06-22-2022 Primetime Livnig - Flipbook - Page 24
24 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Telemedicine, continued from page 12
medicine, they no longer had to spend
what could be hours traveling each way
and another half hour sitting in a doctor’s
office, all for a 10- or 15-minute appointment. In many instances, telehealth is
how they want to access their care when
it’s appropriate. Clearly, we now have an
opportunity to ensure this option is sustained. And it’s not just telehealth. The
health care industry is taking advantage
of an upsurge in technological advances
over the last few years and incorporating
them for the betterment of all the players
– hospitals, clinicians and patients.”
Is a virtual doctor’s appointment right
for everyone? “Of course not,” Mond
Johnson says. “With barriers like social
distancing being lifted, there are clinical
reasons to have a face-to-face appointment. But now is the time to reimagine
the functionality of health care services
using technology. We can address many
problems, such as how we access care,
and how to maintain consistent quality.”
Then the question is who chooses the
type of appointment. Dr. Joseph Kvedar,
immediate past chair of the Board for
the American Telemedicine Association
(ATA) and professor at Harvard Medical
School, says “There’s a big hole, deciding when to use telemedicine and when
to use face-to-face. And, since we have
a choice, who gets to choose? The
patients or the doctor? It will be different
for each specialty.”
When is a virtual visit the right choice?
HHS provides a lot of information for
patients and providers at telehealth.hhs.
gov. “There are many reasons why telehealth may be a great option,” it says.
“You may live far away from doctors,
or you may have difficulty traveling for
an in-person appointment. You may be
responsible for children or elderly family
members. You may feel too sick to leave
home, or you may need to stay a safe
distance away from others.”
The website also provides guidelines
and videos so that your e-visit goes
smoothly. One video is titled “What to
Expect from a Telehealth Visit,” along
with a list of items you should prepare
in advance. Much of the information is
good for patients to prepare even for
face-to-face visits.
Trusted advisors, continued
from page 22
One area of medicine that people are
accessing virtually in greater numbers is
mental health. “Even before the pandemic, huge swathes of the country didn’t
have access to mental health services,”
Mond Johnson states. “But with physical
distancing and isolation, more people are
seeking help than ever before, so telemedicine was a blessing. If telemedicine
disappears, these people will once again
be left out.”
Who is on board to continue telehealth? ATA’s membership reflects the
extensive list of supporters and proponents. It includes insurance companies,
technology companies that are providing platforms and infrastructure along
with new solutions, and provider organizations. The goal is to intersect with
patients where and how they want.
The future of telehealth, however, is
not dependent on myriad advocates;
it will rest on the shoulders of the U.S.
Congress or, maybe, the individual states
desirous of retaining this choice for their
citizens.
Kyle Zebley, vice president of public
policy at ATA and executive director of
ATA Action, has a goal: to eliminate barriers to the expansion of telehealth and
ensure patients, providers and payers
can realize the benefits of virtual care.
Formerly chief of staff in the Office of
Global Affairs at HHS, he works with state
and national policymakers to ensure this
healthcare option remains available to all
of us, no matter where we’re located.
“I’m very optimistic,” Zebley reports.
“Lots of bills have been introduced over
the last couple years, many of which have
strong bipartisan support. Telemedicine
has already received one reprieve with
Congress passing a 151-day extension
for a variety of temporary telehealth
flexibilities whenever the Public Health
Emergency officially ends. And there’s
more. It’s highly popular among patients,
in overwhelming numbers, and they are
demanding it continues. Then there is our
impressive coalition of advocates.”
“Congress,” he explains, “may not
have a choice. Can you imagine what
would happen if people can access telehealth services one day and not the
next? That would be a huge jolt to the
system. Imagine the federal government
halting the use of remote patient monitoring or suspending remote access to
mental health services. The public would
be up in arms.”
A quick perusal of ATA Action’s State
Legislative Tracker lists dozens of states
introducing bills supporting ongoing telemedicine access. It is also tracking over
750 additional telehealth bills introduced
so far this year. On the Federal level, ATA
is working with the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services on maintaining different elements of telehealth, services
you wouldn’t think could end.
Early this year, “The ATA along
with 335 organizations sent a letter to
Congressional leaders urging them to
authorize the continuation of all current
telehealth waivers through the end of
2024, require HHS to complete all feasible evaluations related to telehealth by
fall of 2023 and combine all findings into
one overarching dashboard with recommendations, and take up permanent,
evidence-based telehealth legislation for
implementation in 2024,” according to
ATA’s website.
As Walt Kelly, Pogo cartoonist, said,
“We are confronted by insurmountable
opportunities.” Within the world of health
care, those opportunities are happening
every second. Innovations in telemedicine, like the ones highlighted at ATA’s
2022 Annual Conference, are providing
better access and still more options to
improve our lives:
• An at-home fetal ultrasound solution for patients and caregivers in
remote/health care deserts
• A digital solution hub for those
that lack Wi-Fi, smartphones or are
uncomfortable with technology
• A digital platform for women in
mid-life
• A wearable monitor that measures
13 parameters and transmits them
to a web application and electronic medical record seamlessly and
wirelessly
• An at-home medical kit to test blood
Eliminating all the benefits and gains
telemedicine provided us is akin to putting a genie back in a bottle. It’s not
going away, nor should it.
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