Doctor holding smartphone for electronic prescription per telemedicine prescribing laws

Telemedicine Prescribing Laws Inch Forward

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More than a decade after the passage of the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008, the US Drug Enforcement Agency is finally taking steps to fulfill a task assigned by the legislation: the creation of a special registration process for telemedicine prescribing laws by which healthcare providers can apply for authorization to prescribe controlled substances to new patients they have never met in the office, instead examining them only via the “practice of telemedicine.” This long-overdue measure has been welcomed by organizations including the American Telemedicine Association and the Center for Telehealth & e-Health Law, who have long been lobbying the DEA to take action. Read more

girl, using inhaler, embraces allergy telemedicine

Pediatric Allergy Telemedicine Welcomed by Patients and Families

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Last year, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) formally endorsed the use of telemedicine for allergy and immunology care. Now, after examining pediatric allergy patients’ experiences with asthma or allergy telemedicine over a three-year period, a team of researchers has found that roughly two-thirds of the respondents were equally satisfied with the telemedicine appointment as compared to a traditional, in-office appointment; the remaining one-third felt even more satisfied with the telemedicine encounter than an in-office visit. Read more

Child with book for telehealth certification

Avera eCare to Develop New Telehealth Certification Program

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In a nascent, growing field yet to standardize one generally-accepted standard for accreditation or certification, another player is entering the field. Avera eCare, one of the country’s largest telehealth networks, is developing a national telehealth certification program with a $4.3 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The program will allow healthcare providers to earn either a general certificate in telehealth as a delivery model or a specialty certificate in telemental health. Read more

Telemedicine in hospitals as demonstrated by patient, nurse, and physician

Beyond the ER: Expanding Telemedicine in Hospitals

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At Cleveland Clinic, recovering stroke and epilepsy patients can use the TV in the room to watch a movie—or see their physicians for a follow-up visit via video conferencing. Last July, the facility opened a neurology step-down unit that had been newly-equipped with telemedicine capabilities. The director of Cleveland Clinic’s cerebrovascular center, Muhammad Shazam Hussain, MD, was interviewed recently about introducing telemedicine in hospitals, outside of emergency rooms. Read more