February 2021

Acceleration of the availability and use of telehealth, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, has created the opportunity and need for alternative payment models (APMs) that encourage implementation and enable evaluation of telehealth services. In the latest installment of Discern Health’s Quality Outlook blog series in the Journal of Clinical Pathways, Partner Tom Valuck, Director David Blaisdell, and Vice President Theresa Schmidt discuss recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for recognizing telehealth in APMs, including the Oncology Care First model.

“Recognizing and Testing Telehealth Models in Oncology Care First” is the first post in a three-part blog miniseries focused on the role of telehealth in relation to cancer and COVID-19. Future posts in the telehealth mini-series will explore the importance of preserving personalized medicine in telehealth delivery; recommendations for maintaining patient safety standards for telehealth; and the indirect benefits of cancer telehealth models, such as improving physician productivity.

Read the blog post here. Read other Quality Outlook posts here.

For more information, please contact David Blaisdell at dblaisdell@discernhealth.com.