Despite the decline in telehealth usage in recent months, two telehealth companies are still valued at $3 billion or more, according to an Aug. 31 report from CB Insights.

The metaverse refers to immersive technologies such as extended reality (XR), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR.) These immersive technologies have the potential to help healthcare organizations improve health equity and reach other goals, from workforce shortages to patient engagement. Here are just two of the many ways that these technologies can be used to improve healthcare delivery:

Let's Talk Interactive, a software company specializing in telehealth, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sept. 21, the Charlotte Business Journal reported. 

Private insurers and Medicaid are lagging on virtual care coverage, while Medicare is leading the way, Politico reported Sept. 19. 

Telehealth visits, whether for primary or specialty care, tend to be assigned lower-level billing codes more often compared to in-person office visits within the same specialty, a new study from Epic Systems found. 

In May and June 2023, national telehealth utilization remained consistent at 5.4 percent of claim lines, although the Midwest experienced a 2.4 percent decrease in utilization, according to FAIR Health's Sept 6 report.

About 89 percent of telehealth visits nationally do not require an in-person follow-up visit for the same clinical reason within one week, according to an Aug. 20 study from Trilliant health.

A new study revealed that 94.6 percent of hospitals across the country use telemedicine, often to combat staffing shortage issues.

Telemedicine received the highest ratings when 1,000 U.S. patients were asked about the easiest way to obtain a diagnosis.

CentraCare-Monticello (Minn.) Birth Center implemented telehealth services to care for infants in serious or critical condition, according to an Aug. 21 report from KNSI Radio.

Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health has rolled out a virtual nursing program that assigns patients a bedside and a virtual nurse. 

Sayre, Pa.-based the Guthrie Clinic has created a virtual care command center, dubbed the Pulse Center, that mixes the use of technology and people to supplement its nursing staff and assist them with clinical care. 

Cincinnati Children's and Parkview Health have expanded their partnership to offer telehealth clinics in Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio with experts in pediatric neurosurgery, rheumatology and drug-resistant epilepsy.

Portneuf Medical Center, based in Pocatello, Idaho, has partnered with Care.ai to implement virtual nursing, according to an Aug. 8 report from East Idaho News.

A HIPAA enforcement discretion policy that provided temporary leniency to covered healthcare providers' use of telehealth ended Aug. 9 at 11:59 p.m.

Sayre, Pa.-based the Guthrie Clinic's virtual nursing program was able to reduce the health system's reliance on travel nurses and saved the organization $7 million in labor costs, EpicShare reported Aug. 7. 

Owensboro (Ky.) Health Regional Hospital has implemented MedSitter, a virtual care platform and clinical surveillance system to enhance patient monitoring.

Charleston-based Medical University of South Carolina is partnering with Andor Health, a virtual care company using ChatGPT, to power its decentralized telehealth network.

The New York State Department of Health has extended telehealth coverage under Medicaid through Dec. 31, 2024.

Telehealth provider Amwell reported $62.4 million in revenue for the second quarter of 2023.