November 22, 2024
Health Equity: Research Recap
This research recap describes how telehealth impacts health equity and opportunities for reducing health disparities.
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Category: Resources
DEA Extends Telehealth Flexibilities
November 22, 2024
DEA Extends Telehealth Flexibilities
This week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in concert with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued a third extension of telemedicine flexibilities for the prescribing of controlled medications through December 31, 2025.
Click Here to Learn More
Telehealth Policy Update
November 19, 2024
Telehealth Policy Update
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the CY 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule and CY2025 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule, which include telehealth policies.
Absent Congressional action, the statutory limitations in place for Medicare telehealth services prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency will take effect for most telehealth services beginning January 1, 2025.
Click Here to Read More
HRSA Announces Complete Lists of Health Professional Shortage Areas
November 18, 2024
HRSA Announces Complete Lists of Health Professional Shortage Areas
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) new lists, maintained and updated by HRSA’s Data Warehouse, were announced in the Federal Register last week. The lists identify all geographic areas, population groups, and facilities designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). Designations that are currently proposed for withdrawal will remain in this status until a second notice is published in the Federal Register.
Click Here to See New Lists
CMS Releases CY 2025 Physician Fee Schedule with Telehealth Policy Updates and Key Modifications
November 14, 2024
CMS Releases CY 2025 Physician Fee Schedule with Telehealth Policy Updates and Key Modifications
On November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Final Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), outlining important Medicare policy updates for the coming year.
As in previous years, the PFS contains multiple proposals affecting telehealth policy. Many temporary federal telehealth waivers in Medicare are set to expire this year, and their extension would require congressional action. However, CMS has made adjustments within its authority to mitigate the effects of these expirations if Congress does not act to extend statutory flexibilities further.
For those interested in further detail, CCHP has released a fact sheet with specific page references to the unpublished version of the PFS, outlining telehealth-specific proposals and updates in depth.
Click Here for Fact Sheet
Click Here to Read Final Calendar Year 2025 Physician Fee Schedule
CART Outpatient Version 1.25.0 Release
November 14, 2024
CART Outpatient Version 1.25.0 Release
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the release of the CMS Abstraction and Report Tool (CART) and is now available on the QualityNet website: https://qualitynet.cms.gov/
This release contains updates to CART Outpatient 1.25.0 to support the Sex Data Element changes as listed in Specifications Manual 17.0a. This CART version must be used for encounter dates 07-01-24 through 9-30-24.
Details of the new Sex Data Elements are listed below:
- Sex assigned at birth – Required
- Sexual Orientation – Voluntary
- Gender Identity – Voluntary
Note: CART for Q4 2024 encounters and future will be available in January 2025 in HQR
The CART 1.25.0 download, as well as installation instructions, edits, and online help are located on the QualityNet website.
- Select the Hospitals – Outpatient card on the home page of QualityNet,
- On the Hospitals-Outpatient page, select Data Management,
- Select CMS Abstraction & Reporting Tool (CART) under Data Collection,
- The CART-Outpatient version 1.25.0 can be accessed under the CART Overview page,
- Edits and Online help Guide are at the bottom of the Download Cart page under resources,
- Known issues for CART-Outpatient are located on the QualityNet Home page under the Help menu.
- Select the known Issues link and navigate to hospital Quality Reporting System Known Issues PDF
Click Here to Go to QualityNet website
Click Here to Download CART Version 1.25.0
Who to contact with questions:
- CCSQ Service Center Contact Information
- 866 288-8912
- QNetSupport@cms.hhs.gov
- Weekdays from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. ET
HRSA Health Center Performance Improvement Toolkit
November 8, 2024
HRSA Health Center Performance Improvement Toolkit
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has introduced a new Health Center Performance Improvement Toolkit.
The toolkit can be used to conduct self-assessments to understand the focus areas and potential activities needed to achieve your performance improvement goals.
The resources aim to:
- Foster innovation
- Enhance patient care
- Improve health outcomes for underserved populations
Click Here to access the toolkit
RHIhub Topic Guide: Finding Statistics and Data Related to Rural Health
October 28, 2024
RHIhub Topic Guide: Finding Statistics and Data Related to Rural Health
This Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) Topic Guide will help you locate and accurately use statistics and data to:
- Understand rural health needs and rural/urban disparities
- Communicate rural health needs
- Inform decision-making related to service delivery and policy
Click Here to Access Topic Guide
Many providers of rural-relevant data rely on the same small number of federal data sets for their data products.
Click Here to Access Data Sources & Tools Relevant to Rural Health
Reminder: Hospitals and CAH Respiratory Illness Reporting Requirements Begin November 1, 2024
October 22, 2024
Reminder: Hospitals and CAH Respiratory Illness Reporting Requirements Begin November 1, 2024
In the CY2025 Medicare Inpatient Hospital Prospective Payment System Final Rule (starting on page 898), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added requirements for hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to electronically report information related to flu, COVID-19 and RSV via the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).
CDC has posted instructions for Reporting Requirements, Frequency, and Pathway as well as templates, training slides, and additional resources.
Reporters may use either the weekly reporting pathway OR the daily reporting pathway to satisfy requirements for Hospital Respiratory Data for CMS CoP; reporters do NOT need to provide data into both pathways to meet the requirement.
Got questions? Please read the linked sources above or reach out to your CMS Regional Representative.
Click Here to Access NHSN Respiratory Data (HRD) Reporting
Telehealth Resources for Patients and Providers
October 17, 2024
Telehealth Resources for Patients and Providers
The Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) has the following telehealth resources for patients and providers:
- Telehealth for emergency preparedness
- Telehealth is important for providing medical care during an emergency, such as a pandemic or natural disaster. Providers can use telehealth to perform quick assessments, triage patients, and deliver patient care.
- This best practice guide provides detailed information and resources on using telehealth for emergency preparedness.
- Preparing patients for Telehealth
- The transition to telehealth is an adjustment for patients as well as health care providers. By preparing your patients for remote medical care, you help ensure their comfort and maintain quality care.
- Telehealth for special needs children (Patient Resource)
- Telehealth can be used to support children and families with unique health care needs.
- Telehealth Events
- Find upcoming webinars, conference, and other events around telehealth.