Telehealth continues to modify and adapt with changes at the state and federal level. This news roundup highlights Virginia legislators’ push to extend telehealth services, what’s next for telehealth at the federal level when the public health emergency ends, and various telehealth initiatives sprouting throughout Virginia to address gaps in health care.
Senator Warner and other lawmakers call for extending telehealth
Earlier this month, Virginia Senator Mark Warner and other legislators called for an extension on telehealth services to be added to proposed legislation. Other proponents of telehealth expansion have cited an opportunity to collect data to inform congress of potential permanent telehealth legislation. Learn more about Senator Warner’s stance in this NBC 29 segment.
White House to end COVID national & public health emergencies
The White House announced the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies (PHE) will end on May 11, 2023. Initially thought to end in April 2023, the additional time will help prepare the country to navigate various post-COVID repercussions. To counteract this, Congress has passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, which ensures a 151-day extension period beyond the end of the PHE to allow for a transition before many COVID-related policies are set to expire. Read more about these policy changes on Telehealth.org.
Clinics offering mental health services quickly through pilot program
A VTN-led initiative, the Virginia Telemental Health Initiative (VTMHI), offers free and convenient telemental health services to eligible Virginians who are under- and un-insured. These services offer a range of therapies, including those for patients experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other behavioral and mental health concerns. Participating free and charitable clinics have begun adding these services in areas including Roanoke, Charlottesville, and Fauquier. More clinics will begin offering VTMHI services over the coming weeks. You can learn more about the clinics launching this program in this segment on WDBJ7.
Digital health to address care gaps in rural Appalachia
The University of Virginia Health System and a coalition of Virginia health care organizations have teamed up to provide digital health services to residents of rural Southwest Virginia through the Virginia Consortium to Advance Healthcare in Appalachia. Partners include UVA Center for Telehealth, the Healthy Appalachia Institute, the Southwest Virginia Health Authority, Tri-Area Health, and The Health Wagon. This effort focuses on health inequity and improving access to care for communities that are underserved. The consortium is supported by a $5.1 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Rural Health Grants program. Read more about these efforts in Health Leaders Media.
Audio-only telehealth supported care delivery at FQHCs during pandemic
The RAND Corporation has released a new report assessing the progress of federally qualified health centers (FQHC’s) that participated in the Connected Care Accelerator (CCA) program. This program was created to assist FQHC’s in telehealth delivery as well as evaluating how telehealth affected them during the pandemic and what has worked or what can be improved.
The report shows that audio and video visits increased during the pandemic even though the number of overall visits remained the same. Researchers also noted that behavioral health was the most common type of telehealth visit. Audio-only visits were also found to be more popular than in-person care for both primary care and behavioral health services through most of the study period (between August 2020- August 2021). By the end, audio-only visits were surpassed by in-person visits except for the category of behavioral health. Read the full analysis of the report in mHealth Intelligence.
The impact and advances of Telehealth are abundant, and as more studies continue to be produced, advocates and opponents alike will seek to navigate the post-COVID health care environment and the place of telehealth within it.
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