Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMA House of Delegates meeting planned for June has been canceled, but the ACR’s delegation remains ready to advocate for both ongoing and new rheumatology issues, including patient protections in step therapy, prior authorization and expansion of telehealth.
Rheumatology & Digital Wearables: What’s on the Horizon?
SNOWMASS VILLAGE, COLO.—A major workforce shortage, a population of patients taking immunosuppressants where safety concerns and the patient experience are critical, and an increasing focus on remote patient monitoring and telehealth are driving a discussion regarding the role digital wearables play in rheumatologic care. “We need to be more thoughtful and efficient in taking care…
Rheumatology in a COVID & Post-COVID World
Jane’s* hands and wrists had been swollen and painful for about eight weeks. Lab findings in the ambulatory consult that came to our office revealed a cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody count >250 u/mL. We all know where this story goes, including how important the early treatment window is. Our clinic reviews all consults and tries…
Commercial Insurers Extend Coverage for Telehealth Services
The ACR has created a chart of temporary changes to commercial payers’ telehealth policies that make it easier for physicians and patients to connect without the need for an office visit.
ACR Urges Commercial Payers to Provide Relief from Prior Authorizations, Practice Disruptions
The ACR is urging insurance companies to expand access to telehealth services and provide relief from administrative burdens to help providers focus on patient care at this critical time.
HHS Relaxes HIPAA Enforcement
Effective immediately, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has stated it will not impose any noncompliance penalties under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on physicians using any non-public facing service or audio or video communication technology (e.g., Apple FaceTime, Skype, Facebook Messenger, etc.) for telehealth services. This discretion applies to telehealth…
CMS Relaxes Telehealth Restrictions
President Trump announced that CMS will broaden access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CMS published a fact sheet outlining the types of visits that will be covered, the providers eligible to use the expanded services and coding considerations. The ACR is working with other specialty societies and the AMA to provide additional…
The Doctor Will See You Now: Legal & Regulatory Reforms Expand Telemedicine
In this time of COVID-19, you may be considering ways to deliver routine rheumatologic care via some form of telemedicine. Here are some of the legal considerations.
Telehealth Is Helping the Underserved
For many uninsured and underinsured patients in Yuba City, Calif., seeing a rheumatologist used to mean taking a day off from work and driving 108 miles, roundtrip, to the University of California Davis Medical Center. That changed this year when patients were offered the option of having a telemedicine consultation with a rheumatologist as part…
U.S. Telehealth Industry Eyes Medicare for Its Next Big Check
(Reuters)—After years of lobbying in Washington, U.S. telehealth providers have the first hints that the dam could break on public funding for an industry they say could save taxpayers billions. Four bills that could be signed into law over the next year carry the solutions to barriers that have prevented the U.S.s’ huge over-65 health…