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NYS Hep C Telemedicine Workgroup – Meeting Notes
May 15 (10 – 11 AM) via Webinar
In attendance at this meeting: See below notes
Workgroup Chair: Andrew Talal, MD, University at Buffalo, ahtalal@buffalo.edu
Workgroup goals: Short term: Identify, assess, document and disseminate current strategies and opportunities to provide hepatitis C treatment in substance use treatment facilities, via telemedicine. Long-term: Develop a NYS Telehealth network to provide a forum for ongoing learning and sharing of best practices to promote hepatitis B and C care and treatment through telehealth.
Meeting Notes
NYC Health Department Telehealth Implementation Support in NYC in Response to COVID-19
Matt Gannon | Senior Manager, Strategic Projects, NYC REACH, Bureau of Equitable Health Systems – mgannon@health.nyc.gov
- See presentation slides (attached)
- Training Strategy for Providers: webinars, office hours
- Communications: outbound communications
- Technical Assistance: what NYC Reach offers on a 1:1 basis to help practices get rolling
- To join NYC Reach email: nycreach@health.nyc.gov
Discussion: Hepatitis Implementation Experiences
- There are challenges to implementation e.g. the first in-person visit should be waived.
- CMS is contemplating which measures implemented during the pandemic that could be sustained.
- The workgroup gathered recommendations for CMS on measures to keep and improve that are beneficial to patients:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
The NYS Hepatitis Telehealth Workgroup, chaired by Andrew Talal, MD, MPH, has compiled the following recommendations to submit to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to request implementation of regulations to sustain improvements to telemedicine made possible due to COVID19, after the national emergency is officially declared over.
Andrew Talal, MD, MPH, Prof of Medicine, University at Buffalo, has been conducting a 12 site randomized trial throughout New York State of telemedicine compared to offsite referral for hepatitis C management among substance users on methadone sponsored by PCORI. In light of lessons learned as a result of conducting telemedicine evaluations for several years as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic, we would recommend that the following telemedicine regulations be implemented in order to maximize the sustainability of telemedicine.
Recommendations
1.Expand allowable provider and patient access to telemedicine:
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- Eliminate requirement for an initial in-person visit as a prerequisite for telemedicine evaluations. As long as patients are aware who has referred them for a telemedicine evaluation, an initial in person visit should not be required.
- Allow health care providers to provide telemedicine services to new and established patients.
- Patients in all settings, including in their home, not just in rural settings should be able to receive telemedicine services.
2. Expand allowable telemedicine platforms, and refine to ensure patient and provider access and protections:
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- Only HIPAA compliant telehealth delivery platforms should be utilized for telemedicine evaluations. Prior to implementing this measure, assess potential patient access barriers and cost of applications to programs.
- Allow telemedicine services to be delivered via audio-only (telephonic) telemedicine to accommodate patients with less access to computer or smart phone technology, including E+M, behavioral health, education and counseling
- Implement specific measures for patients with limited English proficiency who need an interpreter. Telemedicine “apps” should have functionality for a 3rd party call, or some other way of integrating interpreter service, as minimum criteria.
3. Improve telemedicine billing and reimbursement:
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- Reimburse telemedicine visits at an equivalent rate as in person visits.
- Provide clear guidance and support for telemedicine billing
- Allow healthcare entities to bill as “distant sites,” waiver to allow urban area providers (i.e., non-designated rural areas) to bill for telemedicine service
4. Permit co-administration of medication for treating infectious diseases and substance use disorders via telemedicine:
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- For example: Hepatitis C or HIV treatment should be permitted in conjunction with medication assisted treatment for substance use disorder (buprenorphine, methadone, other medications). Reimbursement for co-administration of these medications should be provided to methadone programs (possible SAMHSA billing code recommendation).
5. Provide support and funding to develop innovative telehealth/telemedicine virtual healthcare delivery models to maximize access and reduce cost.
For further information, please contact Andrew Talal, MD, MPH, SUNY Research Foundation ahtalal@buffalo.edu
Resources
- NYS Telehealth Resources for hepatitis providers – webpage on Hep Free NYC
- Weekly webinar series: Telehealth During the Public Health Emergency: Training for Practices. NYC Health Dept.
Attendance
- Andrew Talal, MD, The Research Foundation for SUNY, ahtalal@buffalo.edu
- Meg Chappell, MPH, Empire Liver Foundation, megchapell@empireliverfoundation.org
- Diana Toussaint Porteous, Bed Stuy Family Health Center dtoussaint@bsfhc.org
- Eli Camhi, Healthcare Consultant, ecamhi@generes.com
- Frank Winter, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, Frank.Winter@cms.hhs.gov
- Jessie Schwartz, RN, MPH, NYC DOHMH, jschwartz2@health.nyc.gov
- Julia Hunter, Binghamton General Hospital, julia.hunter@nyuhs.org
- Kathleen Davis, NP, U of Rochester Medical Center, kathleen_davis@urmc.rochester.edu
- Katy Cook, AHI Health, kcook@ahihealth.org
- Lucy Vega, Hep C Navigator, Bed Stuy Family Health Center, lvega@bsfhc.org
- Nadine Kela-Murphy, MPH, NYC DOHMH, nkelamurphy@health.nyc.gov
- Nirah Johnson, LCSW, NYC DOHMH, njohnso2@health.nyc.gov
- Sandeep Krishnan, MBA, MS, Med Tech International sandeep.krishnan@medtecintl.com
- Sara Lorenz-Taki, MD, Greenwich House, staki@greenwichhouse.org
- Sheila Reynoso, MPH, Montefiore, sreynoso@montefiore.org
- Colleen Flanigan, RN, NYSDOH, colleen.flanigan@health.ny.gov
- Aisha Khan, DO, Hudson River Health Care aikhan@hrhcare.org
- Alvin Chu, MA, MPH, START Treatment and Recovery Centers, achu@startny.org
- Courtney Dower Bronx, MBA, Bronx Lebanon, cdower@bronxleb.org
- Marc Badura, The Research Foundation for SUNY, mbadura@buffalo.edu
- Dan Shappee, AbbVie, daniel.shappee@abbvie.com
- Daanish Shaikh, START Treatment and Recovery Centers, dshaikh@startny.org
- Ramcharan Osherbhoder, Revnue Cycle Manger, START oramcharan@startny.org
- Laura Shannon, Hudson River Healthcare, lshannon@hrhcare.org
- Matt Gannon, NYCDOH mgannon@health.nyc.gov
- Aarathi Nagarajal, MD, Hudson River Healthcare, anagaraja@hrhcare.org
- Darlene Meyer, The Research Foundation for SUNY, dkmeyer@buffalo.edu
