Digital Minute: Exploring Telehealth Growth and Legislative Updates

By Walter Reiling, MD, system chief medical information officer, Premier Health; and Mandy Via, system director of access, referral management, and telehealth, Premier Health

International Access to Premier Systems

A common query from our provider community concerns the possibility of connecting with Epic and our other clinical systems when traveling outside of the country.  This is a complex issue as international web traffic may surpass the boundaries of our legal system and security setups in the United States.  Moreover, other countries may impose additional restrictions on traffic in and out of their borders.  Due to the technical and legal complexities, we cannot guarantee reliable access to our environment at Premier Health when you are outside of the country.  While some travelers have managed to access our systems at times, it is not something our technical staff can assist with if it is not working.  Therefore, it is not advisable to rely on performing time-sensitive clinical work when traveling outside of the United States.  Ensuring local coverage while away is the responsible way to ensure proper patient care. 

Proposed Two-Year Extension of Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities

Our organization continues to see year-over-year growth in telehealth visits as patients continue to utilize telehealth as one of the many access points for care. The future of telehealth continued to be unknown as the PHE ended in May of 2023.  At that time, certain telehealth flexibilities were extended to December 31, 2024, providing a runway extension to continue this digital connection for patients. As we quickly approach that deadline, there has been a movement to extend some of those flexibilities until December 31, 2026. The House Ways and Means Committee passed bill HR 8261, “Preserving Telehealth, Hospital and Ambulance Access Act,” which would provide a two-year extension of the current temporary Medicare telehealth waivers.

Included in the proposed extension are the temporary waivers on:

• The geographic and originating site limitations
• Expanded list of providers eligible for reimbursement by Medicare if they provided services via telehealth, including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
• Continued delay of the in-person visit requirement for mental health services provided via telehealth when not meeting certain location requirements
• Continued coverage for some services to be provided via audio-only

For HR 8261 to become law, it must be approved by the House and Senate and subsequently signed by the president.

Back to the July 2024 issue of Premier Pulse