In May, CMS published a final rule that eases the process for the credentialing and privileging of telehealth practitioners.
The new rule lets small and critical access hospitals in rural areas take advantage of what's known as "privileging by proxy." That means the smaller hospital will be able to grant privileges based on information from the facility providing telehealth services. Until now, small and critical access hospitals had to conduct their own review of each and every health care provider's qualifications.
In an iHealthBeat Special Audio Report by Deirdre Kennedy, experts discussed how the new rule will affect access to telemedicine services. The Special Report includes comments from:
- Gary Capistrant, senior director of public policy at the American Telemedicine Association;
- Scott Cooper of the CMS Office of Clinical Standards and Quality; and
- Scott Simmons, director of telehealth at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine.
Experts say the new rule will reduce the burdens for small and critical access hospitals to participate in telehealth programs offered by larger hospitals. However, some stakeholders say policymakers need to do more as Medicare's payment rules remain a major barrier to widespread telemedicine adoption (Kennedy, iHealthBeat, 6/8).
The complete transcript of this Special Report is
available as a PDF.
Running Time: 4:31