Page 11 - Telemedicine - Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery Part One

SVMIC Telemedicine: Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery

• Ensure payment parity for covered services

• Enhance telehealth services to rural areas
2

Telemedicine is emerging as the great equalizer of access and
quality in both the developed world and the developing world,

where adoption may be progressing even faster. Consumer
technology is also driving wider availability of telemedicine. With

the continued proliferation of mobile devices and applications
capable of providing high quality audio-video communication,

along with the capability of wearable devices to collect a
growing myriad of health-related data, the virtual distance

between providers and their patients is shrinking. As an
example, the latest wearable devices can detect minor cardiac

changes, even with the potential of detecting atrial fibrillation.

During the COVID-19 public health emergency, telehealth

demonstrated that it can improve access, safety, convenience,

efficacy, and a patient’s experience of care. Telehealth is the
natural evolution of healthcare into the digital age—it is not
a different type of care, but a different site of care. As such,

we should not hold telehealth to higher standards than other

care sites, and we should trust clinicians providing telehealth
services to triage patients needing a higher level of care
or in-patient care, as we do in other care settings. Patients’

preferences for obtaining care in-person or via telehealth should

be respected.
3

2 https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/senator-tina-smith-we-have-learn-our-experiences-
telehealth
3 https://www.ncqa.org/programs/data-and-information-technology/telehealth/taskforce-on-
telehealth-policy/taskforce-on-telehealth-policy-findings-and-recommendations-overarching-
issues/

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