While CMS has not announced any permanent policy changes, provisions to expand telehealth are likely to continue long-term, with many hospice leaders and advocates in full support. Hospices will have to work out several kinks as they navigate the telehealth landscape post-COVID-19. During this period of national disaster, the U.S. Department of Health and Human […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has hindered some of the hands-on patient care that hospices deliver. While some hospices were well-positioned to integrate and increase technology utilization into a wider scope of services, others have hit obstacles. When the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced temporary waivers on requirements last month, expanding the allowable […]
Hospice and palliative care providers are exploring new methods and technologies to meet the needs of patients in remote rural areas. Rural families have less access to hospice care programs than people in more concentrated populations, according to a 2015 study. Rural counties are less likely to have a Medicare-certified hospice than urban counties, and […]
Telemedicine is becoming increasingly important in hospice care for communities nationwide, but the technology, increasingly called “telehospice,” is making its biggest impact in rural areas where clinicians may have to travel significant distances to reach the patient. Telehospice isn’t new, but it is rapidly expanding. The University of Kansas Medical Center piloted the first telehospice […]