External Resources
Resources
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National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
Organizes and catalogs state and regional telehealth resource centers.
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Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP)
Resources and research on telehealth policy at the state and federal levels.
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Reproductive Health Initiative for Telehealth Equity & Solutions (RHITES)
Serves as a resource and convener among the telehealth and reproductive health, rights, and justice communities to bridge equity gaps and integrate equitable policy and advocacy strategies in reproductive telehealth solutions.
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Federation of State Medical Boards
Provides comprehensive resources, data access, and legislative advocacy to advance and promote the work of state medical boards.
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Interstate Medical Licensure Compact
Offers a voluntary, expedited pathway to licensure for qualified physicians.
Research Articles
Low Prevalence of Adequate eHealth Literacy and Willingness to Use Telemedicine Among Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Study From a Middle-Income Country
Currently, the rapid aging of global population, especially in low- and middle-income countries, is placing changing demands on health care systems. The preparation of the population for adequate eHealth literacy and good digital health is one of the challenges of social policy. The willingness to understand eHealth literacy and telemedicine use across different age groups of the population will help identify loopholes and bottlenecks in the implementation and help to develop appropriate solutions. Currently, studies on the status of eHealth literacy across different age ranges remain limited and scarce.
Applying the principle of justice in digital health
In an increasingly digital healthcare landscape, it is essential to assess the ethical impact of technology on care practices. We present a conceptual framework on equity in digital health, addressing justice-related concepts and challenges to reducing the digital divide. An ethical approach ensures that digital health respects fundamental rights. We propose goals—such as incorporating digital determinants into public health policy—to promote justice and reduce health inequalities in digital health implementation.
Remote Physiologic Monitoring Use Among Medicare Patients: Differences By Race, Ethnicity
Between 2018 and 2022, remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) claims increased, especially for Black (25,253 percent) and Hispanic (5,051 percent) Medicare patients. After adjustment for age, sex, and clinical factors, in 2022, Black and Hispanic Medicare patients had 88 percent and 84 percent higher RPM use rates, respectively, compared with White patients.
Factors Affecting Patients' Use of Telehealth Services: Cross-Sectional Survey Study
The increased integration of telehealth services into health care systems, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, transformed patient-provider interactions. Despite numerous benefits that promote health equity and resource allocation, patients' acceptance and use of telehealth have declined post pandemic. To enhance health care delivery and patient satisfaction, we study the factors of this decline from the perspective of patient characteristics that influence the adoption and use of telehealth services.
Transitional Care Management Associated With More Healthy Days At Home, Lower Spending After Hospital Discharge
Since 2013, Medicare has reimbursed clinicians for delivering transitional care management (TCM) services after patients’ discharge from eligible medical facilities. Concurrently, Medicare has implemented population-based Alternative Payment Models (APMs) to encourage patient-centered care, care coordination, and clinician accountability. In this analysis, we used 2017–20 Medicare data to evaluate the effect of TCM on four quality and cost outcomes and the effect of population-based APM participation on the association between TCM and the four outcomes. TCM was associated with more healthy days at home and lower total spending after hospital discharge, with more pronounced differences among patients aligned with population-based APMs compared to nonaligned patients. TCM was also associated with lower readmissions but not differences in mortality; neither finding varied between patients who were versus were not aligned with population-based APMs. These findings suggest that the benefits of TCM may be even greater when patients are aligned with population-based APMs, highlighting potentially complementary effects.
Trends In Telehealth Initiation Of Prescription Stimulants For Child And Adult Enrollees In Medicaid And CHIP During COVID-19
The COVID-19 public health emergency disrupted access to in-person behavioral health treatment beginning in the spring of 2020. This prompted federal telehealth flexibilities that have permitted the initiation of controlled medications, including prescription stimulants for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, via telehealth and without an in-person medical evaluation. In a national sample of child and adult Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollees, we found that the start of the public health emergency was associated with an immediate level increase of 24.7 telehealth-only stimulant initiations per 100,000 enrollees per month and an immediate level reduction of 53.5 in-person initiations per 100,000 enrollees per month. Key subgroups, including young adult and female enrollees, used telehealth for stimulant initiations at least as much as the overall Medicaid/CHIP sample. Still, total initiation rates during the public health emergency remained below pre–public health emergency levels through December 2022. These findings may inform considerations about extending telehealth flexibilities, showing that among Medicaid/CHIP enrollees, telehealth compensated for much of the pre–public health emergency levels of in-person stimulant initiations, but it did not appear to contribute to stimulant overprescribing that could elevate risks for misuse and diversion.