RP NEWSKeeping you in touch with Remote Presence |
Telemedicine News Alert |
A new telemedicine credentialing and privileging rule published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services enables hospitals and remote Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) to receive remote consultations from the nation's most qualified specialist physicians in a more streamlined process. According to the final revised rule, published May 5 in the Federal Register, it is the responsibility of "the governing body of the hospital providing the telemedicine services [hub hospital] to meet the existing requirements … with regard to its physicians and practitioners who are providing telemedicine services." According to CMS, "The final rule aims to reduce the burden of the traditional credentialing and privileging process for Medicare-participating hospitals and CAHs, both those that provide telemedicine services and those that use such services. In particular, the rule extends the option of a streamlined credentialing and privileging process to those small hospitals and CAHs that use the telemedicine services of practitioners from distant-site [hub hospital] telemedicine entities, both Medicare- and non-Medicare-participating, in order to improve access to specialty services for patients while further reducing the regulatory burden imposed on hospitals and CAHs." "Today's final rule is the result of close collaboration with hospital and telemedicine care experts," said CMS Administrator Donald M. Berwick, MD. "We at CMS want to be sure that as we develop rules to protect the safety and quality of care at America's hospitals and CAHs, we also devise policies that reflect the most innovative practices in delivering care to all patients, especially patients in rural or remote parts of the country through telemedicine practices." This new ruling removes the previous roadblocks in remote physicians providing consultations into distant hospitals. The once laborious and expensive process will now be easier to credential and privilege those remote physicians. If you have any questions regarding the final rule and how it may affect your telemedicine program, please feel free to contact us at marketing@intouchhealth.com. You may also contact your Regional Sales Representative to answer any questions that may arise. Thank you for your support in this important decision. Sincerely, InTouch Health |
