CMS just announced a clarification that remote patient monitoring under CPT code 99457 may be furnished by auxiliary personnel, “incident to” the billing practitioner’s professional services. An “incident to” service is one...more
The Massachusetts Medicaid Program (known locally as MassHealth) issued a new All Provider Bulletin in January, setting forth new policies for certain behavioral health services delivered to MassHealth covered patients. The...more
Last week, the federal HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) gave the greenlight to allow a virtual care company and pharmaceutical manufacturer to loan patients free smartphones, so the patients (which include Medicare...more
2/14/2019
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Beneficiary Inducement ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Digital Health ,
Health Care Providers ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
Mobile Apps ,
OIG ,
Patient Assistance Programs ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Smartphones ,
Technology Sector ,
Telemedicine
Virginia lawmakers have taken new steps to expand the use of remote patient monitoring among the State’s residents, with both the House and Senate unanimously passing bipartisan legislation ensuring that commercial health...more
On January 9, 2019, the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) issued a policy comment letter to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), advocating for provider-friendly changes to federal controlled substance...more
Starting January 1, 2019, the Medicare program will cover certain medical services delivered via asynchronous telemedicine technologies. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) just published the final rule for...more
Telemedicine providers rejoice: Medicare will cover new virtual care services starting January 1, 2019. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) just published the final rule for the 2019 Physician Fee Schedule,...more
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) is the next big thing in medical care; patients just don’t know it yet. And, it seems, neither do many physicians. On Thursday, CMS published the final rule on its new RPM codes, officially...more
President Trump just signed into law the “Special Registration for Telemedicine Act of 2018” (the Act), requiring the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to activate a special registration allowing physicians and nurse...more
10/25/2018
/ Controlled Substances ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Electronic Prescribing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Ryan Haight Act ,
Telemedicine ,
Trump Administration
The telemedicine industry was pleased to learn CMS recently proposed adding new services to its list of Medicare-covered telehealth services. But what may be more interesting are the services CMS declined to add, and why....more
8/10/2018
/ Bipartisan Budget Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Comment Period ,
EMTALA ,
HCPCS ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Medicare ,
Proposed Rules ,
Social Security Act ,
Telecommunications ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule introducing monumental changes to the physician fee schedule, paving the way for asynchronous telemedicine and new technologies through a new set of virtual...more
7/27/2018
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Electronic Health Record Incentives ,
HCPCS ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Medicare ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Telemedicine
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just issued a proposed rule introducing monumental changes to the physician fee schedule, paving the way for asynchronous telemedicine and new technologies through a new set of...more
State laws and rules addressing prescribing controlled substances via telemedicine typically fall into three categories:
States expressly “allowing” telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances without a prior...more
The Delaware Board of Medicine recently enacted new regulations pertaining to telemedicine and telehealth. As we previously reported, the new regulations are intended to clarify the language in Delaware’s Medical Practice...more
Connecticut has taken another step towards expanding the meaningful use of telemedicine in connection with treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. SB 302, signed by Governor Dannel Malloy and effective July 1,...more
6/27/2018
/ Controlled Substances Act ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Electronic Prescribing ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Governor Malloy ,
Health Care Providers ,
Mental Health ,
New Legislation ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Public Safety ,
Ryan Haight Act ,
Telemedicine
Kentucky health care providers and patients will soon enjoy a revamped, and significantly improved, telehealth commercial insurance coverage law. Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signed SB 112 into law on April 26, 2018, imposing...more
Congress has taken another step forward to require the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to activate a special registration allowing physicians and nurse practitioners to prescribe controlled substances via...more
4/30/2018
/ Controlled Substances ,
DEA ,
Electronic Prescribing ,
Health Care Providers ,
In-Person Exam ,
New Legislation ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Registration ,
Ryan Haight Act ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
More than 74 million individuals are enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Another 28 million are currently uninsured. Due to the repeal of the individual mandate (the requirement under the...more
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds recently signed a new bill into law requiring commercial health insurers in the Hawkeye State to cover health care services provided via telehealth to the same extent those services are covered via...more
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) just published a new report on OIG’s review of Medicare payments for telehealth services. The objective of the OIG review was to...more
The use of new technologies such as digital health applications, telemedicine, and information exchanges can provide game-changing benefits for providers and patients alike. However, with increased sharing comes increased...more
4/3/2018
/ Big Data ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Mining ,
Data Protection ,
Data-Sharing ,
Digital Health ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Mobile Health Apps ,
Popular ,
Telemedicine
The Delaware Board of Medicine has issued proposed regulations clarifying certain statutory provisions pertaining to telemedicine and telehealth. As we previously reported, Delaware’s Medical Practice Act imposes certain...more
It seems the efforts of telemedicine advocates to change federal law and allow greater prescribing of controlled substances are no longer falling on deaf ears. Congress just released a pair of draft discussion bills to amend...more
On January 22, 2018, the Georgia House of Representatives adopted a Resolution recognizing telehealth as an important tool to improving access to health care in Georgia. One week later, the Georgia Senate recognized January...more
Hospital-based telemedicine services continue to rapidly expand across the country, allowing providers to deliver care to rural areas and better allocate the staffing and availability of specialist physicians such as...more