Friday, June 12, 2009

Nursing Home Telemedcine

There has been considerable work in this field for a number of years. Lack of payer reimbursement, especially Medicare, has hindered the growth of nursing home telemedicine, preventing it from being a self-sustaining service. As a result, most applications have been grant funded. Medicare is now reimbursing this service for rural communities , and there is a bill in congress which would expand coverage to the entire country without regard to rural designation status.

I have listed below, links documenting the development of telemedicine in nursing homes:

Employing a Wireless Mobile Solution to Bring
Telemedicine to the Nursing Home Bedside


12/14/2008: Medicare will now pay for nursing home patients to be treated by telemedicine

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Family Medicine Department: Nursing home telehealth system


April 7, 2003: West Texas Rural Nursing Home Telemedicine Network Project-planned

“Direct Telemedicine in a Nursing Home Setting” Rationale – Innovation - Feasibility. Louis Lareng, Monique Savoldelli, Pierre Rumeau

Monday, June 1, 2009

Massachusetts Healthcare/IT related Bills

Massachusetts Healthcare/IT related Bills:


An Act to Promote a Statewide System for Chronic Care Management to Improve Health Care Quality and Contain Costs

Documents & Status: Text of Senate 1279 | Status

If Massachusetts is to contain costs of Medicaid and of the new Health Care Access Reform law without sacrificing quality of care, improved management of individuals with chronic health conditions is essential. The best management of chronic care relies on linkage with technology systems. This bill would establish a statewide strategy for chronic care management. Such a strategy would use the eHealth initiative to develop a chronic care infrastructure, prevention of chronic conditions, and chronic care management program. It would also establish the Chronic Care Management Program in the Executive office of Health and Human Services to promote collaborative strategies for managing chronic diseases among health care professionals and insurers.

See text of the Bill.