Doctor Shortage, CMS Telemedicine Reimbursement Limits Care

Even before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) waived site requirements for telemedicine reimbursement in response to the pandemic, rural hospitals benefited from telehealth-friendly legislation to maintain access to care despite the nationwide doctor shortage. Prior to the waivers related to COVID-19, CMS rules around telemedicine reimbursement didn’t apply to vulnerable urban hospitals.…

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DEA and Telemedicine: Slow Progress Demands Permanent Process

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of regulatory restrictions, like registration for DEA telemedicine numbers,  limited a physician’s ability to practice across state lines. Many of these, such as instate licensure requirements, were waived to combat the public health emergency (PHE) by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). While the CMS changes marked…

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Medical Licensing Across State Lines: Is IMLC the Answer?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many barriers to telemedicine and access to remote doctors were removed to meet emergency healthcare demand. Most states relaxed in-state licensing requirements for physicians and treatment and reimbursement restrictions were modified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). These temporary changes opened doors to patient care and telemedicine. For…

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Diversified Care Improves Hospital Revenue and Patient Care

Over the past several years, hospital revenue has fallen while facilities have also been pushed to provide higher quality, lower cost care. In many states, hospitals joined regional health networks to offer more coordinated care using shared resources. Smaller hospitals, often in rural areas, struggled to serve their communities without that support system, losing physician…

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States must make access to telemedicine easier for Medicaid patients

Medicaid patients are among the country’s most vulnerable, as these millions of Americans include low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities. They live in every corner of the US — in densely populated cities, remote rural regions, towns and cities of every size. In setting up the Medicaid system, the federal…

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Interest in Telehealth Implementation Plan Signals Industry Growth

With the COVID-19 crisis, Eagle Telemedicine has seen an uptick in questions about telehealth implementation plans. Hospitals contacted Eagle to prepare for coronavirus patients, and manage the care of patients with the virus. The flurry of requests was no surprise. Jason Povio, Senior Vice President of Operations at Eagle Telemedicine What was a surprise? More…

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What’s the value of Telemedicine in the ICU?

Tele-ICU companies, like Eagle, are responding to the physician shortage. The lack of critical care specialists, is straining hospitals across the country. An aging patient population, high-tech devices, and new diseases are compounding these challenges. This is certainly true for cardiovascular and pulmonary patients who require life-saving care, including those with COVID-19. Many small rural…

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Advantages of Telemedicine: Staff Coverage & Economies of Scale

For hospitals managing patients suffering from the coronavirus, the advantages of telemedicine are top of mind. The pandemic highlights a challenge telemedicine helps hospitals overcome: the physician shortage. Rural hospitals leverage hospitalists for coverage because there is a limited supply of critical care, infectious disease, neurology and other specialists. Community hospitals are often required to pay…

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Challenges: The New Hospitalist Focus on Metrics

Hospitalist Focus on Metrics – Our Challenges Increase The practice of hospitalist medicine is a unique and challenging specialty. On one hand, the care of a patient by a Hospitalist is characterized by immense individual hospitalist responsibility for the medical care delivered to very critical patients. Appreciating that challenge and having the desire to live…

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