The following perspective was recently sent from one of our service recipients at ARcare. ARcare is a FQHC system with over 40 sites stretched across 3 states – Arkansas, Mississippi, and Kentucky. In the following statement from Alan Faulkner, Vice President at ARcare, Faulkner describes the main types of telehealth assistance requested by ARcare from the SCTRC. As you will see, ARcare often seeks federal and state-specific policy information as well as billing and reimbursement assistance.
We were lucky when the pandemic hit. ARcare had already launched telemedicine services to many of its existing clinics and we were able to adapt quickly to the addition of “To the home” and “Drive-up” services. ARcare is one of the largest primary care groups in the state and is also an FQHC group, which always has a different set of rules and regulations. Luckily, for us, we have the SCTRC located in our state and the group has been invaluable with numerous questions concerning what’s right, what’s wrong, and best practices. I have reached out numerous times for assistance with legal questions for our sites in Arkansas and Mississippi. Most of the questions have been related to making sure we were billing correctly but there were several instances where we needed information on what services are allowed via telemedicine, specifically what services and credentialing were needed for our dietitians to be able to perform services in Mississippi.
The SCTRC has always been there for myself and our billing department when questions arise and we have utilized their services numerous times, even before the pandemic hit. In addition to assisting with questions, I and many of my colleagues have attended webinars that have been offered to keep our staff and providers up to date on changes with billing, rule changes and we have used the “ Virtual Visit Guide” that was offered last month. Very Helpful!!!
Have a Real World Example of your own?
Do you have a time in which telehealth has impacted your life? We’d love to hear your story! Please complete the form below to share your Real World Telehealth Example with the SCTRC team.
