Topic Collection: COVID-19 Telemedicine/Virtual Medical Care Resources

This white paper commentary contextualizes findings from two evidence reviews on telehealth.

This document summarizes telehealth flexibilities available during the COVID-19 public health emergency via legislation or regulation. Flexibilities are organized by provider/patient location, eligible providers and facilities, types of services, technologies, and billing, payment, and coverage.

This page includes resources related to the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies for remote healthcare services and information. Resources include information on establishing and managing telehealth services, free courses and webinars, updates on the effects of recent legislation and regulations on telehealth services, handouts, and various articles and links.

This tip sheet describes the use of telehealth and how it has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the full report, access https://files.asprtracie.hhs.gov/documents/aspr-tracie-covid-19-and-telehealth.pdf.

This ASPR TRACIE TA response includes resources specific to telehealth, particularly how it can be used by healthcare professionals to support the management of infectious disease patients while helping other patients avoid exposure.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated community mitigation efforts enacted have altered the delivery of and access to healthcare across the U.S. Healthcare providers are looking for new and innovative ways to deliver patient care to accommodate social distancing and community mitigation measures. The use of telemedicine has grown significantly in recent months. In addition to being used by outpatient providers, telemedicine plays an integral role in Alternate Care Sites (ACS). ACS are one of many alternate care strategies intended to provide additional hospital surge capacity and capability. HHS ASPR and ASPR TRACIE hosted this webinar where speakers discussed operations, management, and lessons learned from using telemedicine in these settings.

Denver Health is a Level 1 Trauma Center and Urban Safety Net hospital with 550 beds and nine federally qualified community health centers located throughout the city. Before the pandemic, the hospital had 227 adult medical surgery/critical care beds, 47 were intensive care unit (ICU)-level beds, and 12 were intermediate care beds. They ran near or at capacity and often experienced adult emergency department boarding. Patrick Ryan, MD, MPH, and Connie Savor Price, MD (from Denver Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine) shared their experiences creating the “Virtual Hospital at Home” model to manage the significant surge in COVID-19 patients in the fall of 2020.

This article describes practical tips about how to provide psychological services to older adults living in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This plan includes an algorithm for triage, intervention, and management of clients at isolation sites; triage interview questions and immediate intervention steps; and information on the use of telemedicine and telepsychiatry to manage behavioral health and medical needs. The plan applies to supportive housing providers, managed care organizations, health centers, and case management services.

In the event that a patient presents with a life-safety risk of harm to self or others—or has a medical or other type of emergency—the behavioral healthcare provider may need to call 911 to get immediate assistance for the patient. Providers can follow the steps listed in this one-page tip sheet to effectively use 911 emergency services during telehealth appointments.

This frequently updated page hosts patient management protocols and resources for medical professionals caring for COVID-19 patients. Topics include care protocols and guidelines (general, venous thromboembolism, renal replacement therapy, radiology and imaging, and ethics, palliative, and end-of-life care), personal protective equipment, and telemedicine (training, policy and implementation guides, and technology support).

This frequently updated table shows the status of telehealth waivers implemented in response to COVID-19 as well as states and territories with long-term or permanent interstate telemedicine.

This white paper offers mitigation and remediation recommendations to those using video-teleconferencing services during COVID-19, particularly as the use of telehealth increases.

This well-organized 22 page issue brief highlights how telehealth is being used in disaster preparedness and response and summarizes the challenges and potential solutions associated with this mechanism of healthcare delivery.

This document identifies key telehealth resources behavioral health clinicians can use to serve patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This document summarizes the present need for tele-triage in the emergency department, describes some of the technological applications available currently, and illustrates one such implementation process.

This document provides best practices and technical requirements for video-based platforms and apps.

This webinar is part of the National COVID-19 Clinical Rounds hosted by ASPR, Project ECHO, NETEC, and other public-private partners. This special session focused on long term care facilities and featured speakers from FutureCare and GRECC VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

This webpage provides links to the “Telehealth for Community-Based Organizations Webinars” developed by ASPR's At-Risk Individuals Program. This three-part series focuses on implementing telehealth services to address the access and functional needs of at-risk individuals in partnership with HUD during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article describes a study of attitudes towards use of the Internet to provide services during an outbreak of infectious disease. Patients at 3 Toronto hospitals were interviewed during the second SARS outbreak of 2003. The authors recommend that hospitals develop plans to use the Internet to maintain communication and continuity of care with patients during a large-scale infectious disease outbreak.

This frequently updated page includes resources to assist healthcare workers managing patients with COVID-19. Resources include: COVID-19 symptoms, a treatment guide with therapeutic guidance and an azithromycin discontinuation protocol, testing information, clinical guidelines and codes, clinical processes and workflows, telemedicine information, home monitoring resources, and patient education materials.

This page includes policies and protocols developed by the University of Washington health system and its partners to address COVID-19. Frequently updated, the page includes: 1) patient care protocols and algorithms, 2) other inpatient clinical guidance, 3) neonatal care protocols, 4) policy statements on personal protective equipment, patient care, post-acute and long term care, operations and facilities, staff, and other (autopsy, information technology, and vendor and delivery driver access).

This report analyzes changes in telehealth usage among Medicare beneficiaries early in the COVID-19 pandemic, including the effects of increased flexibilities available during the public health emergency.

This website is regularly updated and details state-by-state expansion of telehealth and licensing waivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a pandemic, healthcare facilities may need telehealth/medicine capabilities. Telehealth policies help to prevent potential exposure in the workplace, thus limiting the impact to the health of the healthcare workforce. This guide is a resource for administrators to initiate those capabilities.

This resources guides healthcare providers in rapidly establishing telehealth services during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

This toolkit provides information and guidance for safety-net healthcare systems seeking to initiate, expand, or improve their telemedicine programs in equitable ways.

This website provides regular updates regarding telehealth-related state policy changes.

This document contains links to reliable sources of information regarding telehealth and telemedicine, including specific documents that will be useful in choosing telemedicine vendors, initiating a telemedicine program, monitoring patients remotely, and developing documentation tools. Information is also included for providers who wish to care for patients through the virtual services that may be temporarily used during the COVID-19 situation.

This toolkit assists Medicare providers in understanding regulatory flexibilities associated with provision of telehealth visits, virtual check-ins, and e-visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides information that may be helpful in establishing a telemedicine program, including policy guidance, implementation guidance, links to state statutes, telehealth setup basics, technical assistance sources, vendor selection information, and resources for nursing homes, patients, and the community.

This guide provides questions and answers related to providing telehealth and virtual care services to Medicare patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This resource packet provides information to health centers on telemedicine reimbursement and legal considerations, how to operationalize telehealth visits, and a toolkit with clinical workflow samples. It also includes links to sources of additional technical assistance.

This web page provides links to sample telehealth resources from various states across the U.S. to include toolkits, templates, and checklists.

This document provides an overview of telehealth and how it can be used by healthcare professional during response to COVID-19. It also includes information on policies related to telehealth.

This toolkit provides information about how telehealth can be practiced during a pandemic. It addresses some related policy issues and links to training and other resources.

This tip sheet shares principles for the application of telemedicine and telecritical care. Key principles include: plan and practice for specific contingencies; minimize patient and clinician exposure; extend limited resources; develop resources, build trust, and establish standards; and data collection, integration, and reporting.

This toolkit provides a framework for one health system's delivery of telehealth services. It includes resources for practices, providers, and patients, including flow charts, checklists, frequently asked questions, videos, and templates.