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Telemedicine Physician Licensing Needs Updates

Can Telemedicine Physician Licensing Be Updated?

With the explosion of telemedicine use during the COVID-19 pandemic, several regulations have come under close scrutiny for hindering more efficient and effective use of the technology. In particular, telemedicine physician licensing has traditionally been managed at the state level, where both the physician and patient must physically be located during the appointment, but real-time consultations over the internet are not limited by state lines. With today’s technology and consumers’ rapid acceptance of telemedicine, providers and patients virtually anywhere can theoretically meet online for a medical appointment; in reality, they can’t because many states do not recognize medical licenses awarded in a different state. Temporary measures have been created to address this issue, but they do not comprise a long-term solution to the issue of telemedicine physician licensing. Read more

EMT examining little girl's leg injury for telemedicine in-home visit

A New Normal? Telemedicine In-Home Visits May Include Primary Care

Integrating telemedicine into emergency medical services is nothing new, but the focus thus far has revolved around acute cases and specialties such as telestroke. However, in a recently released proof of concept, researchers questioned this trend and applied the model of telemedicine in-home visits to primary care services. This preliminary observatory study suggests that using telemedicine to bring primary care services into the patient’s home may be feasible, effective, and satisfactory for homebound seniors with chronic medical conditions. Read more

Family doctor with stethoscope for health check

2018’s Biggest Telemedicine Trends

At the beginning of the year, we made a few predictions as to what changes would be wrought in healthcare delivery throughout 2018. Now that we’re halfway through the year, let’s look at healthcare delivery and beyond to see what telemedicine trends are emerging in the healthcare sector overall. Read more

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VA Eliminates Licensure Barrier to Interstate Telemedicine

As part of the new “Anywhere to Anywhere VA Health Care Initiative,” Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) providers will soon be able to provide telehealth services across state lines regardless of the state’s licensing rules. The goal is to create a national telemedicine network that can reach veterans in their homes or at locations outside VA hospitals. Effective June 11, the change is expected to increase access to care by making more clinicians available for appointments for patients in rural, remote, or medically underserved areas. Read more

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Home Telepsychiatry Reduces Anxiety, Saves Lives

Telemedicine has often been touted as a solution for remote regions with physician shortages, but one area of medicine is finding that telemedicine brings unexpected benefits, even if the patient lives right around the corner. Home telepsychiatry brings psychotherapy to the patient and meets the patient’s needs where he/she is. In the process, the physician can gain invaluable insight into the patient’s living situation—insight that might otherwise take weeks to uncover during in-office therapy sessions. For instance, a patient once complained of a cluttered home; she turned out to be a hoarder. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has discovered especially intriguing results from using home telepsychiatry. Read more

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Proposed Rule Would Allow VA Telemedicine Providers to Treat Patients across State Lines

If the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs gets its way, VA telemedicine providers will soon be exempt from state restrictions that prohibit physicians from seeing patients in another state without being licensed to practice there. The goal of the proposed rule, the Veterans E-health and Telemedicine Support Act of 2017, is to increase veterans’ access to care and timeliness of treatment, especially in rural and underserved areas. Read more

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swyMed Approved as Federal Government Supplier

We are pleased to announce that swyMed is now on the GSA Schedule for procurement by government agencies.

Through a partnership with ACI Health, a federal contracting firm that provides telemedicine/telehealth services and medical staffing solutions, swyMed has become an approved platform for conducting easy, secure video calls in-house or “on the go.” Read more

veteran in therapy

Telemedicine Cost Savings Proven Empirically

Telemedicine advocates have long been expounding the savings of reduced or eliminated travel for patients, and a new study has proven that these savings are real. Read more

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Senate Bill Seeks to Expand VA Telehealth Services

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate seeks to increase veterans’ healthcare access by expanding telehealth services across state lines for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). According to current law, the VA may waive the state licensure requirement only if the patient and doctor are both at a federally owned facility; additionally, at-home VA telehealth services are permitted only if the patient and doctor are in the same state. These mandates make it difficult for rural and disabled veterans to obtain appropriate care due to onerous travel requirements and state restrictions. Read more

Telemedicine Reimbursement vs. Decreased Readmissions

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The question of reimbursement is very, very important. But not as important as you might think.  As promised a couple weeks ago, we want to look more in depth at the third of our takeaways from the 2014 American Telehealth Conference…especially in light of new developments that have popped up in the news since then.

First, to  bring new readers up  …read more…