The COVID-19 pandemic made telehealth grow quickly. Since then, telehealth use has stayed higher than before the pandemic. At the American Telemedicine Association’s 25th Annual Conference and Expo (ATA2021), people said that what we learned in 2020 helps virtual care keep growing. Dr. Joe Kvedar from Mass General Brigham said the pandemic showed that virtual care works and is needed. It is now a regular way to get care, not just for emergencies.
One main idea is to balance care that is partly online and partly in person. Hospitals and clinics try to mix these two ways smoothly. Virtual-first groups focus on online visits first. They have some struggles like fitting telehealth into their usual work and keeping patients involved. But they also see benefits like easier access and lower costs.
For clinic managers and IT teams, this means buying telehealth software that is flexible. These systems should help with scheduling, notes, talking to patients, and making clinical decisions in different care setups.
Insurance companies play a big role in making telehealth grow. They help by covering telehealth for Medicaid and Medicare people. At ATA2021, Dr. Sree Chaguturu from CVS/Caremark talked about programs that pay for telehealth and change how doctors get paid to encourage more virtual care.
Employers also help telehealth grow. Kate Brown from Mercer said companies add telehealth to employee benefits to save money and keep workers healthy. By giving workers easy virtual care, employers can help them stay well and miss less work. Clinic managers may work with these employer programs or create services that appeal to employees.
As telehealth grows, people worry about fairness in health care. The ATA made a toolkit to help fix health gaps using telehealth. Telehealth can help people in rural and poor areas get care, but problems like lack of technology and digital skills must be fixed. Otherwise, some people may get left behind.
Experts like Dr. Sylvia Romm suggest making easy-to-use platforms and working with community groups to close this gap. IT managers should pick user-friendly tools and teach patients how to use them. Also, offering access by phone as well as computers or smartphones is important.
Rules and laws are still changing telehealth in the U.S. After emergency rules during the pandemic, many states and the federal government are now making permanent policies. These cover things like license rules, payment fairness, patient privacy, and who can provide telehealth.
At the MassMEDIC Regulatory, Payment, and Policy Conference, speakers talked about how FDA and CMS rules affect telehealth and medical devices. They said rules from these groups sometimes do not match up, which can slow down new technology. Companies and doctors must be careful to work through these differences to bring new tools to patients quickly.
Another key policy area is keeping telehealth payment policies in federal budgets like the FY26 minibus. Both political parties support continuing wider telehealth coverage. This support helps telehealth last long term.
Clinic owners should keep up with their state’s telemedicine laws, watch for changes in licensing between states, and follow payment rules. Doing this helps them offer telehealth and get paid properly.
Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and hospital-at-home care are changing fast. Wearables and monitoring devices let doctors watch patients’ chronic diseases, vital signs, and activity live.
Important points are how well technology fits with clinical systems and workflows. Paula Norbom, CEO of Talencio, says smooth data flow into electronic health records (EHRs) helps reduce provider overload and support better decisions.
The Hospital @ Home Leadership Summit 2025 shared ways to run hospital-at-home programs across the country. They talked about workflows, command centers, rural access, and using AI to pick patients. Experts from Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Tampa General told stories of better patient results with these models.
Money topics included payment at the same level as hospitals and value-based payments. Clinic managers need to understand these payments and follow rules for documentation and billing to support hospital-at-home care.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are becoming more common in telehealth. AI helps not only in diagnosing but also in making operations smoother and improving patient interaction.
Telehealth providers must follow rules to verify patient identity safely. AI provides real-time checks during visits, which lowers errors and effort. The American Telemedicine Association says these tools help with compliance and make front-office tasks easier.
AI platforms support digital therapies, such as managing chronic diseases and mental health care. CaryHealth shows how AI can boost patient engagement and make pharmacy and therapy work better. This makes services easier to use and more efficient.
Companies like Simbo AI use automation for phone calls, scheduling, and answering services. This reduces the workload on medical staff. Staff can then focus more on patient care instead of repetitive tasks.
Automated calls can handle patient questions, reminders, prescription refills, and follow-ups. They work outside office hours and help reduce missed appointments and mistakes.
AI helps healthcare managers keep up with changing telehealth laws by tracking updates and making sure documentation meets rules. MassMEDIC talks about AI’s growing role in rule-making and audit preparation.
AI can handle tasks from scheduling to sending alerts for monitoring. It analyzes data and suggests treatments or care changes with little human work. IT leaders can use this to build smarter systems that reduce workload and improve care quality.
These steps will help clinics serve patients better through telehealth and stay competitive in a changing healthcare world.
The ATA is dedicated to promoting telehealth as a means to provide safe, affordable, and appropriate care, enhancing the healthcare system’s ability to serve more people effectively.
The ATA provides a toolkit aimed at addressing health disparities via telehealth, including maps and calculators to assess digital infrastructure and social value.
Research is crucial for advancing knowledge and innovation, enabling the expansion of quality care through technology-enabled initiatives.
The ATA sent a letter supporting expanded remote patient monitoring access in Colorado, advocating for improved healthcare delivery.
The ATA has initiated programs and webinars focused on accelerating the adoption of digital therapeutics, emphasizing the integration of AI to enhance patient experiences.
Verifying patient identities efficiently is vital to ensure compliance with regulations like HIPAA and prevent fraud, which challenges traditional manual methods.
The ATA launched the Virtual FoodCare Coalition to integrate nutrition into healthcare, enhancing patient wellness through telehealth platforms.
The ATA aims to provide education and resources to seamlessly integrate virtual care into value-based delivery models, ensuring effective healthcare practices.
The ATA works with a diverse range of entities, including healthcare delivery systems, academic institutions, technology providers, and payers to promote telehealth.
The ATA organizes events like the ATA Insights Summit and policy conferences to address technology adoption, regulatory updates, and digital therapeutic reimbursement.
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