Most Physicians Not Aware of CMS’s Expanded Virtual Care Provisions, Survey Finds

Jan. 7, 2019
Two-thirds of physicians are not aware of recent changes by CMS to expand reimbursement for virtual care, but 63 percent said the increased telemedicine reimbursement would speed up implementation, adoption and use of telemedicine.

For the first time, starting in 2019, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will reimburse healthcare providers for certain virtual care visits with patients, regardless of the patient’s location—a move that has drawn praise from many healthcare leaders as helping to advance telehealth.

On Nov. 1, CMS published its final rule providing updates to the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and calendar-year 2019 Quality Payment Program (QPP), and while there were no big surprises as many of CMS’ changes and updates were originally proposed in the agency’s draft rule, published back in July, healthcare industry groups quickly praised the virtual visit provisions contained in the final rule—specifically, reimbursing doctors for virtual check-ins, remote image evaluation, and other technology-enabled services.

CMS officials said that provisions in the CY 2019 Physician Fee Schedule would support access to care using telecommunications technology. Under the final rule, Medicare will pay providers for new communication technology-based services, such as brief check-ins between patients and practitioners, and pay separately for evaluation of remote pre-recorded images and/or video. CMS is also expanding the list of Medicare-covered telehealth services.

However, a recent Reaction Data survey found that two-thirds (67 percent) of physicians and health IT leaders are not aware of CMS’s expanded telemedicine reimbursement announcement. But, 63 percent said the increased telemedicine reimbursement would speed up implementation, adoption and use of telemedicine. Thirty-seven percent said the CMS reimbursement changes would have no impact on adoption timelines.

Reaction Data recently surveyed physicians at community hospitals, academic medical centers, specialty clinics and integrate delivery networks, to gauge who is aware of the CMS news, whether telemedicine is continuing to gather steam, what the adoption rates are and what benefits they are seeing. Eighty percent of respondents were physicians, 6 percent were CIOs, four percent were It managers, four percent were chief nursing officers and 3 percent were directors of information technology.

Half of respondents (53 percent) have not yet adopted a telemedicine solution, while 23 percent have contracted with a telemedicine software/service provider and 24 percent are using a homegrown solution.

Sponsored Recommendations

2024's Healthcare Buyer Journey: New Research and Insights

Join us on April 30th for a webinar unveiling insights from the latest study on the Healthcare IT Buying Journey! Discover evolving challenges, effective health data management...

Improving care with AI-powered solutions

Don't miss our April 23rd webinar delving into the transformative impact of AI-powered solutions on healthcare. Join industry leaders Reid Conant and Dr. Patrick McGill as they...

Shield your health system against cyber threats

You won't want to miss out on this imperative April 4th webinar about how you can protect your healthcare organization. Join us to learn how to fortify your health system against...

Healthcare Trends 2024: Trends & Strategies for Future Success

Explore the future of healthcare in 2024 with insights from the Healthcare Industry Trends Report. Stay ahead of the curve as we delve into the latest industry developments and...