Resources & Reports

Cross-state practice issues have become a source of great confusion during the pandemic for both providers and patients. Generally, telehealth is considered to occur at the physical location of the patient, requiring a provider to have a license to practice in the state where the patient is located, or fall under a licensure exception or participate in an eligible licensing compact in the patient’s state.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Impact of COVID-19 Telehealth Policy Changes on Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder, found that expanded policies allowing increased use of telehealth by phone and video kept veterans receiving medication-based treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Using Veterans Health Administration data, authors compared pre-pandemic and post-pandemic trends related to telehealth use specific to buprenorphine treatment, as well as examining treatment retention changes.

Ten years ago, in the early months of 2012, the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) faced a decision of potentially great significance. The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORPH) Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) had released a Funding Opportunity Announcement for their Telehealth Resource Center Grant Program and the incumbent contractor for the National Telehealth Resource Center for Policy (NTRC-P) contract would not be reapplying. After weighing the pros and cons of acting as the NTRC-P, CCHP decided to take the plunge and applied.  On September 1, 2012, CCHP officially started its work as the federally designated National Telehealth Policy Resource Center and have been serving that role for the past decade.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently produced a summary document entitled, The Use of Telehealth for Disability Evaluation in Medicine and Allied Health: Proceedings of a Workshop. The workshop was held virtually in March of 2022 and sponsored by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The SSA was interested in the ability of telehealth to be used in consultative examinations (CEs) that are part of the disability benefits application process. The two-day event covered general telehealth practice issues and challenges and included a variety of speakers and discussions ranging from the rise of telehealth due to COVID-19, as well as access, quality, and equity issues.

CCHP’s August Newsletter is Here! This month’s topics include – Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2022 – HR 4040 (Rep. Cheney R-WY); New Rules take Shape for CMS’ Newest Entity, Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs); Federal Guidance on Nondiscrimination in Telehealth; Lawsuit Challenges Constitutionality of FCC’s Universal Service Fund; Latest Policy Developments in CCHP’s Telehealth Policy Finder and Policy Trends Map; Federal Public Health Emergency Extended; In case you missed it:  2023 PFS Proposed Rule Factsheet; Multiple Federal Bills on Telehealth Abortion Allowance; AJMC Study Finds Patients Benefit from Telemedicine with Rheumatic Disease.