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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Telehealth

Jul 1, 2024 - The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is allowing an additional 30 days for comments on proposed updates to the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) – Household and Medical Provider Components (MEPS-HC). Proposed changes include wording changes that will help identify telehealth utilization and access, as well as maintain consistency between Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems 5.1 and MEPS-HC questionnaire items. Comments are due by July 31, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Jun 26, 2024 - Discusses Pennsylvania legislation which will require public and private insurers to cover telehealth services. Notes the importance of telehealth for ensuring access to healthcare services in rural Pennsylvania, where 15 hospitals have closed in the last 5 years.
Source: The Center Square
Jun 23, 2024 - Highlights the impacts of a tele-ICU program connecting patients and providers at Whitfield Regional Hospital in rural west Alabama to providers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Describes how the program has reduced the need to transport patients out of the community for care, which can strain rural families and complicate follow-up care.
Source: AL.com
Jun 20, 2024 - Features the perspectives of rural and tribal healthcare providers on rural health challenges and disparities. Explores possible solutions including increased funding, expanded telehealth services, and mobile clinics. Highlights the role of partnerships and community collaboration in providing care for South Dakotans living in rural and tribal areas.
Source: South Dakota News Watch
Jun 11, 2024 - Describes the use of virtual reality tools in telehealth to accommodate rural veterans, among others, in pain management.
Source: VA News
Jun 5, 2024 - Presents overview of a New York state program that offered reimbursement for school-based telehealth services from 2017 through 2021. Describes the impact of the program on rural students and school districts, and current efforts by legislators to secure additional funding for the program.
Source: New York Focus
May 28, 2024 - PCORI invites organizations and individuals to submit comments on draft reports regarding the evidence base for audio-based care by July 11, 2024. The three draft reports cover audio-based care for diabetes, mental health, and other chronic conditions, with implications for rural populations.
Source: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
May 28, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) will hold virtual listening sessions to obtain feedback from stakeholders and other interested parties about the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program. The purpose of the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program grant program is to encourage and improve telemedicine services and distance learning services in rural areas through the use of telecommunications, computer networks, and related advanced technologies by students, teachers, medical professionals, and rural residents. Listening sessions will be held on June 11, 2024, and June 18, 2024, from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern each day. Registration is required.
Source: Federal Register
Related funding: Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program Grants
May 24, 2024 - Notice of direct final rule from the Department of Defense Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (ASD(HA)) removing certain temporary regulation changes put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that were automatically terminated by the end of the President's national emergency and the associated Health and Human Services (HHS) Public Health Emergency (PHE). Temporary provisions being removed by this rule include a waiver of the requirement for a three-day prior hospital stay before admission to a skilled nursing facility; waiver of certain acute care hospital requirements for temporary hospitals and freestanding ambulatory surgery centers; a waiver of certain interstate and international licensing requirements for individual professional providers; and more. If adverse comments are received, DOD will withdraw this rule and issue a proposed rule. Otherwise, this rule is effective on August 2, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
May 23, 2024 - Highlights a college class project that developed a method for sharing health data through a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN), a form of low-frequency radio that could allow remote monitoring for patients in areas without cellular or broadband access. Discusses implications for rural patients, the need for patient privacy, and the value of students working with community partners to innovate solutions to real-world problems.
Source: Cornell Chronicle