Tag: Telehealth

WASHINGTON – The majority of Medicare beneficiaries (84%) received telehealth services only from providers with whom they had an established relationship, the Office of Inspector General has found. Those enrolled in traditional Medicare were more likely to receive services from providers with whom they had an established relationship compared to beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage, it found. “This pattern persisted among virtually all of the most common telehealth services,” the...

MINNEAPOLIS – Best Buy has signed an agreement to acquire Current Health, a technology platform that brings together remote patient monitoring, telehealth and patient engagement into a single solution for healthcare organizations.   “The future of consumer technology is directly connected to the future of healthcare,” said Deborah Di Sanzo, president of Best Buy Health. “We have the distinct expertise in helping customers make technology work for them directly in their...

Q. With the continued shortage of respiratory therapists, how do we look for ways to maximize this scarce resource?  A.One HME company has outsourced their RT coverage exclusively with a tele-respiratory therapist. This organization incorporates a couple of strategies:  The customer comes into the HME’s location and meets with a customer service representative and a tele-respiratory therapist joins remotely to provide the PAP setup instruction. The relationship is developed...

YARMOUTH, Maine – The Clinician Task Force has collected more than 40 completed surveys that stakeholders will use to educate Congress and other policy makers on the importance of physical and occupational therapists retaining the ability to provide telehealth services.  The survey, distributed in collaboration with NCART, will remain open as needed, says Cara Masselink, executive director of the CTF.  “We have a great variety of examples to pull from that describe the...

Q. Is there an opportunity for me to provide remote patient monitoring?  A.The HME industry has always had innovators and care providers interested in providing health care services that improve a patient’s quality of life in their homes. At the same time, payers continuously ratchet the fee schedules downward. Remote physiological monitoring can be a game changer.  While not officially recognized by CMS as telehealth, RPM does have four primary CPT codes (99453m 99454,...

Q. How can I grow my home ventilation program?  A. In part 1 of this series, I talked about “raising some eyebrows in a good way.” The topic was remote PAP setups. Let’s continue with remote ventilator follow-ups. The RT labor shortage has hit HME companies particularly hard, so looking “outside the box” for solutions is certainly a good idea.  Removing barriers to success is essential for providing telehealth in the home setting. This is important whether...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Eighty percent of independent pharmacists are having trouble hiring for open positions, according to a new survey from the National Community Pharmacists Association.  What’s more, nearly 90% of survey respondents say they can’t find pharmacy technicians, a critical position.  “This is a major challenge for community pharmacies that are seeing many more patients because of the pandemic,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist. “Finding...

WASHINGTON – The Clinician Task Force and NCART have launched a survey to collect data and examples that can be used to educate Congress and other policy makers on the importance of physical and occupational therapists retaining the ability to provide telehealth services.  “These folks need to hear real-life examples of how PT and OT telehealth has been a benefit to people with disabilities who use CRT, so they can understand the need to designate PTs and OTs as permanent...

GROVE CITY, Ohio – A federal grand jury has returned a 24-count indictment charging four individuals for their roles in an alleged fraud scheme that led to more than $20 million in false claims to the Medicare program, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. Two defendants, Elizabeth Baljak and Megan Ilg are accused of signing prescriptions for medical braces regardless of medical necessity, without a physical exam and frequently without any contact...

Q. What is driving the telehealth landscape?  A. The next four articles are going to raise some eyebrows - in a good way! For the last six years, I have been involved in empowering respiratory care in new and exciting ways, and I will paint a picture of the emerging HME/tele-respiratory landscape.  Let’s start with remote PAP set ups.    Along came a public health emergency: COVID-19. This took the HME industry into the uncharted...