Resources & Reports

Newsletter

Could New AMA Telemedicine Codes Impact Parity? Plus… More Federal & State Policy Updates!

CCHP’s April Newsletter is Here! This month’s topics include – AMA CPT Editorial Panel Adopts New Office Visit Telemedicine Codes & Eliminates Telephone Codes; Developments in CCHP’s Telehealth Policy Finder and Policy Trends Map; OIG Announces End of Cost Sharing Waiver; New CCHP Resources: DEA Proposed Rule Video and CMS At-A-Glance Policy Chart; Cybersecurity Framework Implementation Guide Updated; Study Finds Reduced OUD Fatal Overdose Rate Associated with Telehealth; OIG Data Brief on Telehealth Utilization in Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP); Upcoming CA Department of Health Care Services Behavioral Health Virtual Platform; AHRQ Recruiting for Healthcare Facilitates for Free Telemedicine Cancer Diagnosis Program; Call for Manuscripts:  Telehealth and Medicine Today.

Newsletter

vDOT for Treatment of Tuberculosis (Finally) Gets Recommended by the CDC

In 2015 with funding from the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) and working with researchers at the University of California, San Diego, the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) began a study on the use of synchronous video to provide direct observational therapy (DOT) for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB).  In 2015/2016 CCHP published two issue briefs on the topic:

  1. Using Telehealth for Directly Observed Therapy in Treating Tuberculosis
  2. Challenges and Recommendations on Using Telehealth For Directly Observed Therapy in Treating Tuberculosis
Newsletter

ONC Data Brief Findings on Office-Based Physician Telemedicine Utilization in 2021

In March, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology released a data brief entitled “Use of Telemedicine among Office-Based Physicians, 2021.”  The data brief uses information gathered from the National Electronic Health Record Survey to explore the trends in telemedicine usage by office-based physicians, including how it has evolved since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential implications.  The data brief provides a breakdown of the rates of office-based physician’s use of telemedicine, the types of telemedicine tools used, the characteristics of physicians using telemedicine, and physicians’ overall satisfaction with telemedicine.

Newsletter

Springing Forward to Look At 2023 State Telehealth Legislation Trends!

As the first quarter of the year begins to wind down, now is a good time to check in on the state telehealth legislation that has been introduced thus far in 2023. For those who may not know, in addition to CCHP’s Policy Finder where we track existing state telehealth laws, regulations, and Medicaid policies, we also track pending legislation and regulations for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  Bills are still being introduced in some states, so this is by no means definitive as to what the state legislative landscape will look like for the full year, however we are able to get a sense of what policy issues appear to be rising to the top in 2023.

Video

DEA Proposed Regulations Post-PHE

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has published two proposed regulations to address how telehealth may be used to prescribe controlled substances in a post-PHE environment. The DEA is proposing new exceptions that along with what is already in current law, will open up more ways for telehealth to be used to prescribe a controlled substance, but they are highly specific. At this point, these are only proposed rules, but the deadline to submit public comment is quickly approaching.  View the PPT here.