COLUMBIA, SC (WACH) — The South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) has issued almost $30 million in grants for projects to expand broadband internet connection in rural areas.
The ORS has issued notice to proceed to 16 different internet providers in 22 counties across the state of South Carolina.
Projects were awarded to Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Chester, Chesterfield, Fairfield, Georgetown, Hampton, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Marion, Marlboro, Newberry, Orangeburg, and Williamsburg.
The first construction reports are expected by mid-October and all projects are scheduled to be completed by October 2022.
The 1747-page draft, released this week, proposes to make permanent some provisions enacted years to address the coronavirus pandemic, while continuing most until at least Dec. 23, 2023 “so that there is a glide path to evaluate whether the services should be permanently added to the telehealth list following the COVID-19 PHE (Public Health Emergency).”
CMS is proposing to eliminate geographic restrictions on telemental health coverage and to make the patient’s home an originating site, as long as patient and telemental health provider meet in-person within six months of beginning telehealth services and at least once every six months after.
“We are seeking comment on whether a different interval may be necessary or appropriate for mental health services furnished through audio-only communication technology,” the agency said in a press release. “We are also seeking comment on how to address scenarios where a physician or practitioner of the same specialty/subspecialty in the same group may need to furnish a mental health service due to unavailability of the beneficiary’s regular practitioner.”
As for audio-only telehealth, CMS is proposing to amend its requirements for interactive telecommunications systems, which now focus on real-time, two-way, audio-visual telemedicine technology, to include audio-only telehealth when used for the diagnosis, evaluation or treatment of mental health issues in the patient’s home.
“CMS is proposing to limit the use of an audio-only interactive telecommunications system to mental health services furnished by practitioners who have the capability to furnish two-way, audio/video communications, but where the beneficiary is not capable of using, or does not consent to, the use of two-way, audio/video technology,” the agency said. “CMS is also proposing to require use of a new modifier for services furnished using audio-only communications, which would serve to certify that the practitioner had the capability to provide two-way, audio/video technology, but instead, used audio-only technology due to beneficiary choice or limitations.”
“CMS is also soliciting comment on: (1) whether additional documentation should be required in the patient’s medical record to support the clinical appropriateness of audio-only telehealth; (2) whether or not we should preclude audio-only telehealth for some high-level services, such as level 4 or 5 E/M visit codes or psychotherapy with crisis; and (3) any additional guardrails we should consider putting in place in order to minimize program integrity and patient safety concerns,” CMS added.
In addition, CMS plans on expanding Medicare coverage for telemental health services delivered by federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics (RHCs). Neither are designated by CMS as a distant site practitioner for telehealth, but the agency is proposing to allow coverage for mental healthcare services furnished by real-time telecommunication technology, including audio-only telehealth.
As far as remote patient monitoring coverage goes, CMS said it is “engaged in an ongoing review of payment for E/M visit code sets.” Changes highlighted in the CMS press release don’t factor into RPM coverage, and RPM experts are still poring over the document to ascertain whether more coverage is on the horizon.
Comments on the proposed rules are due by September 13.
A five-year analysis of outpatient visits at a Pacific Northwest health system found that a shift to telehealth helped to dramatically reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.
– New research from a trio of healthcare’s heavy hitters indicates telehealth is also good for the environment.
In what’s being billed as the first large-scale study in the US, researchers from Kaiser Permanente, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School are reporting that connected health platforms dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, making those services as healthy for the environment as they are for patients.
The study, published online in The Journal of Climate Change and Health, attributes most of the results to the adoption of telehealth during the coronavirus pandemic, when in-person visits dropped sharply and both providers and payers limited their travel time. But the researchers noted that any telehealth service offers an opportunity to reduce stress on the environment.
“The rapid and widespread adoption of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant environmental health benefits, primarily through reduction in transportation-associated emissions,” the study concluded. “If the US healthcare system were to maintain or expand upon current levels of telehealth utilization, additional reductions in GHG emissions would potentially be achieved through impacts on practice design. Ambulatory visit carbon intensity would be an effective way to measure these changes.”
The researchers focused on Kaiser Permanente Northwest serving some 600,000 people in Oregon and southwest Washington. Working with colleagues from BID and Harvard, they tracked transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for outpatient visits – including primary care, specialty care and mental healthcare – from 2015 to 2020. In all, they charted 15.6 million outpatient visits, a 15.9 percent overall and an average increase of 3.2 percent per year.
That all changed with COVID-19, which saw in-person outpatient visits drop 46.2 percent in 2020, while telehealth visits – which had been growing 39.3 percent each year – surged 108,5 percent.
The researchers pointed out that the reduction in GHG emissions isn’t tied to a decline in healthcare visits, since those visits were still happening online. And they said changes in fuel efficiency or transportation mode share would have a minimal effect.
Likewise, the reduction in GHG emissions caused by a shift to telehealth outweighs any increase in emissions associated with the use of telemedicine equipment, either by patients at home or providers at hospitals and medical offices. And the study may even by underestimating GHG emission reductions, as it didn’t account for providers working from home during the pandemic.
As part of the study, the research team developed a new metric that will help future projects measure an outpatient facility’s environmental footprint.
While touted as the largest study of its kind, it isn’t the first to take into account the environmental benefits of telehealth. Earlier this year, CommonSpirit Health, a Chicago-based network encompassing some 700 care sites and 142 hospitals in 21 states, issued an Earth Day press release estimating that its connected health platform had reduced announce GHG emissions in a year to equal 250,000 trees planted and more than 3,000 cars removed from roadways.
And in 2017, the American Telemedicine Association launched a task force, organized by then-president Peter Yellowlees, to study how telemedicine might be affecting climate change and global warming. The effort was spurred by a study from the University of California at Davis – where Yellowlees is a professor of clinical psychiatry – that found that its telehealth program saved patients and clinicians 5 million miles of travel over 18 years, amounting to about nine years in travel time and $3 million in costs, and helped UC Davis reduce nearly 2,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, 50 metric tons of carbon monoxide, 3.7 metric tons of nitrogen oxides and 5.5 metric tons of volatile organic compounds.
“Telemedicine and health information technology help save time, energy, raw materials (such as paper and plastic), and fuel, thereby lowering the carbon footprint of the health industry,” Yellowlees wrote in a 2010 paper titled Telemedicine Can Make Healthcare Greener. “By implementing green practices, for instance, by engaging in carbon credit programs, the health industry could benefit financially as well as reduce its negative impact on the health of our planet.”
– A pair of Senators has re-introduced proposed legislation aimed at give seniors better access to mHealth and telehealth tools for diabetes care management.
The Improving Medicare Beneficiary Access to Innovative Diabetes Technologies Act, filed earlier this month by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), takes aim at the growing field of connected health devices and platforms for those living with diabetes. It would improve Medicare coverage for such things as implantable continuous glucose monitors, insulin dosing systems, mHealth apps and platforms and the artificial pancreas.
According to the American Diabetes Association, some 34.2 million Americans are living with diabetes, including 7.3 million who are undiagnosed. Of that number, 14.3 million, or 26.8 percent, are seniors.
Healthcare innovators have made significant strides in recent years in developing mHealth and telehealth tools that allow those living with diabetes to monitor their health and collaborate with their care providers. The technology allows providers and patients to manage care around the clock, adjusting medications to address trends, avoid serious health concerns like hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia and improve long-term clinical outcomes.
“Technological advances make diabetes easier to manage,” Collins said in a press release. “The market arrival of cutting-edge diabetes technologies, however, does not immediately benefit patients if older Americans are unable to afford them. I have heard from numerous seniors who, when transitioning from employer-provided insurance to Medicare, were shocked to learn that the technologies they have relied upon for years to manage their diabetes are no longer covered. … Our bill would help ensure that outdated Medicare coverage criteria does not impede access to technologies that will improve care and reduce costs to the health care system as a whole.”
The bill, which was introduced in 2019 by Collins and Shaheen but failed to make it out of committee, would create a task force within the Health and Human Services Department to propose policies on coverage and payment for innovative diabetes technologies and services for seniors. It would report annually to the HHS Secretary and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator on:
Existing Medicare benefit categories under which innovative diabetes technologies and services should be covered;
Changes to Medicare statute and changes to regulations and sub-regulatory guidance for existing benefit categories that would be necessary to accommodate coverage and payment of innovative diabetes technologies and services;
The elimination of other unnecessary burdens that impede access to innovative diabetes technologies and services;
Proposals for a new benefit category for covering certain technologies and services that cannot otherwise be covered through changes to regulations and sub-regulatory guidance for existing benefit categories and specifications for the new benefit category and
Proposals to streamline interagency administrative processes through greater FDA and CMS collaboration that would facilitate prompt approval or clearance and coverage of innovative technologies and services for patients with diabetes.
For LaShawna Nicholson, the journey of motherhood has been full of joyful moments.
“Chance is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Nicholson said. “He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s busy. He keeps me on my toes.”
As a first-time mother, Nicholson said she had a lot of questions throughout her pregnancy and after the birth of her son Chance, who is now two years old. Nicholson said she was grateful for the support of Debbie Brush, a registered nurse with Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System’s Nurse Family Partnership Program. The partnership program connects mothers to a registered nurse who guides the mother through her pregnancy and into the first two years of their child’s life.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses would visit mothers at their homes. But since the start of the pandemic, nurses have used telehealth to connect with mothers.
“With telehealth, it’s been a life-saver for us,” Brush said. “It definitely has opened the doors for us to be able to keep the lines of communication open and to give (mothers) the information that they need, even though we are not able to be in the home.”
Throughout the past year, Brush and Nicholson have connected through Zoom calls to discuss Chance’s developmental milestones. Brush has offered advice on everything from language development to potty training and nap schedules. Nicholson said it helped to know that she could call any time if she had questions.
“I wish everybody could go through what I went through. It was awesome, she was awesome,” Nicholson said. “It was a good experience.”
BAMBERG, SC—Senior citizens aged 60 years and up from Barnwell and Allendale counties recently completed a three-session digital literacy learning program conducted by Palmetto Care Connections (PCC), a state-wide, non-profit telehealth organization.
The program was part of a pilot funded by the Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the S.C. Department on Aging to help 100 seniors who live in rural communities with digital literacy training, a free digital tablet and free cellular service for 12 months.
Senior citizens completed hands-on training using a digital tablet and learned skills such as how to send and receive photos and emails, search the internet for information, connect with family and friends using a virtual face to face app, play games and connect with their doctor for virtual telehealth appointments. PCC will provide ongoing technical support for the seniors who complete the program.
Program participant Eartha Jamison of Blackville said, “These are things I always wanted to learn. This training really advanced me. Now I want to help advance others and teach them things about the internet that they do not know how to do.”
“I’m planning on using telehealth. It’s good to have the opportunity to talk to my doctor without having to go to his office. I want to take some classes now and help someone else,” said Henry Singleton of Allendale.
“I enjoyed the class, liked the people, and could follow instructions they gave. I learned about sending and receiving emails, which is something I didn’t know. It makes me feel real good,” said Leslie Dowling of Blackville. “When I was growing up, I didn’t have any of this. Before this class, I didn’t know how to turn a computer on! I plan to do my banking online, play solitaire and keep in touch with my kids.”
Shawn Hege, Director of Senior Services at Generations Unlimited in Barnwell and Blackville said, “This program was amazing – a great service to our seniors, especially those who need more interaction. Seeing their faces light up when they connected with family and friends was incredible.” He added, “Seeing how you can use telehealth to talk to your doctor gives seniors a sense of security during the COVID pandemic.”
“The South Carolina Department on Aging works with a network of regional and local organizations to develop and manage services that help seniors remain independent in their homes and in their communities. SCDOA is pleased to be a part of the PCC Digital Inclusion pilot program focusing on seniors in five of South Carlina’s rural counties,” said Kay Hightower, SCDOA Senior Consultant, Outreach and Partnership Building.
“It is our hope that this pilot program will be a model of one approach to closing the digital divide in South Carolina,” said Kathy Schwarting, CEO of Palmetto Care Connections (PCC). “While PCC’s focus has traditionally been on serving rural health care providers with telehealth, broadband and technology resources, we have learned that patients need help in connecting to their health care providers. Residents of rural areas not only need internet access, they need access that is affordable and they need a device and knowledge to connect to resources for a better quality of life.”
Seniors from Clarendon, Lower Richland and Williamsburg counties are slated to complete the digital literacy training in the coming weeks as part of the initial pilot program. PCC plans to expand the training for senior and underserved populations throughout the state.
Established in 2010, PCC is a non-profit organization that provides technology, broadband, and telehealth support services to health care providers in rural and underserved areas in S.C. PCC received the National Cooperative of Health Network Association’s 2021 Outstanding Health Network of the Year award. PCC co-chairs the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance, along with the Medical University of South Carolina, serving as an advocate for rural providers and partnering with organizations to improve health care access and delivery for all South Carolinians.
Senior Digital Literacy Training – Blackville Group One From Left to Right: Gloria Harvey (From Allendale), Edith Ridling, Vermell Thompson, Marcella Raysor, Liller Hamilton, Juliett Williams, Harriett McKnight, Jodeanna Hay, Earnestine Gloster, Instructor Carroll Brabham, and Eartha Betty Jamison
Senior Digital Literacy Training – Blackville Group Two From Left to Right: Rose Baxter, Lillie Harrison, Catherine Mack, Catherine Walker, Kenneth Mack, Lesley Dowling, Evelyn Coker (Blackville CDC and maven of the community) and Ada Felton.
Senior Digital Literacy Training – Allendale Group One Back Row: Enoch Robinson, Georgia Williams, Henry Singleton, Glinda Smith and Bernice Gill Front Row: Jannette Bennett, Mamie Peeples, Geraldine Cohen, Helen Bowers, Mary Edwards and Lavonia Brodus.
Senior Digital Literacy Training – Allendale Group Two Back Row: Jacqueline Adams, Vermelle Walker, Edmund Gill, Vivian Harvey, Elizabeth Joyner and Vernie Harney Front Row: Carolyn Gilbert, Lizzie Patterson, Mamie Morrell and Georgia Holmes.
At its June 17 Open Meeting, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) adopted a Second Report and Order for its Connected Care Pilot Program, which provides administrative guidance that will enable award recipients to begin their pilot projects. On the same day, it announced its second set of projects awarded support through the Pilot Program.
The Connected Care Pilot was established in April 2020 to make up to $100 million in Universal Service Fund support available over three years for selected projects to defray costs for projects that will bring broadband connectivity and other connected care information services to eligible health care providers. The program is primarily aimed at supporting services that will benefit veterans and low-income patients. It is a longer term initiative than the short-term COVID-19 Telehealth Program designed to provide financial support for telehealth services, which are expected to remain in demand after the pandemic fully abates.
Second Report & Order
The Second Report and Order, which was released on June 21, 2021, builds on the administrative framework the FCC laid out when it established the Pilot Program and a September 2020 Public Notice that provided initial guidance to applicants. It specifically gives participants guidance on eligible services, funding rules and procedures, and data reporting requirements so they can begin their projects.
Eligible Services – The FCC previously established that the Pilot Program will cover up to 85% of the costs for eligible services, which include patient broadband Internet access services, health care provider broadband data connections, connected care information services, and certain network equipment. Health care providers are required to cover the remaining 15% of the costs and any ineligible expenses. The Second Report & Order clarifies that the Pilot Program will reimburse network equipment purchases necessary to make already-available broadband services functional and to enable health care providers to make connected care information services functional, even if the Pilot Program is not directly supporting the costs of those services. The equipment must be purchased either because of an increase in Internet traffic caused by the connected care services or because the equipment would be primarily used for connected care information services. This approach is more expansive than the Rural Health Care Program’s reimbursement framework. Pilot Program funds cannot be used to support network deployment, internal connections, or connectivity between health care provider sites, and are also prohibited for end-user connected devices, medical equipment, health care provider administrative costs, personnel costs, and other expenses.
Funding Rules and Procedures – The Pilot Program’s funding rules and procedures largely mirror those of the Rural HealthCare (“RHC”) Program. Participants need to follow the same competitive bidding rules for the services they are seeking to procure, including rules to ensure the bidding is fair and open and the requirement to select the most cost-effective option. Participants will also need to submit a Request for Funding to the Universal Service Administrative Company (“USAC”), which will evaluate service eligibility and issue a funding commitment decision. Just as with the RHC Program, Pilot Program participants will be able to make site and service substitutions. One notable difference is that the Pilot Program will not follow the typical July 1 to June 30 funding period, and participants will instead need to follow dates and deadlines provided by the FCC or USAC in correspondence or on their websites. The FCC also waived the procedural rule established in the First Report & Order that invoices be submitted monthly, which the agency thought might pose an undue administrative burden for some Pilot Program participants and would be difficult to enforce. Participants can only submit invoices for eligible expenses incurred within three years from the date their projects first begin service and no later than June 30, 2025.
Data Reporting Requirements – Pilot programs established by the FCC often become permanent if they are successful, and as part of the Connected Care Pilot Program, the FCC will study how connected care can become a permanent part of the Universal Service Fund. To this end, the FCC established three goals for the Pilot Program—determining how USF support can be used to: (1) improve health outcomes through connected care; (2) reduce health care costs for patients, facilities, and the health care system; and (3) support the trend towards connected care everywhere. To help evaluate the Pilot Program, the Second Report & Order directs participants to submit three annual reports to the FCC with anonymized, aggregated data. The final report must summarize final results and include explanations of whether the goals of the participant’s project were met and how the project served the FCC’s Pilot Program goals. The FCC’s Wireline Bureau will use the data to prepare a final report at the conclusion of the Pilot Program.
Award Recipients
The Connected Care Program is open to eligible rural non-profit and public health care providers and such non-rural providers that are part of a consortium, including post-secondary educational institutions, community health centers, local health departments or agencies, community mental health centers, not-for-profit hospitals, rural health clinics, skilled nursing facilities, and consortia of health care providers consisting of one or more of these entities.
From the over 200 Pilot Program applications the FCC received, it has so far awarded over $57 million in funding for 59 pilot projects in 30 states plus Washington, DC, leaving nearly $43 million for future project selections. The FCC announced its initial set of 14 projects, awarding $26.5 million in support, on January 15, 2021, and the second set of 36 projects, requesting $31 million in support, on June 17, 2021. It has prioritized projects that will serve a high number of patients in the veteran and low-income populations, serve areas most in need of support for connected care, treat many of the health conditions targeted by the program, and use products and services eligible for support.
FLORENCE, S.C. − The Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation Library will host SC Thrive on the second floor on Thursday July 1; Thursday, July 8; and Thursday, July 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to help eligible residents fill out applications for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.
The $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program provides a discount of up to a $50 per month toward broadband service for eligible households. The benefit also provides up to a $100 per household discount toward a one-time purchase of a computer, laptop, or tablet if the household contributes more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase through a participating broadband provider.
A household is eligible if one member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:
Has an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid or the FCC’s Lifeline program.
Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision, in the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year.
Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year.
Experienced a substantial loss of income through job loss or furlough since February 29, 2020, and the household had a total income in 2020 at or below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers.
Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing low-income or COVID-19 program.
The Emergency Broadband Benefit enrollment began on May 12, 2021. Eligible households can enroll through a participating broadband provider or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) using an online or mail-in application. Additional information about the Emergency Broadband Benefit is available at www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or by calling 833-511-0311 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. any day of the week
The Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation Library is located at 509 S. Dargan Street in Florence.
BAMBERG, SC—Palmetto Care Connections (PCC), a non-profit telehealth organization, was recently awarded the National Cooperative of Health Networks Association’s (NCHN) 2021 Outstanding Health Network award.
The NCHN Outstanding Health Network of the Year Award recognizes any network or entire network organization that has improved access to health services in its service area and coordination of resources for network members through innovative, comprehensive approaches.
“Palmetto Care Connections was established in 2010 to improve access to care in rural and underserved communities by infusing health care services through telehealth technologies. This was important because of increasing difficulties in recruiting providers of rural areas and the financial challenges facing many small hospitals. Over the years, Palmetto Care Connections has grown into a statewide telehealth network and the resulting scope of activities has continued to expand,” said NCHN Executive Director Linda K. Weiss.
“The leader of the South Carolina broadband consortium, Palmetto Care Connections assists health care providers in receiving broadband savings through the Federal Communication Commission’s Healthcare Connect Fund program. Since 2013, they have helped providers save more than $25 million in broadband costs. The network recently received a $17million FCC commitment to fund broadband for its consortium members over the next three years. These funds represent actual savings for health care providers,” said Weiss.
“Palmetto Care Connections co-chairs the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance, along with the Medical University of South Carolina, serving as an advocate for rural providers and partnering with organizations to improve health care access and delivery for all South Carolinians,” said Weiss.
“Palmetto Care Connections has been a member of NCHN since its inception and CEO Kathy Schwarting has been an active participant of the Association’s activities and events. On behalf the National Cooperative of Health Networks Association, I congratulate Palmetto Care Connections on receiving the 2021 Outstanding Health Network award,” said Weiss.
Incorporated in 1995, NCHN has developed into a nationally recognized professional membership organization for all types and sizes of health networks across the nation. NCHN is governed by an elected volunteer Board of Directors. Member programs, benefits, and educational offerings are developed and provided by the members through participation on a variety of committees. Each spring, NCHN provides a two and a half-day educational conference for network leaders.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and its National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory recently released a new evidence-based resource guide titled, Telehealth for the Treatment of Serious Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders, to support implementation of telehealth across diverse mental health and substance use disorder treatment settings. The guide examines the current telehealth landscape, including evidence on effectiveness and examples of programs that have integrated telehealth modalities (live-video, telephone, and web-based applications) for the treatment of serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders (SUDs). Also included is guidance and resources for evaluating and implementing best practices which are presented across a continuum of services, such as screening and assessment, treatment, medication management, care management, recovery support, and crisis services.
The report speaks to how telehealth is known to improve access to care during emergencies and in rural and underserved areas, but stresses that implementation should be expanded outside of such situations and integrated into an organization’s standard practices to improve provider and patient communication, satisfaction, timeliness and continuity of care. The authors highlight how this is increasingly important when it comes to mental health issues, which impact millions of Americans that often face unique treatment gaps and barriers. Ultimately, it is suggested that with the right resources and upfront work, the evidence shows telehealth has the capability to address these barriers, improve health outcomes and care coordination, decrease costs and reduce health disparities.
Notable findings related to telehealth use and mental health include:
Telehealth use doubled from 14% to 28% between 2016 and 2019
Telehealth visits for mental health increased 556% between March 11 and April 22, 2020
SUD treatment via telehealth increased from 13.5% to 17.4% between 2016 and 2019
Telehealth use increased 425% for mental health appointments among rural Medicare beneficiaries between 2010 and 2017
The guide presents specific strategies to increase patient access and comfort using telehealth, such as providing devices to those that need them and offering trial sessions to address any technological challenges. It is also suggested that providers first screen patients for their willingness and readiness to receive care via telehealth, as it may not be appropriate for some patients. Additionally, telephone should be encouraged when it reduces prior structural and institutional barriers that have made contacting underserved communities difficult. The guide also offers strategies to increase provider comfort using telehealth, such as:
trainings and designating certain staff to support and evaluate its use
how to create a similar environment to that of an in-person visit for patients
addressing organizational infrastructure issues
Understanding and knowledge of relevant and ever-evolving regulatory and reimbursement policies is included as an important consideration as well, to which the authors offer a variety of tracking resources, including the policy finder tool on CCHP’s new website.
Regardless of where state and federal telehealth policies land, the guide includes a number of telehealth implementation and outcome evaluation tools that will continue to assist treatment providers and organizations seeking to increase access to mental health services via telehealth. Additional resources can be accessed on the SAMHSA website. For more information read the full SAMHSA resource guide.
Palmetto Care Connections (PCC) is the telehealth network for South Carolina that offers telehealth support services to rural and underserved health care providers.
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