The use of telehealth skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers were forced to find alternatives to seeing doctors in person. According to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), telemedicine use among office-based doctors increased nearly six-fold after the start of the pandemic.
This movement toward virtual healthcare was largely viewed as successful, with more than 80 percent of doctors claiming that they planned to continue using telehealth even after the pandemic ended, according to a survey conducted by the ONC.
Nevertheless, we’ve heard lots of talk about telehealth policy from federal lawmakers, but action to make these policies permanent has been sparse, creating much uncertainty around this policy at the federal level.
As we approach the end of 2023, I thought I’d briefly review where things stand in Congress on the issue of telehealth and how we got here.
One of the areas of telehealth use that flourished during the pandemic was the prescribing of controlled substances, which was prohibited via telehealth prior to the public health emergency (PHE). It also serves as a good example of how far telehealth has come, or not come.
According to a recent study, expanded telehealth use reduces the risk of opioid overdoses and improves access to opioid use disorder treatment. But following the pandemic, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) unfortunately planned to revert to its pre-pandemic policy of prohibiting virtual prescribing of these and other controlled substances.
Correspondingly, in May, the DEA only reversed its proposed ban on telehealth prescriptions of controlled substances after receiving nearly 40,000 comments arguing against the prohibition.
Instead, the DEA’s temporary rule extended pandemic flexibilities in prescribing controlled substances until Nov. 11, just 9 days ago. The rule also allotted an additional one-year grace period, to November 2024 to give providers time to meet an in-person exam requirement for controlled substance prescribing.
Did this do enough though? It seems like regulators simply kicked the ball a bit further down the road and will have to address the issue again in a year.
To their credit, last month the DEA and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced they would be extending the temporary prescribing flexibilities for controlled substances through the end of 2024. But still, this is another band-aid for a problem that needs a permanent fix.
Apart from prescribing, the following month, in June, the CONNECT for Health Act of 2021 was introduced in Congress, which would codify COVID-era virtual care flexibilities by permanently removing geographic restrictions on telehealth, expanding originating sites to include the home, and eliminating the six-month in-person visit requirement for mental healthcare via telehealth.
The bill was first introduced in the Senate, with 60 bipartisan cosponsors, and soon after, similar companion legislation was introduced in the House. However, neither bill has moved since that time, nor does either bill have a place on any congressional to-do lists before year-end.
We now arrive at last Tuesday, when a Senate subcommittee on healthcare issues met for a hearing on the future of telehealth. During the hearing, subcommittee members again conveyed bipartisan support for making certain telehealth flexibilities permanent, including those regarding prescriptions of certain controlled substances.
Proponents of making these changes permanent emphasized their utility in enhancing access to care and stressed that action sooner rather than later is vital to prevent uncertainty in the industry, while others expressed concern that more flexibility could give certain providers an unfair competitive advantage. But again, no action outside of extending cutoff dates.
A senior vice president at the American Telemedicine Association has been quoted as claiming that 2024 is “shaping up to be the Super Bowl for telehealth.” To that, I say, we’ll have to wait and see whether it’s a dud or one for the ages, but with so much at stake for providers, patients, and the industry at large, I’ll be watching closely regardless and suggest you do the same.
A recent report from US News was published regarding an October article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) about the increase in
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a report titled “Medicare Advantage: Questionable Use of Health
Please log in to your account to comment on this article.
Join Beth Wolf, MD, CPC, CCDS, for an in-depth webcast on the FY2025 spinal fusion MS-DRG updates. Discover key changes in DRG classification, understand impacts on documentation and CMI, and learn strategies to ensure compliance.
Join Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, as she presents effective strategies to strengthen collaboration between CDI, coding, and quality departments in acute care hospitals. Angela will also share guidance on implementing cross-departmental meetings, using shared KPIs, and engaging leadership to foster a culture of collaboration. Attendees will gain actionable tools to optimize documentation accuracy, elevate quality metrics, and drive a unified approach to healthcare goals, ultimately enhancing both patient outcomes and organizational performance.
Optimize your outpatient clinical documentation and gain comprehensive knowledge from foundational practices to advanced technologies, ensuring improved patient care and organizational and financial success. This webcast bundle provides a holistic approach to outpatient CDI, empowering you to implement best practices from the ground up and leverage advanced strategies for superior results. You will gain actionable insights to improve documentation quality, patient care, compliance, and financial outcomes.
Enhancing outpatient clinical documentation is crucial for maintaining accuracy, compliance, and proper reimbursement in today’s complex healthcare environment. This webcast, presented by industry expert Angela Comfort, DBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, will provide you with actionable strategies to tackle complex challenges in outpatient documentation. You’ll learn how to craft detailed clinical narratives, utilize advanced EHR features, and implement accurate risk adjustment and HCC coding. The session also covers essential regulatory updates to keep your documentation practices compliant. Join us to gain the tools you need to improve documentation quality, support better patient care, and ensure financial integrity.
Dr. Ronald Hirsch provides critical details on the new Medicare Appeal Process for Status Changes for patients whose status changes during their hospital stay. He also delves into other scenarios of hospital patients receiving custodial care or medically unnecessary services where patient notifications may be needed along with the processes necessary to ensure compliance with state and federal guidance.
Healthcare organizations face complex regulatory requirements under the No Surprises Act and Price Transparency rules. These policies mandate extensive fee disclosures across settings, and confusion is widespread—many hospitals remain unaware they must post every contracted rate. Non-compliance could lead to costly penalties, financial loss, and legal risks. Join David M. Glaser Esq. as he shows you how to navigate these regulations effectively.
Protect your facility from unwanted audits! Join Becky Jacobsen, BSN, RN, MBS, CCS-P, CPC, CPEDC, CBCS, CEMC, and take a deep dive into both the CMS and AMA guidelines for reporting post operative pain blocks. You’ll learn how to determine if the nerve block is separately codable with real life examples for better understanding. Becky will also cover how to evaluate whether documentation supports medical necessity, offer recommendations for stronger documentation practices, and provide guidance on educating providers about documentation requirements. She’ll include a discussion of appropriate modifier and diagnosis coding assignment so that you can be confident that your billing of post operative pain blocks is fully supported and compliant.
During this RACmonitor webcast Dr. Ronald Hirsch spotlights the areas of the OIG’s Work Plan and the findings of their most recent audits that impact utilization review, case management, and audit staff. He also provides his common-sense interpretation of the prevailing regulations related to those target issues. You’ll walk away better equipped with strategies to put in place immediately to reduce your risk of paybacks, increased scrutiny, and criminal penalties.
Copyright © 2024 ICD10monitor. Powered by MedLearn Media.
Prepare for the 2025 CMS IPPS Final Rule with ICD10monitor’s IPPSPalooza! Click HERE to learn more
Get 15% OFF on all educational webcasts at ICD10monitor with code JULYFOURTH24 until July 4, 2024—start learning today!
