Page 9 - Telemedicine - Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery Part One

SVMIC Telemedicine: Essentials of Virtual Care Delivery

PART ONE

Introduction

The coronavirus pandemic forced Americans to lockdown and,

almost overnight, thrusted physicians and the entire healthcare
system into an unprecedented healthcare crisis. Telemedicine

became front and center, thanks in part to the shelter-in-place
orders. Caring for patients in a virtual environment became an

immediate necessity. The urgent need to balance healthcare
access and to avoid unnecessary physical contact in an

affordable and relatively easily deployable way had physicians
and other practitioners turning to telemedicine.

This course focuses on many of the risk issues to consider
with delivering healthcare through telemedicine. Many risk

issues, such as licensure, security, and the Health Insurance

Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), are in flux, awaiting
national and state legislation to further define the rules and
issue guidance. To respond to the immediate public health

emergency, national and state leaders suspended restrictions on

what constitutes telemedicine, requirements for full licensure,
reimbursement, audits, and supervision of advanced practice
providers, just to name a few. For purposes of this course, the

terms “telemedicine” and “telehealth” will be interchangeable.

A survey of physicians polled showed nearly 80 percent of
cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonology, and respiratory

physicians said their use of virtual care technology has
increased. The GlobalData report, “Use of Telemedicine During

the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US”, found that fewer than

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