The following stories on telemedicine were compiled from Becker's Hospital Review coverage over the past two weeks, starting with the most recent.
1. Fifty-five percent of providers don't bill payers, either commercial or federal, for telehealth services because payers treat telemedicine claims differently than in-person claims.
2. Minneapolis-based Allina Health will expand its telemedicine offerings to include cardiology services. Cardiologists at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis will provide consultations to patients at RC Hospital in Olivia, Minn.
3. The American Medical Association updated its telemedicine policy, encouraging "fair" reimbursement from payers for telemedicine services and establishing standards for physician specialties. The policy also requires physicians to be licensed in the state in which they are offering services.
4. A group of telemedicine organizations and accountable care organizations urged HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell to waive restrictions inhibiting telemedicine use in ACOs and shared savings program.
5. Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health System announced plans to build a research and telemedicine center focused entirely on genomics. The center will be the first of its kind, offering telegenomics services and treatment regarding patients' DNA.
6. Telemedicine consultations may lead to an increase in specialty care visits, as telehealth providers often refer patients to such specialists, according to a Veterans Health Administration study.
7. The Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore will offer telemedicine services to patients at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, Md.
8. Through a new telemedicine partnership, patients and physicians at King's Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven, Miss., can be connected to neurologists and pulmonologists at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, Miss.
9. Miami Children's Hospital will offer telemedicine services to Boris Clinic, the largest private hospital in Ukraine.
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