcomes, population health improvement, and patient engagement, HIT—including EHRs and digital health tools—will be increasingly relied upon to collect clinical data, measure quality and cost effectiveness; assure continuity of care between patients and providers in different locations; and develop evidence-based clinical care guidelines.

Read the full article.

Congress Continues to Focus on Integrating Telehealth Solutions into Healthcare Delivery

by McDermott Will & Emery, Lisa Mazur and Marshall E. Jackson, Jr. | Dec 7, 2016 | Telehealth

On December 6, 2016, the House passed the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act (S. 2873) (the ECHO Act), which was unanimously passed by the Senate on November 29, 2016. The ECHO Act seeks to expand the use of health care technology and programming to connect underserved communities and populations with critical health care services.

The ECHO Act builds upon the University of New Mexico’s world-renowned Project ECHO by encouraging the broader development and use of technology-enabled collaborative learning and care delivery models by connecting specialists with multiple other health care professionals through simultaneous interactive videoconferencing for the purpose of facilitating case-based learning, disseminating best practices, and evaluating outcomes.

The ECHO Act requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models, and the impact of those models on (1) certain health conditions (i.e., mental health and substance use disorders, chronic diseases, prenatal and maternal health, pediatric care, pain management, and palliative care), (2) health care workforce issues (e.g., specialty care shortages) and (3) public health programs.

Within two years of the enactment of the ECHO Act, the Secretary of HHS must submit a publically available report to Congress that:

Analyzes the impact of technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models, including, but not limited to, the impact on health care provider retention, quality of care, access to care and barriers faced by healthcare providers;
Lists the technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models funded by HHS over the past five years;
Describes best practices used in adopting these models;
Describes barriers to adoption of these models and recommends ways to reduce those barriers and opportunities to increase use of these models; and
Issues recommendations regarding the role of technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models in continuing medical education and lifelong learning, including the role of academic medical centers, provider organizations and community providers in such education and lifelong learning.

The recommendations made in HHS’s report may be used to integrate the Project ECHO model into health systems across the country.

Bipartisan Legislation Proposes Telehealth Solutions for Effective Chronic Disease Management

by Dale C. Van Demark, Lisa Mazur and Marshall E. Jackson, Jr. | Nov 28, 2016 | General Interest, Telehealth

Collaborative efforts between congressional offices and various health care stakeholders, as well as the feedback provided in response to the Bipartisan CHRONIC Care Working Group Policy Options Document released in December of 2015, have driven the Senate Finance Committee to introduce a draft of bipartisan legislation known as the CHRONIC Care Act, which seeks to modernize Medicare payment policies to improve the management and treatment of chronic diseases using telehealth.

Read the full article.

Commercial Insurers Urge Congressional Budget Office to Consider their Telemedicine Data

by Lisa Mazur | Oct 28, 2016 | General Interest, Telehealth

In hopes of expanding reimbursement opportunities for telemedicine services in the Medicare program, representatives of eleven payers, including Aetna, Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, Cambia Health Solutions and Humana, asked CBO director Keith Hall in a public letter to consider their data when evaluating the impact of Medicare coverage of telemedicine services.

Medicare reimbursement for telemedicine is currently limited to very narrow set of circumstances. Section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act provides that telehealth services are covered only if the Medicare patient is seen: (a) at an approved “originating site” (e.g., physician offices, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities) that is located within a rural Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) that is either outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or in a rural census tract, or a county outside of a MSA; (b) by an approved provider (e.g., physicians, nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists); (c) for a defined set of services, including consultations, office visits, pharmacological management, and individual and group diabetes self-management training services; and (d) using certain telecommunications technologies.

There are bipartisan efforts currently underway to expand Medicare reimbursement for telemedicine services by easing or eliminating some of these requirements. One example is the CONNECT for Health Act. Because coverage of telemedicine services in Medicare’s fee-for-service program is limited, there is limited Medicare data available for the CBO to consider when reviewing the potential financial impact of such legislation. In light of this lack of data, the insurers advise that the CBO should consider the effects that telemedicine’s expansion in the commercial market. The insurers’ letter to the CBO also points out that new alternative, quality-based payment models rely upon telemedicine as a means of meeting certain performance measures, and other government agencies, such as the US Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration, are using telemedicine services to provide better quality care.

Earlier this year, the CBO and MedPAC received a letter from over 20 different health care providers similarly urging it to consider alternative data sources, such as data from the commercial sector, when analyzing the costs and benefits associated with the use of telemedicine in the Medicare program.

FTC Weighs-in on Telehealth, Comments on Delaware’s Occupational Therapy Practice Rule

by McDermott Will & Emery, Ashley Fischer, Lisa Mazur and Marshall E. Jackson, Jr. | Sep 15, 2016 | General Interest, Mobile Apps, Telehealth

On August 3, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff submitted public comments regarding the Delaware Board of Occupational Therapy Practice’s proposed regulation for the provision of occupational therapy services via telehealth in Delaware (the Proposed Regulation). The FTC’s comments to the Proposed Regulation follow its comments to Alaska’s telehealth legislation earlier this year and evidence its continued focus on telehealth’s ability to foster flexibility in health care delivery by increasing practitioner supply; encouraging competition; and improving access to affordable, quality health care.

By way of background, in 2015, Delaware amended its Insurance and Professions and Occupations Code (the Code) to include the regulation of telehealth and telemedicine services, including the delivery of occupational care remotely under existing, in-person standards of care. Consistent with the Code, the Delaware Board of Occupational Therapy Practice (the Board) revised its rules and regulations to address telehealth services. The Proposed Regulation defines telehealth as “the use of electronic communications to provide and deliver a host of health-related information and health care services, including occupational therapy related information and services, over electronic devices. Telehealth encompasses a variety of occupational therapy promotion activities, including consultation, education, reminders, interventions, and monitoring of interventions.”

The Proposed Regulation gives Occupational Therapist and Occupational Therapist Assistant licensees’ (Licensees) discretion in assessing and determining the appropriate level and type of care for an individual patient, provided that certain requirements are satisfied. Specifically, under the Proposed Regulation, Licensees that provide treatment through telehealth must have an active Delaware license in good standing to practice telehealth in the state of Delaware. In addition to obtaining informed consent and complying with confidentiality requirements, the licensee must also: (1) be responsible for determining and documenting that telehealth is an appropriate level of care for the patient; (2) comply with the Board’s rules and regulations and all current standards of care requirements applicable to onsite care; (3) limit the practice of telehealth to the area of competence in which proficiency has been gained through education, training and experience; (4) determine the need for the physical presence of an occupational therapy practitioner during any interactions with patients, if he/she is the Occupational Therapist who screens, evaluates, writes or implements the plan of care; (5) determine the amount and level of supervision needed during the telehealth encounter; and (6) document in the file or record which services were provided remotely. (24 Del. Admin. Code § 2000-4.2.)

Staff of the FTC’s Office of Policy Planning and its Bureaus of Competition and Economics, responding to the Board’s request for public comments, stated that by not imposing rigid and unwarranted in-person care and supervision requirements, the Proposed Regulation could have various positive impacts, including: (1) improving access to cost-effective, quality care, especially for patients with limited mobility; (2) reducing Medicaid’s transportation expenditures as well as individuals’ pecuniary and time costs; (3) addressing anticipated workforce shortages in the health care sector by increasing practitioner supply and facilitating care of an aging population; and (4) enhancing competition, consumer choice and access to [...]

Continue Reading

Guidance on Ransomware Attacks under HIPAA and State Data Breach Notification Laws

by Michael G. Morgan | Aug 8, 2016 | Consumer Protection, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Email/Spam, Telehealth

On July 28, 2016, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance (guidance) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on what covered entities and business associates can do to prevent and recover from ransomware attacks. Ransomware attacks can also trigger concerns under state data breach notification laws.

The HIPAA Security Rule requires covered entities and business associates to implement security measures. It also requires covered entities and business associates to conduct an accurate and thorough risk analysis of the potential risks and vulnerabilities to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information (ePHI) the entities create, receive, maintain or transmit and to implement security measures sufficient to reduce those identified risks and vulnerabilities to a reasonable and appropriate level. The HIPAA Security Rule establishes a floor for the security of ePHI, although additional and/or more stringent security measures are certainly permissible and may be required under state law. Compliance with HIPAA’s existing requirements provides covered entities and business associates with guidance on how to prevent and address breaches that compromise protected health information. The new HIPAA guidance specific to ransomware reinforces how the existing requirements can help an entity protect sensitive information.

Read the full article here.

Guidance on Low Risk General Wellness Devices Is Finalized

by McDermott Will & Emery, Michael W. Ryan and Vernessa T. Pollard | Aug 4, 2016 | Consumer Protection, General Interest, Mobile Apps, Telehealth

On July 29, 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized General Wellness: Policy for Low Risk Devices Guidance (Final Guidance) detailing its risk-based regulatory approach to relax certain regulatory requirements for low risk products that promote a healthy lifestyle—coined “general wellness products.” In the Final Guidance, the FDA makes minimal substantive changes to the policies articulated in its January 2015 draft guidance. Notably, however, the Final Guidance added and refined several examples to illustrate the products that are subject to FDA’s enforcement discretion and ultimately outside FDA’s intended scope of regulatory oversight.

Read the full article, FDA Finalizes Guidance on Low Risk General Wellness Devices here.

Digital Health: An Improving Environment for Investors

by Dale C. Van Demark and Lisa Mazur | Jul 12, 2016 | General Interest, Mobile Apps, Telehealth

The integration of technology into health care delivery is exploding throughout the health industry landscape. Commentators speculating on the implications of the information revolution’s penetration of the health care industry envision delivery models rivaling those imagined by celebrated science fiction authors, and claim that the integration of information technology into even the most basic health care delivery functions can reduce cost, increase access, improve quality and, in some instances, fundamentally change the way health care is delivered.

These visions are difficult to refute in the abstract; the technology exists or is being developed to achieve what just a few years ago seemed the idle speculation of futurists. But delivering this vision in an industry as regulated as health care is significantly harder than it may seem. While digital health models have existed for many years, the regulatory and reimbursement environment have stifled their evolution into fully integrated components of the health care delivery system.

(more…)

The Rocky Road of Evaluation for Digital Health Tools

by Dale C. Van Demark | Jun 22, 2016 | General Interest, Social Media, Telehealth

Recent comments linking digital health tools to so-called “snake oil” has the channels of social media atwitter. (Add this post to the noise!) While some may decry the comparison, there is a lot we can learn from that perspective.

One of the challenges of broad digital health adoption is the simple fact that digital health encompasses such a broad array of technologies, usages and purposes. There is no one tonic that will cure a list of ailments; rather we are presented with shelves of solutions to even more shelves of challenges waiting to be addressed. Digital health includes, by my definition, the application of social media tools to preventative health and chronic disease management measures, as well as highly sophisticated data analytics applied to massive amounts of population health data to identify important health trends. It also includes home monitoring devices that keep health care providers informed of their patient’s at-home health condition, as well as telestroke programs that allow physicians to access needed expertise. The list is potentially endless, as new technologies created to address health issues and existing technologies are being put to use in the health care context. (more…)

AMA Approves New Ethical Guidance Policy and Encourages Telemedicine Training for Students and Residents

by McDermott Will & Emery and Lisa Mazur | Jun 20, 2016 | Consumer Protection, Data Privacy, General Interest, Mobile Apps, Telehealth

New Ethical Guidelines

On June 13, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a new ethical guidance policy governing the practice of telemedicine that will be published in the coming months. The policy is based on a report from the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs and builds upon the AMA’s 2014 telemedicine guidance.

Consistent with past guidance from AMA and other professional organizations, the AMA notes that the ethical responsibilities of physicians are the same – regardless of whether the physician communicates with a patient in-person or remotely – and encourages providers to recognize the potential uses and limitations of technology when delivering care. “Telehealth and telemedicine are another stage in the ongoing evolution of new models for the delivery of care and patient-physician interactions,” said AMA Board Member Jack Resneck, MD. “The new AMA ethical guidance notes that while new technologies and new models of care will continue to emerge, physicians’ fundamental ethical responsibilities do not change.”

The 2016 policy recommends that once a patient-physician relationship is established, physicians who engage in telemedicine by responding to individual health queries electronically or providing clinical services through telemedicine:

Must disclose financial or other interests in certain telemedicine applications or services
Must protect patient privacy and confidentiality
Should inform patients of the limitations of the telemedicine encounter
Should encourage patients to inform their primary care doctor about the encounter
Should advise patients how to arrange follow-up care
Should, when necessary, recommend the use of a telepresenter or other health care professional at the originating site (e., the patient’s physical location)

Notably, the 2014 guidance required that a patient-physician relationship be established prior to the provision of telemedicine services. The relationship could be established during a face-to-face examination, through a consultation with another physician, or by meeting the evidence-based practice guidelines developed by major medical specialty societies. While the 2014 guidance did not specify whether the face-to-face examination must occur in-person, rather than digitally, many interpreted this requirement to be satisfied via an interactive telemedicine encounter.

In addition, the 2016 policy formally recognizes the importance of a “coordinated effort across the profession,” which includes clarifying standards and promoting access to technology. That said, the 2016 policy still requires the licensure of physicians in the state in which the patient is located. (As a general rule, physicians that practice telemedicine are subject to the licensure rules of both the state in which their patient is physically located and the state in which the provider is practicing.) One potential avenue for facilitating multi-state licensure is the Federation of State Medical Boards’ Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which offers a streamlined licensure process in each Compact state. The Compact has been adopted by 17 states thus far and more are expected to join this year and in 2017.

In sum, the AMA’s new ethical guidance should help physicians to better understand how their fundamental ethical responsibilities may play out differently when patient interactions occur through technology, and how this technology can [...]

Continue Reading

Older Posts »

« Newer Posts

BLOG EDITORS

Amanda Enyeart

Marshall E. Jackson, Jr.

BLOG EDITORS

STAY CONNECTED

TOPICS

ARCHIVES

RECENT POSTS