HOP To It! Check Out Our Latest Updates

Spring is the perfect time to grow your telehealth knowledge! Our team has planted fresh seeds of information in hopes it will all help sprout new ideas. From podcasts to videos to trainings…oh my! Don’t let this new content pass you by.

Telehealth Roundup: SCTRC Regional Billing & Reimbursement Update

Our guest speaker, Hayley Prosser, Revenue Cycle Director with RuralMED joined us to guide attendees through the significant telehealth billing and coding changes for the South Central Region (Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee).

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ACCESS Model (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions)

Today, people with Original Medicare have limited access to technology-supported care services for managing their chronic conditions because of Medicare payment barriers. Through ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model, CMS will test a new payment option that emphasizes outcomes over activities, enabling clinicians to offer innovative technology-supported care that improves patients’ health and complements traditional care. Read more!

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“Connected Care – Blood Pressure Kits in Rural Libraries” – Telehealth Talk Episode 45

High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke, yet many people go undiagnosed or struggle to monitor their numbers consistently. Brady Lacy, Senior Community Impact Director at the American Heart Association in Little Rock Arkansas joins us to share everything about this special program.

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Telehealth Medicare Waivers Extended Through 2027

Great news! Congress just approved a full-year FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations package. This means we officially have a two-year extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2027! The bill passed both the House and Senate and the President’s has officially signed, ending a brief partial government shutdown. As with the last shutdown, the new language is expected to apply retroactively and cover this previous lapse period.  This deal will restore continuity to Medicare telehealth coverage and avoid a prolonged return to permanent, pre-pandemic policy. Read more!

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Supporting Breastfeeding Through Virtual Care - Telehealth Talk Episode 44

In this episode, Karina Leal Vargas, BSN, RNC-MNN, Clinical Research Nurse from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences shares the development and implementation of a TeleLactation pilot designed to support breastfeeding mothers during the demanding postpartum period. Listeners will learn how TeleLactation reduced barriers such as transportation and limited outpatient services while strengthening breastfeeding knowledge, confidence, and continuation. Listen Now!

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Telehealth Roundup: Mobile Health Units in the South Central Region

If you missed our recent Telehealth Roundup: Mobile Health Units in the South Central Region, look no further! The recording and presentation slides are now available for viewing. Subject matter experts Denton Thompson, MBA RN, with the UAMS Mobile Health Units, Sonja Fuqua, PhD, RN, PCMH CCE, with the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi, and Diana Dedmon, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, AFN-C with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center discuss MHUs and their impact on communities!

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The post Spring Success: Fresh Resources from the SCTRC appeared first on LearnTelehealth.

On July 15, health center leaders from across Mississippi came together for CARE REIMAGINED, a hands-on training event designed to meet the evolving needs of Federally Qualified Health Centers, led by the MS Health Safe Net (MSHSN) team. Directors, nurses, quality staff, IT professionals, and marketing teams all gathered for a full day of learning, collaboration, and practical takeaways.

The South Central Telehealth Resource Center (SCTRC) played an important role in making the event a success by helping coordinate and deliver key training sessions focused on current challenges in digital health. 

Christina Quinlan, Founder of Christina Rose Consulting, was the morning guest speaker whose session focused on telehealth billing for FQHCs, with content tailored to the state of MS. Her session offered clarity on Medicare and Medicaid billing changes, documentation requirements, and payer-specific policies. 

The post SCTRC Teams Up with MS Health Safe Net for CARE REIMAGINED Training Event appeared first on LearnTelehealth.

Registration link:  https://uams.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KJ2UiCYjQ7-8MWFiBSDT3Q

Guest Speaker: Subhi J. Al’Aref, M.D., Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program Director, Associate Professor of Medicine – Division of Cardiology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  Dr. Subhi Al’Aref will introduce artificial intelligence (AI) from the perspective of deep learning and discuss applications for AI within cardiology

The post Telehealth Roundup: Utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Cardiovascular Medicine appeared first on LearnTelehealth.

Wondering which TRC supports your region? Check out the TRC map.

About the SCTRC

The South Central Telehealth Resource Center (SCTRC) focuses on Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Our website, LearnTelehealth.org, offers a wealth of information and resources – virtual visit billing and reimbursement guides updated regularly, legislative news, events, webinars (such as the “Telehealth Roundup”), podcasts (TelehealthTalk), toolkits, and more. Additionally, we host satellite telehealth training centers and demo kits so providers can learn more about telehealth equipment and experience hands-on demos close to home.

A Myriad of Resources from the TRCs

Every month, TRCs develop new resources and tools to help patients and providers develop, maintain, or enhance their digital health/telehealth initiatives. Resources are updated regularly to provide the latest unbiased information.

This month, we feature “The Crystal Ball Project” from our colleagues at the National Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center aka TTAC. This project, convenes a panel of experts, to identify and provide an overview of the six key technologies that will have a significant impact on healthcare delivery over the next 3 to 5 years. Yes, AI is included.

But we can’t stop there –here are more featured resources from our TRC colleagues:

• National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers (NCTRC) – Feel free to start here on your search for telehealth information. The NCTRC site is a repository full of free resources and toolkits available to help you in your telehealth journey. One collection of resources – “Unwinding of the Public Health Emergency”, includes podcasts, webinars, fact sheets, news and more. Just in time. (Note – if you can’t find what you need, click contact us and we’ll point you to the right TRC to help.)
• Northwest TRC (NRTRC) – Another robust website, one of their many unique resources is the free course module, “Navigating the Telehealth Neighborhood: A Guide to Telehealth Access for Digital Navigators”. This is a great introduction to telehealth for anyone assisting a learner, patient, or loved one in accessing telehealth.
• Southeast (SETRC) – The SETRC has developed an innovative mobile Telehealth Learning Center (TLC) to bring telehealth awareness and education to schools, community fairs, employers, and more. The TLC gives potential patients comfort and awareness of how telehealth can make visits to the doctor a whole lot easier.
• TexLa TRC (TexLa) – The TexLa team hosts many events through the year including the Project ECHO series. Thankfully they post recordings of their sessions here with topics such as cybersecurity, telehealth technologies, and more.
• California TRC (CTRC) – The CTRC has developed an informative series of AI webinars and videos – a just-in-time solution to help us all learn more about this growing field.
• Upper Midwest TRC (UMTRC) – Telehealth & Health Equity Toolkit. This toolkit is intended to provide a closer look at telehealth and health equity.
• Great Plains TRC (gpTRAC) – The gpTRAC website includes multiple resources including a toolkit for FQHCS & RHCs.
• Mid-Atlantic TRC (MATRC) – Not only is the MATRC website a wonderful compendium of telehealth information, the annual MATRC Telehealth Summit is a great event to attend to learn more about telehealth, research, technology, and more.
• Pacific Basin TRC (PBTRC) – Our friends at PBTRC have collaborated to create some amazing patient videos from “What to Expect from a Telehealth Visit”, “Tips for Patients to Keep Their Telehealth Visits Private”, and more.
• Northeast TRC (NETRC) – NETRC has curated papers, research, reports and more in the Telehealth Library. This is a very useful tool for anyone looking for studies on telehealth.
• Southwest TRC (SWTRC) – The SWTRC is well-known for their excellent webinars on a myriad of topics as well as for their comprehensive Service Provider Directory. This is a great place to start if you’re looking for new technology, services, and partners in telehealth.
• Heartland TRC (HTRC) – HTRC hosts the “eStart Assessment” online tool to help assess the need for a new program at your organization or to evaluate an existing program to prepare for growth.
• Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) – Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t include this important, much-loved and much-used resource from the CCHP – the CCHP Policy Finder tool allows you to hone in on your state and the specific telehealth-related policy information you may need.

All of The TRCs are funded through cooperative agreements with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Office for the Advancement of Telehealth. The 12 regional TRCs cover all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the affiliated Pacific Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The remaining two centers have a national focus and include the Center for Connected Health Policy and the Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center which focus on policy and telehealth technology, respectively.

So, what are you looking for? Let us know and we’ll help you find it. Happy to help!

The post Treasures from the TRCs: A Bounty of Resources appeared first on LearnTelehealth.

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) announced the extension of many telemedicine flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 PHE. The announcement includes proposed permanent rules for the prescribing of controlled medications via telemedicine, expanding patient access to critical therapies beyond the scheduled end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

DEA Press Release

The post DEA Announces Proposed Rules for Permanent Telemedicine Flexibilities appeared first on LearnTelehealth.

Provider-to-Provider consults are a valuable component of patient care towards better health outcomes. This type of consult occurs without a face-to-face patient encounter, and is initiated by a physician or clinician seeking a specialist’s expert opinion. eConsults allow both the physician and the specialist to work at their own pace within a specific time period.

Our new Education Brief: eConsults will give you a high-level overview of eConsult concepts, and is designed especially for providers and clinicians.

This interactive module helps participants:

• Define eConsults
• Discuss the benefits for clinicians and patients
• Investigate potential eConsult workflows

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about eConsults!

Take This Course!

The post Free Course Available Now! Education Brief: eConsults appeared first on LearnTelehealth.

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) programs collect biometric data from patients in one location and electronically transmit that information to healthcare providers in a different location for assessment and recommendations. It’s a common clinical practice for many clinicians, and can be a valuable tool to utilize when managing your patients’ chronic diseases.

Our new RPM module will give you a high-level review of RPM concepts, and is designed especially for providers and clinicians.

This interactive module helps participants:

• Define Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
• Identify patient populations and use cases for RPM
• Discuss RPM conceptual models
• Develop clinical workflows
• Identify RPM medicare CPT codes
• Explore RPM technologies

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about Remote Patient Monitoring!

Additional Resources:

Telehealth Roundup: Remote Patient Monitoring

Telehealth Roundup: RPM Billing Panel Discussion

Webinar: Remote Patient Monitoring – A Mississippi Story

Blog Post: Remote Patient Monitoring Helps Uncover Child’s Undiagnosed Condition

Blog Post: Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM): Enabling Patient Care Outside of the Clinic

National TRC Webinar: CCM and Remote Patient Monitoring Improve Care Coordination & Increasing Revenue

Take This Course!

The post Free Course Available Now: Remote Patient Monitoring Module! appeared first on LearnTelehealth.

Please Note: CCHP has a pending legislation/regulation web page located at the following link: http://cchpca.org/state-laws-and-reimbursement-policies

Click to View! 

The post South Central Legislative/Regulatory Update – August 2018 appeared first on LearnTelehealth.

ADVANCING TELEHEALTH PARTNERSHIPS

SPS 2018: Coming to Glendale, AZ, October 8-9, 2018!

Service Provider Summit is a national conference focusing on linking telemedicine and telehealth service provider companies with hospitals, healthcare systems, clinics and others who need their services. SPS is about bringing better health care to patients, communities, and populations; improving outcomes; and reducing costs. It is about helping hospitals and healthcare systems to thrive through partnerships with telemedicine providers.

Join us at SPS 2018 to hear from more than 30 telehealth experts who will offer practical advice, lessons learned, and tips for success for your telehealth partnerships. Enjoy networking and check out the latest in telehealth service providers and technology in our expanded Expo Hall. Register now!

SPS 2018 Sponsor & Exhibitor Prospectus

Click on the image to the left to flip through the prospectus online.

Click here to download the Sponsor and Exhibitor Prospectus in PDF format.

SPS 2017 Presenters’ Slides and Program

Click here for the detailed SPS 2017 Program

Click here to open the program as a PDF

SPS 2017 presenters’ slides are available online to SPS 2017 attendees. Click here to log in to view the slides. Look in your printed program (p. 3) or Contact us for your username and password.

The post Telemedicine & Telehealth Service Provider Summit 2018 appeared first on LearnTelehealth.

LEGISLATION

Dead Legislation/Session Ended

State	Bill Number	Status	Summary
Mississippi	HB 799	1/30/18: Died in committee	Provides that health insurance companies and employee benefit plans may limit telemedicine coverage to health care providers in network with the plan instead of in a telemedicine network approved by the plan; revises the definition of store and forward telemedicine services for the purposes of coverage and reimbursement for those services; revises the criteria for qualifying patients for remote patient monitoring services.
Mississippi	HB 1130	1/30/18: Died in committee	Allows telemedicine providers to provide substance use disorder treatment.
Mississippi	HB 1229	1/16/18: To House Committee on Medicaid	Authorizes House and Senate Medicaid Committees to hire a third-party consultant to review the Mississippi Medicaid program to improve efficiency and eliminate waste, including the optimization of the use of telemedicine.
Mississippi	SB 2840	2/27/18: Died in committee	Authorizes telemedicine providers to provide treatment of substance use disorders, including medication-assisted treatment.
Mississippi	SB 2904	1/30/18: Died in committee	Revises the provision which authorizes health care providers to offer telemedicine services; provides definitions and conditions on providers offering telemedicine services; authorizes the state board of medical licensure to promulgate rules relating to telemedicine with certain exceptions.
Tennessee	SB 2410/HB 2419	3/27/18: Assigned to General Subcommittee of Local Government Committee	The comptroller of the treasury shall study the feasibility of establishing an enterprise zone pilot project in the Orange Mound community in Shelby County. The pilot project would provide incentives for independent senior living facilities that would support independence for seniors by enabling them to receive telehealth services at home, and it would provide incentives to businesses and other entities that increase access to fresh produce and other health food for residents of the enterprise zone pilot project. The comptroller shall report findings, along with any recommendations, to the members of the general assembly no later than January 15, 2019.
Tennessee	HB 518	3/21/18: Taken off notice for cal in s/c Health Subcommittee	Requires the commissioner of health to study and report on recommendations for legislation concerning telehealth and telemedicine under existing statute. The recommendations must examine the need for improving the effective use of telemedicine and telehealth among healthcare providers and insurers.
Tennessee	SB 601	3/20/18: Deferred to Summer Study.	Requires the commissioner of health to study and report on recommendations for legislation concerning telehealth and telemedicine under existing statute. The recommendations must examine the need for improving the effective use of telemedicine and telehealth among healthcare providers and insurers.
Tennessee	HB 1747	3/14/18: Taken off notice for cal in s/c Health Subcommittee	Adds trained and licensed education personnel to those persons who may staff telehealth services at school site.
Tennessee	SB 1778	3/12/18: In Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor: Referred to General Subcommittee	Adds trained and licensed education personnel to those persons who may staff telehealth services at a school site.
Tennessee	SB 2032	3/13/18: In Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor: Referred to General Subcommittee	Relates to Healthcare Liability; requires the commissioner of health to study and report on recommendations for legislation concerning telehealth and telemedicine under existing statutes to the health committee of the house of representatives and the Health and Welfare Committee of the senate by January 15, 2019.
Tennessee	HB 2091	2/28/18: Taken off notice for calendar in House Health Sub Committee	Relates to Healthcare Liability; requires the commissioner of health to study and report on recommendations for legislation concerning telehealth and telemedicine under existing statutes to the health committee of the house of representatives and the Health and Welfare Committee of the senate by January 15, 2019.

REGULATION

Pending Regulation

State	Regulation Citation	Status	Summary
Arkansas	016.06.18-003	4/6/18: Proposed Comment Deadline: 5/8/18	Title: Telemedicine Services Agency: Division of Medical Services Amends rules to include Telemedicine general policy.
Mississippi	Part 2635, Chapter 5, Rule 5.7	12/11/17: Proposed rule Comment Deadline: 12/5/18	Title: Telemedicine Agency: Board of Medical Licensure Amends rules to include Level Two Hospital Trauma Centers as it relates to exceptions for requirements for 24 hour coverage.

Adopted Regulation

State	Bill Number	Status	Summary
Arkansas	016.06.17	9/20/17: Rule adoption Effective: 9/30/17	Title: Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entities Agency: Division of Medical Services A new Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity (PASSE) Program policy manual is available for all PASSE providers. Provides a definition for telemedicine and allows the required face-to-face encounter for care coordinators to take place over telemedicine.
Arkansas	067.00.17	12/19/17: Adopted Effective: 12/29/17	Title: Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Agency: Board of Nursing Amends rules regarding advanced practice registered nurse. Creates telemedicine standards for the profession.
Mississippi	Title 23, Part 225, Ch. 1, Rule 1.2, .5	5/29/18: Rule Adopted Effective: 7/1/18	Title: General Provider Information; Reimbursement Agency: Division of Medicaid Revises Mississippi Medicaid’s reimbursement for telehealth delivered services. Amends rule to add Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctorals as a provider of Autism Spectrum Disorder services to EPSDT-eligible beneficiaries within their scope of practice via telehealth services. Telehealth services will allow EPSDT-eligible beneficiaries easier access to receive ASD services without having to travel to another geographical site.
Tennessee	TAC 0800-2-17-.1-.25	11/27/17: Rule Adopted Effective: 2/25/18	Title: Rules for Medical Payments Agency: Division of Workers’ Compensation For telehealth, states that the definitions, licensing and processes for the purpose of these rules shall be the same as adopted by the Tennessee Department of Health. Reimbursement will be based upon the applicable Medicare guidelines and coding for the different service providers.

The post South Central Legislative/Regulatory Update – June 2018 appeared first on LearnTelehealth.