Telehealth

Patients will be able to address care needs such as birth control, cold or flu medication and refills without a video chat.

<p>Two-thirds of telehealth is being used for mental health interactions, says Steve Ullman, director at the Center for Health Management and Policy at the University of Miami.<br />  </p>

<p>Benefits for patients include faster access, no delay in finding an available mental health provider and better coverage options, says Dr. Nele Jessel, chief medical officer of athenahealth.<br />  </p>

The initiative, extended through 2024, includes waivers and flexibilities for routine services, telehealth and physical home requirements.

Physician pay in final rule is untenable, providers say, as they laud the delay of MIPS policy and extension of telehealth flexibilities.

<p>The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General recommends Medicare develop its own source for race and ethnicity data collection in the Medicare population, says Ann Maxwell, HHS-OIG deputy inspector general for evaluations.</p> <p>  </p>

<p>Jacqueline de Leeuw, CNIO at Radboud University Medical Centre, said that during the process of achieving HIMSS EMRAM Stage 7 certification her organization was challenged to become better digitized.</p> <p>  </p>

MDLIVE is enhancing its virtual primary care service to include health coaching for patients with chronic conditions, company says.

The cost is $33 out of pocket for a chat visit with insurance not accepted at this time.

Commercial health insurers should use telehealth to make up for the lack of mental health providers focusing on youth, research determines.