The pandemic has engendered changes within healthcare at every level – from a relaxation of regulations by policymakers to the adoption of new protocols among healthcare providers to changes in behavior among patients.
The question now – how much of this new normal will last once we are on the other side of the coronavirus? While no one knows for sure, many policy experts believe that a large proportion of the changes are here to stay, and with that the case, how do you adjust your own practice to ensure you are keeping up with best practices and providing the kind of care that patients are increasingly getting used to.
This is especially true in the realm of telehealth. At the federal level, policymakers enacted an array of revised laws that eased restrictions on the use of telehealth. The kinds of practices that could employ telehealth were expanded (to include all practitioners that are eligible to bill Medicare for their services) – including an array of therapists – and the use of audio-only services became acceptable, as did telehealth visits to nursing homes, among other amendments.
As we have previously mentioned, one revision that pertains to nurse practitioners is a revision to the requirement that nurse practitioners operate within a partnership structure with a collaborating physician. Modifications to this rule have been made at both the federal and state level, and in Virginia, the legislature reduced from five to two the number of years of full-time clinical experience that a nurse practitioner must have to practice independently.
According to the Center for Connected Health Policy, a California-based nonprofit working to improve health outcomes, care delivery and cost effectiveness, many of the COVID-related policy adjustments are likely to take hold on a more permanent basis. With telehealth successfully expanding into various practice areas, CCHP sees that expansion likely to continue. The organization also sees greater deployment of technology and enhanced training in the technology, including in medical schools.
In other words, CCHP not only sees telehealth as being here to stay, but a tool that will becoming increasingly part of medical practices’ standard services.
If you need more information on how to employ telehealth in your nurse practitioner practice, including guidance on technology, regulations and HIPAA requirements, contact us here.
Key Takeaways:
- Healthcare providers and patients alike have seen the benefits of telemedicine and experts predict telehealth is here to stay even after the pandemic.
- On the state and federal level, policymakers enacted an array of revised laws that eased restrictions on the use of telehealth during the state of emergency due to the pandemic. Many of these revisions will end once this state of emergency ends.
- It’s critical for healthcare providers to begin adopting permanent, HIPAA-compliant telehealth solutions and best practices to prepare for a post-pandemic practice.