Keeping up with COVID-19: Telehealth During and After the Public Health Emergency

Health care providers have unprecedented freedom to care for patients utilizing telehealth and other healthcare technology-enabled capabilities, based on recent waivers related to the COVID-19 Coronavirus public health emergency. In the nThrive webinar, “Revenue Enhancement Through Patient Care Improvement During and After the Public Health Emergency,” Virginia Gleason, JD, MPA, BSN, likened recent legislation relaxing telehealth restrictions to “letting a genie out of a bottle,” discussing the limits of the law as well as ramifications for patients and providers during the COVID-19 response and beyond.

“The genie is not likely to be put back into the bottle,” said Gleason, responding to audience feedback that greater use of telehealth “is long overdue.”

“Hospitals are reporting that revenue is down by as much as 50% right now,” she said, emphasizing that telehealth, remote monitoring, and other innovative healthcare technology capabilities can help sustain quality care while helping offset the financial loss.