Kat Jercich
The report by Foley & Lardner found that 43 states and D.C. have implemented a version of a state telehealth commercial payer law - although payment parity policies lag behind.
More than 100 stakeholders, including AMA, AHA and Mayo Clinic, have convened to release policy and regulatory recommendations to improve the country's disaster preparedness.
The pathway discovered at Michigan-based Beaumont Health allowed users to "cut in line" to schedule unauthorized appointments and circumvent current state mandates.
"If the benefits of electronic health records are to be fully realized, patients must be confident providers have selected the most effective system - not the one paying the largest kickbacks," said one federal agent.
Lower courts had blocked FDA in-person requirements for abortion medication last summer, finding them to be a "substantial obstacle" during the pandemic.
The governor announced legislation this week that would safeguard access to virtual care after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Hospital Association had raised concerns about the proposed rule this past December, saying it could lead to confusion and program failures.
Some of the hurdles around vaccine distribution could be addressed with high-tech solutions, particularly where environmental management is concerned.
The health system found that patients who received care at their facilities had lower observed mortality rates than the national average, and remote patient monitoring may have been one difference-maker.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights outlined several circumstances in which the disclosures of protected health information with public health authorities are permitted under HIPAA.