How are COVID-19 and current restrictions on physical distancing affecting rheumatologists? The Rheumatologist interviewed Karim Masri, MD, to ask how the pandemic has changed the way he and his clinic staff deliver patient care, and how these unprecedented times affect patients, staff and life outside the office. Dr. Masri is a practicing rheumatologist at Bon…
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…
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…
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.
ATLANTA—The rheumatology profession faces a severe shortfall of practitioners that threatens the ability to address patients’ needs. “Even if we doubled the number of positions for fellowship training, we wouldn’t meet the increasing demand on our workforce,” said Marcy B. Bolster, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, and director of the…
ATLANTA—With growing demand for access to rheumatologists in rural areas, a shortage in the number of rheumatologists and the ability to use technology as a bridge to patients in remote areas, telemedicine seems like a smart option. And it certainly can be, experts said at a 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting session in November. But a…
Technology, billing, regulations—how do rheumatologists manage the business side of their practices in an ever-changing environment? During this year’s Annual Meeting, a practical, full-day workshop will offer attendees the tools to thrive in today’s healthcare business landscape…
(Reuters Health)—Telemedicine has been touted as a solution to the dearth of doctors in rural America. But the same places where residents must drive many miles to see a physician often also have limited broadband access, a new study suggests. About 25% of Americans live in rural communities while a mere 10% of physicians practice…
(Reuters Health)—Patients who have real-time video visits with their primary care providers instead of in-person exams are generally satisfied with the convenience and quality of their checkups, a new study suggests. There’s a lot about these telemedicine visits that can sound appealing: no need to get stuck in traffic on the way to the doctor;…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—The 2019 edition of the American College of Physicians (ACP) ethics manual provides a six-step approach to resolving ethical dilemmas and adds or expands sections that address emerging issues in 21st century medicine.1 “The Manual provides succinct guidance on issues that affect the patient-physician relationship, and also issues that have to do…