The Pennsylvania House has passed unanimously legislation that would enable doctors to treat patients in other states via telemedicine.
The practice would benefit both patients in under-served areas of Pennsylvania and local health care providers expanding their reach into other states, according to supporters of the legislation.
“For families from rural villages, those appointments mean getting plane tickets, a hotel room, meal vouchers, taxis, and missing work and school,” Lescher said. “Whereas with the telemedicine appointments, we can see them on the video screen from their local clinic and be back at school the same day. It’s a better service for families.”
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One in five Americans face mental health challenges, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Because of stigma, many people—especially veterans—who need mental health support remain hesitant to talk openly about it. Only about half of those who are affected receive treatment.
Roughly a dozen home dialysis patients in Alabama now have their monthly checkups via telehealth, thanks to a partnership between the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and the Alabama Department of Public Health.
The American Medical Association is urging telemedicine training to be part of medical school curricula, an announcement it made days after releasing new telemedicine guidance on physician responsibilities.
Telemedicine is on the rise, and can no longer be termed just a “fad”. The American Medical Association (AMA) is working to establish ethical guidelines for telemedicine and telehealth. What does this mean for telemedicine? Telemedicine is now officially on the way to becoming a part of the health care continuum of care.
South Carolina’s large rural population and growing physician deficits have driven demand for improved access to care via telehealth practices. MUSC has leveraged technology from Vidyo for high quality video collaboration to meet the needs of underserved populations across the state for several years.
Today’s healthcare ecosystem is filled with references to and examples of telemedicine and telehealth – in some cases, the two terms are used interchangeably. Whether they mean the same thing is a topic of considerable debate.
There are many states debating telemedicine reimbursement and access. New legislation is being pushed as the technology has cemented itself as a standard healthcare service that is helping improve quality of care and lower costs.
As the American Telemedicine Association convened in Minneapolis last month for its annual conference, it was interesting to recall that a little more than 20 years ago, another ATA conference was held in Minnesota. It was in Rochester and featured a Mayo Clinic-trained physician and astronaut conducting the first telemedicine conference from space. Since that time, telemedicine – the remote delivery of health care through a secure video or computer link – has experienced profound progress, increasing access to care while also lowering the cost of care.