Analysts call for research into quality of telehealth care

As telehealth adoption takes off in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, research is lacking into telehealth’s ability to improve access, lower costs and effect quality measures such as readmission rates and emergency department use. Quality analysts and health systems leaders told Modern Healthcare the data emerging from the pandemic and the possibility of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services extending current telehealth reimbursement policies set the stage for future research. Sources also noted health systems will be challenged to compare the effects of telehealth and in-person medical visits given diverse patient characteristics and other compounding factors. The National Quality Forum has yet to endorse a single telehealth-specific measure, the article noted. (Modern Healthcare story, 6/18/20)