The Need And Benefit of Implementing Telemedicine in Clinical Practice

The COVID-19 pandemic and recent improvements in both technology (including remote monitoring of vitals, body weight, pulse, blood pressure, and glycemia), as well as significant changes in government policies and insurance coverage, make this an ideal time for endocrinologists to fully embrace telemedicine into their practices. [...]we needed to make every effort possible to provide the optimal care to our patients with diabetes, controlling their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and associated risk factors during this pandemic. Of all the patients contacted, 80% of those contacted agreed to a virtual visit; (4), The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Ohio State Medical Board, and Cleveland Clinic (through our Legal department) approved the possibility of offering virtual visits to new patients in Ohio and also across state lines; (5), Our Information Technology Department incorporated new billing codes in our Epic electronic medical record system to facilitate proper billing of virtual visits to CMS, and other third party payers agreed to reimburse for this type of care too. Even though it is too early to have a clear understanding of the financial impact of COVID-19, the fact that we have been maintaining close to 90% of our patient interactions, suggests that we are not only operating in the best interests of our patients, but also working to maintain a level of fiscal responsibility to our organization; (6), We also had the opportunity to offer telephone encounters if patients did not have the capability (or knowledge) to connect to our virtual care platform or a smart phone that enabled both audio and visual elements; (7), The federal government and the State of Ohio recently relaxed standards for prescribing controlled substances during this pandemic.