During the annual American Medical Association (AMA) meeting, the AMA voted to approve a list of guiding principles for ensuring the appropriate coverage and payment for telemedicine services. The principles aim to help foster innovation in the use of telemedicine, protect the patient-physician relationship, and promote improved care coordination and communication with medical homes.
The guiding principles stem from a policy report developed by the AMA’s Council on Medical Services addressing coverage and payment for telemedicine. It also outlined current coverage and telemedicine payment rules, a summary of specialty society practice guidelines and position statements on telemedicine, plus case studies.
According to AMA President Robert M. Wah, M.D., “This new policy establishes a foundation for physicians to utilize telemedicine to help maintain an ongoing relationship with their patients and as a means to enhance follow-up care, better coordination of care, and better management of chronic conditions.
For more information, go to www.ama-assn.org.