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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Telehealth has grown in recent years as a way to expand health care services, but adoption of this innovation in healthcare delivery has lagged behind among the safety net providers that care for many of the nation’s most-vulnerable people.
A new RAND Corporation report suggests several approaches that could expand use of telehealth at Federally Qualified Health Centers, including strengthening rules that make sure the centers will be paid for services provided via telehealth.
Other possible approaches include adopting telehealth as part of a suite of strategies to address workforce shortages in rural areas and improving education about telehealth polices among staff at the health centers.
The RAND report, sponsored by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, is based on interviews with Medicaid officials from seven states and leaders from 19 Federally Qualified Health Centers in those states.
Researchers found that live video telehealth, typically telebehavioral health, was the most prevalent type of telehealth among the Federally Qualified Health Centers surveyed. They also found that the telehealth policies of the seven state Medicaid programs in the study varied across numerous dimensions.
Leaders at the Federally Qualified Health Centers generally believed they could overcome the various barriers to telehealth implementation, if reimbursement and the risk of losing revenue in offering telehealth services were improved.
The report is titled “Experiences of Medicaid Programs and Health Centers in Implementing Telehealth.” To speak to the researchers, please contact Warren Robak at [email protected] or (310) 451-6913.