The New York Senate and Assembly joint committees on health and insurance met with leaders in telehealth and telemedicine Monday to discuss credentialing and reimbursement for the technology, according to a Legislative Gazette report.
The meeting focused on telemedicine for upstate New York, where patients often face limited access to care. To address credentialing, the state's Department of Health is working to contract with hub sites — healthcare centers in more urban environments with access to more resources — to provide credentials to spoke sites, which are typically in rural areas. Gregory Allen, the director of the Division of Program Development and Management at the state DOH, said in the report this method will avoid the need to "duplicate" credentialing, allowing for greater efficiency in implementing telemedicine.
Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D-Forestburgh) highlighted the issue of reimbursement for telemedicine services. She said telemedicine is "cost-effective, it brings quality healthcare to the areas that need it most and reimbursement is key to this issue," according to the report. "Now is the time because we are looking for savings and we want to make sure that people are staying out of the hospital, but we can only do that if we offer them primary care. This is the way we have to go in New York State."
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The meeting focused on telemedicine for upstate New York, where patients often face limited access to care. To address credentialing, the state's Department of Health is working to contract with hub sites — healthcare centers in more urban environments with access to more resources — to provide credentials to spoke sites, which are typically in rural areas. Gregory Allen, the director of the Division of Program Development and Management at the state DOH, said in the report this method will avoid the need to "duplicate" credentialing, allowing for greater efficiency in implementing telemedicine.
Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D-Forestburgh) highlighted the issue of reimbursement for telemedicine services. She said telemedicine is "cost-effective, it brings quality healthcare to the areas that need it most and reimbursement is key to this issue," according to the report. "Now is the time because we are looking for savings and we want to make sure that people are staying out of the hospital, but we can only do that if we offer them primary care. This is the way we have to go in New York State."
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