3
Meghan
As a healthcare executive, I would focus my attention on the policy related to the utilization of telemedicine. Telemedicine is the remote delivery of services through a phone call or virtual platform (video visit) between a provider and a patient. Telemedicine has proven to improve access to care for those that experience social and physical determinants (ex: patients that reside in rural areas, elderly, lack of finances to pay for transportation, childcare). Since the decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, payors at state and federal levels have placed rapid restrictions on telemedicine. A variety of regulatory barriers have kept telehealth from reaching its full potential to increase competition and access (Reforming America’s Healthcare, n.d.). The majority of payors determined that patients can no longer receive care via telemedicine if they are not in the same state as the provider. If a patient works in a different state or travels out of state for leisure, healthcare facilities have to restrict that access to care. Reimbursement has emerged as a crucial issue as projects attempt to evolve from the demonstration stage to a mainstream component of health delivery (Whitten et al., 2003).
The primary stakeholders to assist with this policy change would be: patients, providers, and the payors. It will be important to propose and implement policy changes related to telemedicine and the quality of care as well as access to care. The opportunities for major advances in public health policy and practice are simply unparalleled (Rosenbaum, 2011). Under the current model: if a patient, with a chronic condition such as high blood pressure, traveled out of state to visit their child at college and forgot their medicine or was experiencing concerning symptoms, they would not have access to care through telemedicine. This patient would then need to spend hours in an ER with providers that are not privy to the longevity of care or have access to the patient medical records. The secondary stakeholders to assist with this policy change would be patient family members and those from the local government groups. Most times the secondary stakeholders are more vocal and will even invite the media to specific events.
Continued telehealth use will require that emergency relaxations of telehealth policies be permanently passed into law. Actual use will depend on health system infrastructure and processes, the way health systems are reimbursed, and the type of care being delivered (Pina et al., 2022).
References
Piña, I. L., Allen, L. A., & Desai, N. R. (2022). Policy and payment challenges in the postpandemic treatment of heart failure: Value-based care and telehealth. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 28(5), 835–844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cardfail.2021.08.019
Reforming America’s healthcare system through choice and competition (n.d.). Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/Reforming-Americas-Healthcare-System-Through-Choice-and-Competition.pdf
Rosenbaum S. (2011). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: implications for public health policy and practice. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 126(1), 130–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/003335491112600118
Whitten, P., & Kuwahara, E. (2003). Telemedicine from the Payor Perspective: Considerations for Reimbursement Decisions. Disease Management & Health Outcomes, 11(5), 291–298. https://doi-
Heather
As a healthcare executive, I would focus my attention on the policy related to the utilization of telemedicine. Telemedicine is the remote delivery of services through a phone call or virtual platform (video visit) between a provider and a patient. Telemedicine has proven to improve access to care for those that experience social and physical determinants (ex: patients that reside in rural areas, elderly, lack of finances to pay for transportation, childcare). Since the decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, payors at state and federal levels have placed rapid restrictions on telemedicine. A variety of regulatory barriers have kept telehealth from reaching its full potential to increase competition and access (Reforming America’s Healthcare, n.d.). The majority of payors determined that patients can no longer receive care via telemedicine if they are not in the same state as the provider. If a patient works in a different state or travels out of state for leisure, healthcare facilities have to restrict that access to care. Reimbursement has emerged as a crucial issue as projects attempt to evolve from the demonstration stage to a mainstream component of health delivery (Whitten et al., 2003).
The primary stakeholders to assist with this policy change would be: patients, providers, and the payors. It will be important to propose and implement policy changes related to telemedicine and the quality of care as well as access to care. The opportunities for major advances in public health policy and practice are simply unparalleled (Rosenbaum, 2011). Under the current model: if a patient, with a chronic condition such as high blood pressure, traveled out of state to visit their child at college and forgot their medicine or was experiencing concerning symptoms, they would not have access to care through telemedicine. This patient would then need to spend hours in an ER with providers that are not privy to the longevity of care or have access to the patient medical records. The secondary stakeholders to assist with this policy change would be patient family members and those from the local government groups. Most times the secondary stakeholders are more vocal and will even invite the media to specific events.
Continued telehealth use will require that emergency relaxations of telehealth policies be permanently passed into law. Actual use will depend on health system infrastructure and processes, the way health systems are reimbursed, and the type of care being delivered (Pina et al., 2022).
References
Piña, I. L., Allen, L. A., & Desai, N. R. (2022). Policy and payment challenges in the postpandemic treatment of heart failure: Value-based care and telehealth. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 28(5), 835–844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cardfail.2021.08.019
Reforming America’s healthcare system through choice and competition (n.d.). Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/Reforming-Americas-Healthcare-System-Through-Choice-and-Competition.pdf
Rosenbaum S. (2011). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: implications for public health policy and practice. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 126(1), 130–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/003335491112600118
Whitten, P., & Kuwahara, E. (2003). Telemedicine from the Payor Perspective: Considerations for Reimbursement Decisions. Disease Management & Health Outcomes, 11(5), 291–298. https://doi-
