Category Archives for Telemedicine
Telemedicine as an Employee Benefit
More and more employers are adding Telehealth Services to benefit packages offered to their employees. According to the Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, over 60% of large employers provide medical coverage for telemedicine. Each year, there is an increase in the percentage of companies that recognize the benefits of telemedicine to both the…
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A Brief History of Telehealth Nursing
Did you know that Alexander Graham Bell used his own invention to call for medical attention? He may not have called a nurse but when he injured his hand, he picked up his telephone and called his assistant, Mr. Watson, for help. It is a cute story, a fun fact for sure, but it barely…
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Lights, Camera, Action Webside Manner – Take One
Telemedicine provides an amazing opportunity for a medical provider to provide quality patient care from a remote location. The medical provider has access to an array of devices for checking a patient’s vital medical information. It’s all you need…..or is it? Studies upon studies have shown the importance of patient interaction and etiquette. With good reason,…
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Technology Trends and Telemedicine in 2018
When Did It All Begin?Most people do not realize it, but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has contributed enormously to our lives and to the world of medicine. In fact, the Space Program was the foundation on which telemedicine was born. In the 1960s, NASA used technology to measure the health and well-being…
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Telemedicine – The Solution to the Medicare Penalty on Hospital Readmissions
Withholding Medicare ReimbursementIn November 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced an update to the initiative to reduce return hospitalizations for skilled nursing facilities (SNF). Starting in October 2018, there will be a 2 percent withholding of Medicare reimbursements for SNFs with higher occurrences of patients that are re-hospitalized within 30 days…
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Telehealth’s Quest for Champions
No matter how clear their benefit, both technology and medicine still require the voices of champions in order to reach the public. Telehealth uses the one to practice the other remotely, via the internet and videoconferencing. Its benefits could not be clearer and yet the practice is still establishing itself in the healthcare industry. If…
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Telemedicine Eliminates Emergency Room Visits
Ever since the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) was passed in 1986, anyone who visits the ER must be seen by a physician, regardless of their condition. By 2015, the American Medical Association would find that 40 to 55% of emergency room visits could be resolved by a mere phone call with a…
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Nursing Home Administrators Turn to Telehealth for Fall Prevention
People place their parents in nursing homes with the hope that their twilight years will pass by peacefully and pleasantly. Anything from derangement or diminishment of the senses to dementia to medication side effects may intervene and create a fall risk. Nurses and resident aides spend every waking minute monitoring the elderly with the knowledge…
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Six Telehealth Innovations That Inspire Us
As fun as it is to add puppy ears to a selfie and send it to a friend, we all can agree that the marvels of digital technology we carry in our pockets were meant for so much more. Telehealth harnesses the full capabilities of such devices in service of our health and well-being. Still,…
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Understanding the New Jersey Telemedicine Law
Last year we featured an article, Proposed Bill Addresses Use of Telemedicine in NJ, that described the proposed 53-page bill to define telemedicine in accordance with New Jersey state law. In August 2017, Governor Christie signed the bill (SB 291) and the law went into effect on July 21, 2017. This article summarizes and explains how…
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