From the department of non-news comes word that a standardized application programming interface for electronic health records (or electronic medical records, whatever you prefer) is hampering the growth of information networks. Tell us all something we didn’t know at least 5 or 10 years ago!
If you are a physician, you already know that a lot of your colleagues are selling their practices to hospitals, taking out loans or revamping their business models to survive in the new medical environment. Telehealth may provide another option.
There are companies currently doing telehealth that may be a resource for you in helping you decide what to do to improve your revenue stream while better serving your patients. I have no reason to believe they are in any way illegitimate enterprises. I just feel uncomfortable mentioning them by name because I have no experience here at GlobalMed with any of them. (What I learned working for the Arizona Medical Board is that doctors should be very careful before jumping into any business venture that promises easy money. That’s how some doctors get roped into Internet prescribing with rogue pharmacies and are disciplined.)
What one company does is provide free access to an online platform where you set your own rates to give patients 24/7 access to remote care telephonically or on the Web. You could provide these consultations personally or use the company’s network of on-call physicians to cover after-hours care. The company makes money by sharing the patient’s membership fee and the transaction fee that is billed whenever there’s a consultation.
The companies dangle the dollars, making it seem a snap to earn, say, $12,000 a month, signing up patients and doing the consultations. Before embarking on this course, though, I would suggest familiarizing yourself with your state medical board policies and regulations and state laws regarding telemedicine in general. You won’t get an answer by calling the medical board and asking them if it’s okay because they don’t give licensees legal advice. If you have any questions or concerns about involvement in this type of practice, contact your practice attorney for guidance. If you don’t have a practice attorney (who doesn’t these days?), call your state bar association and ask for the names of some lawyers who practice medical administrative law.
You probably think this post will focus on the bill being drafted by Senator Tom Udall and his staff. Even though I plan to address it, the first part today is about another bill from a New York congresswoman and the S.T.E.P. Act which is now law.
New technology used to be the star of the annual Computer Electronics Show, but that event has recently lost a lot of its glitter. FutureMed may be taking its place in the realm of mobile health, commonly referred to as mHealth. Continue Reading…
For those of you who haven’t paid attention to the British healthcare system, called the NHS, it’s the U-K’s version of the single payer model. Despite its rationing of treatment, most Brits have been supportive, but the mood appears to be changing. Continue Reading…
For decades, hospital emergency rooms have accepted walk-in patients, no matter the ailment or ability to pay. That may be ending, at least in Washington State. If so, the change would likely be adopted in other states with budget problems.
VA healthcare is divided up into 23 VISNs (Veterans Integrated Service Networks). VISN 20 is located in the Pacific Northwest.
While the American Telemedicine Association works with Senator Tom Udall and Representative Glenn Thompson on a telemedicine licensure bill, the CEO of the ATA has made three recommendations to the new head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid(CMS).
Besides the very public effort by the American Telemedicine Association to get a national telemedicine license, other lawmakers have apparently worked in some wording that would move towards telehealth across state lines. Continue Reading…
Most doctors, when asked what they think about EMRs, simply say they’re too expensive and they don’t see why they should be forced to adopt them because there is no economic return. But one physician is more blunt.
