The American Telemedicine Association has called on CMS to waive the restrictions on the Medicare telemedicine statute for new accountable care organizations.
ATA's CEO Jonathan Linkous said access to telemedicine is a crucial step toward realizing ACOs, and the outdated Medicare restrictions cause a hindrance to those goals. In a formal letter written to CMS, ATA has proposed the following five recommendations:
1. Medical videoconferencing for the 35 million beneficiaries who live in metropolitan areas
2. Store-and-forward of medical images for the 43 million beneficiaries who don't live in Alaska or Hawaii
3. Physicians to judge the appropriate ACO use of telemedicine for otherwise covered services
4. Home-based medical videoconferencing
5. Otherwise covered therapy services to be delivered via telehealth
Read the ATA news release about Medicare restrictions on telemedicine (pdf.)
Related Articles on Telemedicine:
St. John's Physicians, Nurses Use Telemedicine to Care for Patients in Four States
Telemedicine May Drive Down ICU Mortality and Length-of-Stay
OMB to Review Proposed Final Rule for Streamlined Credentialing of Telemedicine
ATA's CEO Jonathan Linkous said access to telemedicine is a crucial step toward realizing ACOs, and the outdated Medicare restrictions cause a hindrance to those goals. In a formal letter written to CMS, ATA has proposed the following five recommendations:
1. Medical videoconferencing for the 35 million beneficiaries who live in metropolitan areas
2. Store-and-forward of medical images for the 43 million beneficiaries who don't live in Alaska or Hawaii
3. Physicians to judge the appropriate ACO use of telemedicine for otherwise covered services
4. Home-based medical videoconferencing
5. Otherwise covered therapy services to be delivered via telehealth
Read the ATA news release about Medicare restrictions on telemedicine (pdf.)
Related Articles on Telemedicine:
St. John's Physicians, Nurses Use Telemedicine to Care for Patients in Four States
Telemedicine May Drive Down ICU Mortality and Length-of-Stay
OMB to Review Proposed Final Rule for Streamlined Credentialing of Telemedicine