AMA Backs Telehealth
The American Medical Association set forth an 8-page boost for telemedicine in its recently approved guiding principles for coverage and reimbursement of telemedicine services. As the use of telemedicine continues to diversify and evolve, the need for these established principles is clear.
Find out more from UPS Healthcare about how the AMA’s boost to telehealth allows your practice to better tap into this trending service to best care for patients and increase revenue.
Greatest Setback to Telehealth- The greatest setback to the use and reimbursement for telemedicine and telehealth has been its need to be defined and regulated. Now, with the nations largest physician’s association backing it with guiding principles, it is hoped that states will get on board with defining and regulating it, too.
Defining Services as they Stand- To help with the lack of definition of telemedicine and telehealth, the AMA divided telemedicine into 3 categories:
- Real-time interaction through an online portal
- Remote monitoring through devices
- Store-and-forward practices
Setting the Standards for Appropriate Coverage and Payment- To provide regulation, the AMA’s document states,
“As telemedicine continues to evolve, with a growing number of services being provided via telemedicine technologies, there is a need for a set of safeguards and standards in AMA policy to support the appropriate coverage of and payment for telemedicine services.”
“In this report, the (AMA’s) Council (on Medical Service) recommends a set of principles to ensure the appropriate coverage of and payment for telemedicine services. These principles aim to support future innovation in the use of telemedicine, while ensuring patient safety, quality of care and the privacy of patient information, as well as protecting the patient-physician relationship and promoting improved care coordination and communication with medical homes.”
Strengthening the Patient-Physician Relationship- The AMA’s guidelines require physicians and patients to first have a “face-to-face” visit, either in person on via video, to establish the boundaries of their relationship, payment responsibilities, and limitations of prescriptions through telemedicine.
Tap into the Trending Revenue-Maker- Overall, the AMA’s guidelines set the stage for your facility to have better safeguards when implementing these trending services. It also helps you assure your patients are getting appropriate coverage and you are getting appropriate payment for them.
With the AMA’s big step forward for improving telemedicine service regulation, let UPS Healthcare help you consider ways you could increase your revenue by implementing complementary telehealth services in your practice.