Companies in the rapidly growing field of telehealth say their services can cut health care spending by allowing patients to connect with doctors without leaving home. But new research argues these phone- and video-based services instead may be driving up costs.
A study from Harvard Medical School and the nonprofit RAND Corp. argues that telehealth increases access to care but can also inflate spending by encouraging more people to seek treatment for minor ailments.
It could be easier for doctors from outside the District to practice medicine in D.C. — largely using telemedicine — in the future if a bill to be introduced Tuesday by D.C. Councilman Vincent Gray ultimately passes.
The measure would authorize the District to join a compact of 17 states created by the Federation of State Medical Boards that have agreed to standardize and expedite the process for licensing physicians from other jurisdictions that are also members of the group.