March 2022 Newsletter
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Ready to Connect
As we hope for an early spring here in the Midwest, we have a lot to share with you in our March UMTRC Newsletter. As we start to see some events move to in person, I hope to have the opportunity to meet some of you in person over the course of 2022. If you are attending the Global HIMSS conference this March, I would love the opportunity to connect with you. Please feel free to reach out to me.
In this month’s UMTRC blog post we take a look at resources from Foley and Lardner, the American Hospital Association, and Healthcare Finance and discuss some of the implications of the No Surprises Act has on telehealth providers in the ER.
“The No Surprises Act is accomplishing exactly what it has set out to do, which is to save patients from hefty medical bills following emergency care. However, many healthcare organizations are still grappling with what defines emergency services or when emergency services have been completed for a patient in their care. Gathering patient consent to utilize out-of-network providers can be tricky during emergency situations and time will help us understand its impact on telehealth consults in the ER that often rely on contracted providers.”
Read the full blog here.
A Virtual View podcast series hit a record number of downloads over the last 2 months! Let's keep the momentum going in March. During the month of March, we plan to release two new podcast episodes. One will be focused on Provider Burnout and the other will be centered around the Evolution of Telehealth and Sustainability. If you haven’t listened to our latest episodes or are interested in the upcoming episodes, please listen to it here.
-On behalf of the UMTRC Team
Cameron Hilt, MPH, Program Director
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Registration is OPEN for the UMTRC Annual Conference
We are thrilled to announce that both the exhibitor and attendee registration is open for the 4th Annual UMTRC Telehealth Conference!
Make your plans now and secure a spot.
4th Annual UMTRC Telehealth Conference
September 13-14, 2022 at the Gillespie Conference Center.
The deadline to submit a speaker proposal for the 2022 UMTRC Annual Conference is March 31, 2022.
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Training Partnerships
The UMTRC is pleased to be working with the Ohio State Office of Rural Health and Ohio State Department of Health to provide training workshops in the coming months. We're excited to share our knowledge and aid in the advancement of telehealth accessibility in our region and beyond.
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Resources from the UMTRC
Let's focus on telehealth workflow. When do you obtain consent from the patient? How far in advance of the appointment should you send the provider the patient's medical history? Do you schedule a follow up?
The UMTRC has published telehealth workflow guides to help you answer these questions.
Check out more from our library of UMTRC and other trusted organization's resources HERE.
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.
Access and Accessibility- Telehealth Barriers for Patients with Disabilities
Date: March 29, 2022
Time: 12:00pm Eastern
Presenter(s): Luke Wortley (MFA), Resource Development Coordinator for the Indiana Rural Health Association (IRHA) and the Program Coordinator for the Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center (UMTRC)
This webinar aims to define “access” and “accessibility” while teaching about the unique social, economic, and environmental disadvantages people with disabilities face. We will also address the impact of telehealth on people with disabilities both during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Register HERE
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A Starter Guide to Telehealth Billing Resources & Current National and Medicaid Reimbursement
Date: April 19, 2022
Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm Eastern
Presenter(s): Bryce Wray-Nelson, MPH, IRHA Program Coordinator
Objectives:
- Address common telehealth definitions, break down service types and their differences.
- Provide an overview of telehealth billing services on a national level.
- Break down the UMTRC’s state territory billing processes.
- Address COVID state guidelines where applicable.
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 Virtual Office Hours will be an open Q&A session.
Bring a beverage and your questions. We've got answers!
March 23, 2022 at 1:00 pm EST
RSVP HERE
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Upcoming In-Person Conferences & Virtual Events
As we learn about regional and national webinars, trainings, and conferences on relevant topics we will post them on our website in the Events section of the UMTRC website.
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Cultural Competency for Service Providers
The MHAI Stanley W. DeKemper Training Institute offers educational opportunities for prevention, treatment and recovery professionals, advocates, and individuals who wish to enhance their understanding of behavioral health, including, beginning or furthering their professional development in mental health and substance misuse.
Join the MHAI for this interactive course that will provide an opportunity to examine how cultural differences and similarities might affect work with clients.
April 6, 2022
9:00 AM – 4:30 PM EDT
Virtual Event
Register HERE
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IRHA Spring Rural Summit
The Indiana Rural Health Association (IRHA) will host their Spring Rural Summit on April 12, 2022 at the Biltwell Event Center in Indianapolis, IN. Attendee and Exhibitor registration is open now.
Attendee Registration Fees:
Members............$100
Non-member......$250
Students..............$50
April 12, 2022
Biltwell Event Center
Indianapolis, IN
Register HERE
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National Rural EMS & Care Virtual Conference
The conference will take place virtually from April 19-21, 2022. Invited attendees include rural ambulance services, rural EMS directors, medical directors and officers, rural health care providers, ambulatory agencies and staff, state EMS officials, state rural health officials, hospital administrators, federal agency officials, and State Offices of Rural Health.
April 19-21, 2022
Virtual Event
Register HERE
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State of the Region: Reimbursement and Policy Updates
What's happening with telehealth policies in our region? The UMTRC would like to invite you to attend our 2nd quarter State of the Region meeting to get an update!
This quarterly presentation is for any stakeholders involved and interested in telehealth. The UMTRC will report on some of the most recent changes in both state and national telehealth reimbursement and policy.
The UMTRC’s region includes Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. We will provide an opportunity to engage with others in your region on questions related to telehealth reimbursement and policy, as well as, an open Q&A with the UMTRC staff. We hope you will join us!
State of the Region: Reimbursement and Policy Updates
Date: April 20, 2022
Time: 2:00 - 3:00pm EST
Location: Virtual
Register here: https://www.umtrc.org/StateoftheRegionApril
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Recent Articles & Research on Telehealth & E-health
Telehealth's five-year plan? $20 billion, maybe
A new report from Bloomberg Intelligence predicted that the telehealth sector could bring in $20 billion in U.S. revenue by 2027.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telehealth by years, providing safe and convenient access to telehealth services," said Duane Wright, senior research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
But others are taking a more measured view. A different report from Trilliant Health says telehealth post-pandemic supply will outpace demand.
DECIDE FOR YOURSELF
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Using telemedicine behind bars
With nearly 15,000 clinicians and professionals in 34 states across the U.S. and Australia, Wellpath delivers medical and behavioral healthcare services to nearly 300,000 patients located in inpatient and residential treatment facilities, civil commitment centers, and local, state and federal correctional facilities.
Bill spoke with Shawn Valenta, vice president for healthcare cloud in clinical services at Wellpath, about how it used a specific model to develop, implement and optimize an emergency medicine telehealth service to more than 100 facilities across the U.S.
READ THEIR CONVERSATION
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Strategies to work toward equity in healthcare
Telemedicine can be used to expand access to healthcare – but it can also exacerbate the digital divide. Dr. Uché Blackstock, founder and CEO of advancing Health Equity and Yahoo News Medical Contributor, speaks with Kat for HIMSS TV about steps vendors can take to mitigate bias in digital health tools. Watch it here.
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CARES Act Telehealth Expansion: Trends in Post-Discharge Follow-Up and Association with 30-Day Readmissions for Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program Health Conditions – This data highlight expands on monthly trends in hospitalizations for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries for the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), comparing trends before and in the six months after the CARES Act telehealth expansion.
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Changes in Access to Medication Treatment During COVID-19 Telehealth Expansion and Disparities in Telehealth Use for Medicare Beneficiaries with Opioid Use Disorder – This data highlight provides an overview of how access to medication treatment for people enrolled in Medicare Fee-For-Service with opioid use disorder changed amid COVID-19 telehealth expansion.
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8 benefits of Telehealth
HealthcareITNews February 15, 2022
Healthcare providers are faced with new challenges: balancing best-practice patient care, reworking guidelines to protect and support their personnel, and much more. Link
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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.