December 2021 Newsletter
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Happy Holidays!
In mid-November CMS released their final 2022 Physician Fee Schedule in full. The UMTRC is dedicated to answering your questions on the new Physician Fee Schedule during or after our open question and answer sessions in our Virtual Office Hours and through upcoming blogs focused specifically on the PFS and how it impacts telehealth in 2022. Feel free to email us with your questions!
During the month of December, we are going to be taking a brief break on our podcast and will start dropping episodes again on the first and third Fridays of the months in 2022. If you haven’t listened to our latest podcast please listen to it here.
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Save the Date for the 4th Annual UMTRC Conference
The UMTRC staff are excited to announce that the 4th Annual UMTRC Conference will be back in South Bend, Indiana on September 13-14, 2022, at the Gillespie Conference Center. The UMTRC staff will be opening registrations for exhibitors early in 2022.
To be sure you don't miss important updates about the conference, join our mailing list!
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Telehealth FAQs
Telehealth Frequently Asked Questions
The UMTRC has a whole list of FAQs on our website. But the newest trend in FAQs is:
“Has Medical Nutrition Therapy been added to the list of telehealth services in the new 2022 Physician Fee Schedule?"
Yes, Medical Nutrition Therapy and Diabetes Self Management has been added to the services list and recognized that registered dietitians and nutrition professionals can furnish and bill for these services as distant site practitioners. More details can be found starting on 65194 (top left corner of page in bold in the full 2022 physician fee schedule).
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Upcoming Webinars
The UMTRC partners have several webinars planned for the month. We hope that you can join them and welcome your requests for additional topics for future webinars.
"Artificial Intelligence in Virtual Care"
Date: January 19, 2022
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm Eastern
Presenter(s): Jessica Devine, Program Coordinator for the UMTRC
The term artificial intelligence is increasingly heard in many areas of life and especially in healthcare. This webinar will begin by explaining artificial intelligence to make it an accessible concept and not seem like a far-off science fiction topic. The webinar will progress to speak about current uses of artificial intelligence as well as introduce future directions of utilization in virtual care. Come join us for this discussion about powerful technology.
Register HERE.
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"Common Substance Use Disorder Coding and Reimbursement Practices"
Date: February 9, 2022
Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm Eastern
Presenter(s): Micah Kassahun, Data Coordinator for the Crossroads Partnership for Telehealth and the Indiana Rural Opioid Consortium programs at IRHA.
The content of this webinar is aimed at rural healthcare providers and institutions with the intention of establishing foundational SUD coding and reimbursement practices. Elements of ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS coding practices will be introduced and discussed throughout the presentation.
Register HERE
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Virtual Office Hours
Similar to webinars, our Virtual Office Hours are offered virtually. They are more informal, more interactive, and typically only last 30 minutes, instead of an hour.
Our December Virtual Office Hours will be an open Q&A session with new UMTRC Program Director, Cam Hilt, and telehealth expert, Luke Wortley .
Bring a beverage and your questions. We've got answers!
December 9th (2-2:30 Eastern)
December 16th (1-1:30 Eastern)
RSVP on the website!
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Upcoming In-Person Conferences & Virtual Events
As state Public Health Emergencies (PHEs) start to sunset throughout the region, there are a mix of virtual and in-person conferences available. As we learn about regional and national conferences, we will post them on our website in the Events section of the UMTRC website.
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“Connecting Communities: Investing in Rural Prosperity: A Framework for Advancing Shared Economic Prosperity in Rural Communities across the United States,” is a webinar on December 2, 2021, 3:00 PM EST. Join Connecting Communities, sponsored by the Federal Reserve System, for this webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on organizations serving low to moderate income communities.
Register by clicking here.
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“Remaking the Economy: Information, the Media, and Economic Justice” a webinar on December 9, 2021 at 2:00 PM EST will be hosted by Nonprofit Quarterly that will examine how emerging nonprofit and co-op media are amplifying voice in communities of color and low-income communities.
Register by clicking here.
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CDFA Federal Financing Webinar Series: “Preserving Local Food Systems with Federal Financing” will be held Tuesday, December 14, 2021, 2:00 PM- 3:30 PM EST. Participants will hear from experts at the USDA about their various programs available for rural food systems and agricultural producers to recover from the pandemic.
Click here to register.
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The Southwest Telehealth Resource Center is hosting the webinar "Assistive Technology Telehealth" on December 21, 2021, 12:00pm to 1:00pm MST. Learn about RESNA -free special interest groups, committee standardization groups for new assistive technology products and services, medical software useful for 3rd party on group 3 wheelchairs and more.
Click here to register.
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The Michigan Primary Care Association (MPCA) will be hosting a virtual fall clinical conference from 12/16/2021-12/17/2021. This 1.5 day virtual conference will include both general sessions as well as medical and dental breakout sessions. Registrants will have the opportunity to select which breakout sessions they would like to attend at the time of registration. There is no cost to MPCA members!
The general session topics include the roll out of AZARA DRVS Playbooks, virtual health, implicit bias*, and human trafficking*.
Breakout sessions will focus on population health management of hypertension and diabetes, dental value-based care, dental therapy and behavioral health. Please be sure to make your breakout session selection for both Thursday and Friday when registering for the conference.
More info HERE
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Register now for the IRHA Public Policy Forum
Don't miss important updates on healthcare issues from the state and national perspective! Join us January 27, 2022 at the Biltwell Event Center in Indianapolis.
View the full agenda HERE
Attendee and Exhibitor registration is available here: https://www.indianaruralhealth.org/PublicPolicyForum
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Don’t miss the National Virtual Technology Showcase February 2nd and 3rd!
Save the Date for Building Tomorrow’s Virtual Healthcare With Today’s Technology: A National Virtual Technology Showcase this upcoming February 2-3. This two-day event will feature several telemedicine use case scenarios where patients, caregivers, and providers present virtual care models such as emergency services, behavioral health, school-based care, remote patient monitoring and direct to consumer patient care.
Attendees will have an opportunity to discuss the various telehealth technologies used in the telemedicine scenarios with the vendors themselves.
Exciting Keynote presenters will kick off each day of the two-day event. You won’t want to miss a discussion with Dr. Meskó (aka “The Medical Futurist”) and other leaders in the industry who are developing and implementing innovative ways of using technology to enhance patient care.
Register here: http://eepurl.com/hK0a09
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UMTRC staff will present during the showcase on the topic of Remote Patient Monitoring!
Remote working, learning and so much more – we are living in a remote world. Don’t miss our remote patient monitoring use case, providing valuable insight into the capabilities of current RMP technology and the value of data management and outcomes.
Register now: http://eepurl.com/hK0a09
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Information and Other Resources
Federal Telehealth Funding News CCHP- Also important to maintaining telehealth access is continued funding support. One of the primary federal funding streams in that regard has seen some recent additional movement. On November 9th the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved 75 more funding commitments toward its COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The new funding commitments for Round 2 of the program total $42,163,705, bringing the total amount of funds awarded to health care providers throughout the country to $165 million. As outlined in the FCC’s order, once over $150 million was awarded the next phase of the program was triggered, giving all remaining applicants ten days to supplement their applications before the rest of the program’s funding is allotted.
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AARP has published several reports concerning the health of Rural Americans. Health Care in Rural America: A Focus on Dental Care; Health Care in Rural America: Focus on Internet and Telehealth Use; and Health Care in Rural America: Use, Affordability, and Access
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“Transforming Rural Health Through Economic Development” features a Robert Wood Johnson interview with Janet Topolsky of the Community Strategies Group at the Aspen Institute discussing rural economic development, health and equity, and community engagement. The interview notes the importance of recognizing the diversity of rural economies and communities and approaching rural communities as sources of innovation.
Read the document by clicking here.
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“Rural LISC to scale digital workforce programs in rural communities with Microsoft,” is an article in The Paper of Montgomery County Online. Rural LISC has announced an initiative to help accelerate digital inclusion and to address the digital skills gap in the rural Midwest, with support from Microsoft. The initiative will build the capacity of community-based nonprofits to help bridge the digital divide and expand access to economic opportunity for residents in disinvested and underserved communities in IL, IN, MO, MT, NE, and OH.
Read the full article by clicking here.
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The National Rural Health Association has published “The Impact of Aging Baby Boomers in Rural America,” a policy brief discussing the impact of the increasing proportion of the population turning 65 years old on rural communities. The brief offers policy recommendations for addressing barriers rural older adults face accessing healthcare and social services.
Get the brief by clicking here.
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“Rural America at a Glance: 2021 Edition” provides an overview of social and economic factors affecting rural America, with a focus on the resiliency and recovery of rural communities following the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes data on population and employment changes, infection rates, and broadband internet access and adoption, as well as persistent poverty.
Get a copy by clicking here.
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An article in The Daily Yonder, “Infrastructure Bill Is a ‘Game-Changer’ for Broadband Access in Rural America, Advocates Say.” The bill allocates $65 billion to improve high-speed internet access and affordability. This includes $2 billion each for a rural broadband construction program called ReConnect, which Rural Utilities Service at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will operate, and to the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program run by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Read the full article by clicking here.
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PEW Stateline reports that “Rural Leaders Fear They’ll Miss Out on Infrastructure Money.” Rural leaders worry that they lack the staff and matching dollars to compete with bigger cities for their fair share of the bounty of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law that President Joe Biden signed last week.
Read the article by clicking here.
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The Daily Yonder ran a Commentary article “We Must Protect America’s Affordable Rural Housing.” The article states that “As rural populations decline, housing developers are not incentivized to build enough new affordable homes to make up for the loss of Section 515 properties. These homes are the most affordable option available and residents, who are often on fixed incomes, often have no other choices when rents rise to market rates.”
Read the article by clicking here.
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Recently Published Articles on Telemedicine and e-Health
The Association Between e-Health Literacy and Willingness to Deprescribe Among Patients with Chronic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study from Jordan
Rawand A. Khasawneh, Mohammad B. Nusair, Rasha M. Arabyat, Reema Karasneh, and Sayer Al-Azzam
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Opportunities and Barriers to Rural Telerobotic Surgical Health Care in 2021: Report and Research Agenda from a Stakeholder Workshop
Ryan N. Hansen, Basil Matthew Saour, Brian Serafini, Blake Hannaford, Lanu Kim, Takayoshi Kohno, Ryan James, Wayne Monsky, and Stephen P. Seslar
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Evaluation of a Telemedicine Model for Following Keratoconus Patients in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic
Dana Barequet, Shay Gutfreund, Michaella Goldstein, Anat Loewenstein, Ronni Gamzu, and David Varssano
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Criteria-Based Assessment of a Teleophthalmology Diabetic Retinopathy Evaluation Program in a Primary Care Setting
Samuel Leeman, Lu Wang, Brent A. Johnson, Robert J. Fortuna, and Rajeev S. Ramchandran
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Social and Subscribe
Be sure to connect with the UMTRC on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube for information on where to find us at training sessions, conferences, and the like.
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UMTRC c/o IRHA
2901 Ohio Boulevard, Suite 240
Terre Haute, IN 47803
855-283-3734 extension 238
[email protected]
This newsletter was made possible by grant number U1UTH42522 from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS.