With current surges in new COVID-19 cases due to the highly infectious delta variant, telehealth usage will likely continue to remain strong for the foreseeable future.
Recently, the Biden Administration approved $11 million in stimulus funding to the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program, doubling the reach of a program that uses telehealth to help pediatric care providers access mental health specialists, as reported by mHealthIntelligence.
Telehealth services are also beginning to be offered through school districts to improve healthcare for students. In addition, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has created a Telehealth Services Implementation Model to help healthcare organizations effectively expand telehealth solutions, according to Healthcare Finance News.
Read on for our monthly roundup of the most significant developments in telehealth:
Biden Administration earmarks $11M for pediatric telehealth expansion
mHealthIntelligence
The federal government is adding nearly $11 million in stimulus funding for the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program, which will increase the program’s reach from 21 to 40 states. The program enables pediatric mental healthcare providers to train primary care providers, and one doctor commented that “these grants aim to build and improve the structures and systems in place to address those needs comprehensively and consistently.”
Expanding telehealth into schools proves effective to address children’s health needs
Healthcare Finance News
Rural communities across the country have struggled to maintain access to quality healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. One overlooked demographic is children, especially those living in remote areas. But one school district in Missouri has found a solution by adopting a hybrid telehealth program to help school nurses connect students with healthcare concerns to local healthcare providers. Rose Ghattas, a virtual health coordinator for the Blessing Health System, commented that “Eighty percent of students opted in during their first year…We prevented one to two absences per week. And the time they went to a school nurse to the time they saw a provider was less than 30 minutes, often around 15 minutes.”
American Board of Telehealth launches certificate for virtual primary care
Healthcare IT News
The Teleprimary Care Certificate program will help ensure healthcare providers receive the proper training to conduct telehealth appointments successfully. Topics will include best practices, including workflow and regulatory considerations, and is designed to help primary care providers develop virtual healthcare strategies that will last beyond the pandemic.
Telehealth implementation guide seeks to smooth adoption, improve sustainability
Healthcare Finance News
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has created the Telehealth Service Implementation Model (TSIM), which provides a framework for healthcare organizations seeking to adopt telehealth solutions. The model is broken into six phases and provides detailed support from onboarding to scaling telehealth implementations for continuous success.