What Would Permanent Telehealth Coverage Mean for Hospitals? 5 CIOs Answer

Many states are relaxing COVID-19 restrictions and dropping public health emergency designations, moves that affect payers' decisions on how to reimburse for telehealth services. Amid these changing policies, many hospitals feel like their telehealth programs are in a state of limbo. Here, five health system CIOs share what permanent extensions to telehealth coverage would mean for hospitals. 

More permanent expansion of telehealth would enable hospitals to realize the highest value from leveraging digital interactions to further transform how we deliver care. At Stanford Health Care, we are creating and optimizing telehealth technologies when clinically and strategically appropriate, always with the patient at the center. Hamed Barahimi, our director of inpatient systems, highlights how we enabled remote care for low acuity patients in our emergency department, telepsych emergency department consult services at our community hospital, and virtual inpatient rounding whereby the patient, members of their care team and family can virtually connect seamlessly through our EHR and MyHealth patient portal.