Maui AgeWave’s ‘News Stand’ Page is a place for us to share our ideas and opinions! 

We will post our own views and ideas, as well as share cool information about the

growing industry of tele-care (with special emphasis on Hawaii.)

AMA Adopts Position Officially Encouraging Use of - and Reimbursement for Telehealth

Systems

“Electronic devices can help deliver care in a way that is especially vital in remote areas,” says Barbara L.

McAneny, MD, an Albuquerque oncologist and chair of the American Medical Association’s Council on

Medical Service. “We want insurers and Medicare to recognize this is going to be a true form of health care

delivery, not just a convenience.”

McAneny’s committee submitted a report to that effect to the 159th Annual Meeting of the AMA House of

Delegates in Chicago.  The house adopted the report as an official AMA stance, including the statement, “All

non-face-to-face electronic visits should be adequately paid for.”

The new policy directs the AMA to promote “Pilot Projects of the innovative payment models, structured to

include incentive payments for the use of elecronic communications such as web portals, remote patient

monitoring, real-time virtual visits and e-mail and telephone communications.”

More...www.connected-health.org

                                              

 

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Makawao, HI - After reading the new 2010 version of “Medicine and You”, I must conclude that the answer is “no”. 

In a booklet of 126 pages there is but one paragraph on Telehealth.  Assuming the paragraph is one fourth of the

page, that makes the space allocated to telehealth about .19% of the book.  The content provided is even less

Here is how it works.  “Telehealth includes a limited number of medical or other health services like office visits

and consultations provided using an interactive two-way telecommunications system like real-time audio and video

“Telehealth is available in some rural areas, under certain condition, and only if the patient is located at one of the

following places: a doctor’s office (?), hospital, rural health clinic, federally funded-qualified health center, hospital-

based dialysis facility, skilled nursing facility, or community mental health center”. My first thought is, how many of

The other point that is missed by the policy statement is the omission of consideration being given to a person who

is aging in place (at home) or living at home with a disability.  The policy stated requires the individual to be

transported somewhere else to receive telecare. This, of course, defeats one of the main purposes of

telecare---to eliminate the transport. 

Last, but not least, is the issue of the definition of rural.  The Medicare guideline uses the federal census definition

of Metropolitan area to determine rural areas.  For example, on the Island of Oahu there are no rural areas

because it has a population center of more than 50,000 and therefore the entire county (island) in which it exists is

a metropolitan area.  Contrast this with Maui County which does not have a city of 50,000 or more and hence the

The conclusion must be, If you want to use Medi---Care for Tele--Care, come to Maui where you will be eligible if

Larry D. Carter, PHD

Partner, Maui AgeWave

Does Medi---Care about Tele---Care at Home?

This week's lead story is about a report that should be required reading for every agency. Judge me guilty

of hyperbole if you must but the Medicare cuts looming in the fallout from the healthcare reform debate

clearly indicate it is now time for our industry to be heard. This report provides you the bullhorn you have

been waiting for. Here is the executive summary but be sure to also read our lead article and download

is not "whether or not" but "how much." It needs to be turned so that "whether or not" is back on

reduce Medicare expenditures is to increase home care spending so that you can afford to invest

This is the strongest proof yet that it is time to stop looking at the cost of home health care -- including the

technologies that improve home care delivery -- as an island of activity that does not directly impact the

costs to government and private payers across all care centers. We have known that forever. No one has

yet adequately explained why our elected officials do not understand it as well as we do. Perhaps you

have not been telling them often enough. Perhaps you yourself have not been fully convinced.  Now you

have proof.