AMDA POLICY ON TELEMEDICINE

APPROVED ON OCTOBER 25, 2018

WHEREAS, CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) authorized virtual clinical visits and payments for such services under the new Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Quality Payment Program (QPP) announced in July 2018,

AND WHEREAS, CMS and numerous participating Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) have generated savings and created efficiencies and better outcomes, including a reduction in avoidable rehospitalizations in post-acute care of Medicare recipients by way of Medicare innovation programs (CMMI), including use of telemedicine and increased availability of medical practitioners onsite,

AND WHEREAS, CMS has restricted the number of telemedicine encounters allowed per Medicare beneficiary to one per month, even as there is demonstrable benefit of such visits for patients who are frail, elderly and have multiple chronic and complex medical care needs along with a lack of ready and timely access to clinical practitioners,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine advocate for removal of arbitrary limits on telemedicine visits by medical practitioners in nursing facilities and instead base them purely on medical necessity, and collaborate with the American Medical Association to effect a change in Medicare’s policy regarding this matter under the provisions of the PFS and QPP,

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOVED, that AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine collaborate with the American Medical Association to influence Congress to broaden the scope of telemedicine care models in post-acute and long-term care and authorize payment mechanisms for models that are evidence based and relevant to post-acute and longterm care, and continue to engage primary care physicians and practitioners in the care of their patients.

Click here for report details (see pp 17-18) from the American Medical Association.