Editor's Note This study by researchers from Harvard Medical School, Boston, finds that telehealth is a comparable alternative to in-person care of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). This cohort study analyzed data on 1,768 clinicians who treated 11,801 patients with OUD via telehealth visits during COVID-19 prepandemic (March 14,…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on January 25 that its affiliate Joint Commission International (JCI) has started a new telehealth certification program. To become certified, organizations must demonstrate a culture of continuous improvement through standardized practices and processes while ensuring coordination, communication, and alignment when providing patient care via…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, finds no difference in quality of shared decision making in surgical patients having preoperative in-person vs telemedicine visits. Of 387 patients who were scheduled for surgery between May 2021 and June 2022, 301 had in-person visits and 86 had…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, finds that the use of a patient navigator to assist patients in overcoming barriers to telehealth access significantly improves visit attendance with a financial gain. A total of 4,066 patients had telehealth appointments scheduled. Those who had the navigator…

Read More

Editor's Note According to a November 1 news release from Business Wire, a study done by Elevance Health shows that to 79% of patients surveyed, virtual primary care, or telehealth, has allowed them to take charge of their health, Becker’s Hospital Review November 1 reports. The study was conducted online…

Read More

Editor’s Note A new research study, titled “Comparison of Quality Performance Measures for Patients Receiving In-Person vs Telemedicine Primary Care in a Large Integrated Health System” and published by JAMA Network on September 26, showed that telehealth performed better than in-person services in 11 out of 16 measurements for care,…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August  31 announced a new patient safety campaign to help patients understand telehealth visits, titled: “Speak Up At Your Telehealth Visit.” Educational resources for the Speak Up program include: an infographic poster/flyer an animated video a distribution guide on how to provide the materials…

Read More

Editor's Note A female patient in Chicago, Illinois, filed a lawsuit on July 7 against the multinational UnitedHealth Group for alleged underpayment of telehealth services, Becker’s Payer Issues July 8 reports. The lawsuit claims that the woman’s insurance plan covers telehealth services, including pay benefits for-out-network services. After receiving out-of-network…

Read More

Editor's Note On June 13, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued new guidance for HIPPA-covered healthcare providers and health plans to comply with privacy, security, and breach notification requirements when using remote communication technologies to provide “audio-only” telehealth services, the American Hospital…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, finds that halting in-person office visits and physical therapy (PT) after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) because of COVID-19 did not affect complication rates or outcomes. A total of 624 study patients who had a TKA between January…

Read More