You can now tell that telemedicine is a mature industry, because it has achieved enough critical mass that the fraud has started and the OIG is beginning to prosecute. There is a lag time between when the cash flow and profit achieves sufficient critical mass to attract the criminals, the OIG identifies the problems, and … Continue Reading
A new Telemedicine Act is wending its way through the legislative process in Pennsylvania. Senate Bill 780 of 2017 (attached hereto as a PDF) has been unanimously passed by the Senate and referred to the House Professional Licensure Committee on June 19, 2018. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that does not have a … Continue Reading
Telehealth is apparently reaching a critical mass where people are starting to review the potential problems of telehealth, rather than the potential opportunities. In a MedLaw Blog post on December 6, 2017 and my related LinkedIn post, I referenced and included the link to the OIG’s audit plan, indicating OIG will begin to audit telehealth … Continue Reading
The Texas Medical Board and Teladoc have been battling for seven years, and through several rounds of litigation over whether a patient relationship can be established for purposes of providing telemedicine services without an initial face-to-face or in-person visit. This all changed when Texas governor, Greg Abbott, signed Senate Bill 1107, which will take effect … Continue Reading
There are two interesting items in telehealth news. Iowa Supreme Court Rejects Ban on Telemedicine Abortions An Iowa Board of Medicine rule requires the presence of a physician when abortion inducing drugs are provided. Planned Parenthood sued claiming the requirement of physician presence was unconstitutional on the basis that it discriminated against women, due to … Continue Reading
Last week, the American Medical Association (AMA) issued a new report regarding coverage of and payment for telemedicine (CMS Report 7-A-14). The report recognizes the telemedicine is a “key innovation in support of health bill reform, being used in initiatives to improve access to care, care coordination and quality, as well as reduce the rate … Continue Reading
The March 20th edition of Modern Healthcare reports on a “patient centered telemedicine policy” to be voted on by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). I’ve attached links to both the article and to the FSMB model policy. The model policy, if approved, will be a recommendation to state medical boards regarding telemedicine. The … Continue Reading
In OIG Advisory Opinion No. 11-12, a nationally ranked tertiary hospital proposes to establish a telemedicine program for neuro-emergency clinical protocols and consultations for stroke victims and to provide this program without cost to existing affiliated community hospitals. Since a key component of the program would be the provision of hardware, software and communications applications (Tele-Stroke … Continue Reading
