CMS Proposes to Cut Audio-Only Telehealth Coverage
The proposal imperils a service that had become popular during the pandemic, when health systems shifted in-person care to virtual channels to cut down on hospital traffic and reduce the spread of the virus. Thanks to federal and state waivers tied to the pandemic, healthcare providers were allowed to connect with patients on a telephone or other non-video platform for some healthcare services and be reimbursed for those services.
How to Map Out an Effective and Sustainable Remote Patient Monitoring Program
HealthLeaders recently conducted a round-table with three health system executives to talk about their RPM programs and strategies. This panel featured Carrie Stover, MSN, NP-C, national senior director of virtual care for Ascension; Sarah Pletcher, MD, MHCDS, system vice president and executive medical director for strategic innovation at Houston Methodist; and Kathryn King, MD, MHS, associate executive medical director at the Center for Telehealth at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
CMS Strengthens Guidance on EMTALA and Emergency Abortions
The reminder comes more than two weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision legalizing abortion nationwide. The memo also includes a note that hospitals and physicians may face civil financial penalty for denying patients emergency care.
Extensive Patient Candidate Evaluation Key Element of New Long COVID Clinic
AdventHealth opened the health system’s Post-COVID Clinic in March. Determining whether patients have long COVID and characterizing their symptomology requires an exhaustive evaluation process, says Dwayne Gordon, MD, an AdventHealth Medical Group internal medicine physician and lead physician of the Post-COVID Clinic, which is based at AdventHealth Orlando.
Monkeypox: CDC Updates Guidance for Medical Waste Handling
The CDC has updated its guidance on infection control of monkeypox for healthcare settings, reminding providers that any case suspected of being of the more deadly Congo Basin clade requires more extensive precautions, including the handling of hazardous medical waste.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 57 – The Importance of PAH Patients Returning to In-Person Visits
On episode 57 of PSQH: The Podcast, Dr. Sean Studer of Janssen and Dr. Patricia George, pulmonologist and board president at Team Phenomenal Hope, talk about the need for pulmonary arterial hypertension patients to return to in-person care visits.
CMS Updates IC Interpretive Guidelines for Hospitals
The long-awaited updates were among the many new requirements from its 2019 final rule burden reduction as well as other rules on discharge planning published just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mastering the Tricky Act of Transforming Population Health With Technology
Albert Tomchaney, MD, became the first chief medical officer of the Indiana-based Franciscan Alliance, which operates as Franciscan Health, in 2008. He has managed the physician practices for a time and overseen hospital operations such as pharmacy and care management. But throughout, and especially now, his focus has been on population health activities.
CMS Updates IC, Other Survey Guidance for Long-Term Care Facilities
The Quality, Safety and Oversight Group memo, QSO-22-19-NH, outlines the updates, which are part of a White House effort announced earlier this year to improve safety and quality of care in nursing homes. The APIC alert also notes that CMS has online training for surveyors and nursing home stakeholders on CMS’ Quality, Safety, and Education Portal (QSEP).
Transform911 Unveils Recommendations to Improve Nation’s Emergency Response Network
Transform911, an initiative launched in 2021 with more than $1 million in funding, led by the University of Chicago Health Lab and comprised of more than 100 stakeholders, has unveiled six key recommendations, the result of 18 months of meetings and research into the 54-year-old emergency response network.