NHPCO NewsLine Summer 2020 - 26

continued

3. Screen the Target Population
for Telehealth Capacity &
Model Appropriateness
a. What percentage of the target
population is interested and/or
can be convinced to receive
some of their care through
telehealth?
b. What portion of the interested
population is self-enabled or
can be enabled through a
caregiver/family member?
c. What questions will you need
to ask patients to determine
their capacity and
appropriateness for receiving
care through telehealth? Is the
patient willing to have face-toface visits using a video
conferencing (telehealth)
approach? Does the patient
have an applicable video
conferencing device (i.e., a
front-facing camera on a
mobile telephone, tablet,
laptop or desktop computer)?
4. Determine Applicable
Telehealth Payor Requirements
a. After Medicare, which payors,
by percentage, insure the
largest percentages of your
target population?
b. Which payors reimburse for
delivery of telehealth services?
c. How does each payor define
telehealth, billable providers,
necessary patient relationship,
location of service, etc.? May
these services be provided by
Nurse Practitioners, Physician
Assistants, and other Qualified

26

Newsline / Summer 2020

Health care Providers (QHP)?
How are telehealth visits to be
billed?

Select a Technology
Platform
1. Assess, Select and Acquire
Telehealth Platform Access
a. Do you want to buy a turnkey
solution or build your own
platform?
b. Beyond video conferencing,
what type of additional
functions might you wish to
integrate on the platform now
or in the future? (e.g.,
peripheral devices
[stethoscopes, blood pressure
monitors, etc.,] remote patient
monitoring tools, translation
services, etc.)
c. What are important platform
selection criteria? (e.g., HIPAA
compliance, minimum staff and
patient hardware and
connectivity, upload and
download capabilities, ease of
use for both staff and patients,
integration into existing
workflow and EHR,
maintenance and upgrade
expenses, upfront and monthly
costs, etc.)
d. Who are some of the many
vendor solutions to consider?
Do you have an existing
relationship? Can your EHR
vendor integrate telehealth?
e. What hardware and
connectivity will staff and
patients need?

2. Acquire Necessary Staff &
Patient Hardware and
Connectivity

Implementation
1. Train Staff on Platform Use,
Technical Problem Solving &
Service Expectations (Use this
etiquette checklist)
2. Obtain Patient Authorization
for Telehealth Usage and a
Waiver for Other Forms of
Communication
a. What should be included in
Telehealth Authorization Form
that provides patient consent
for this type of visit?
(Download Guide from website
and see Appendix A)
b. What should be included in a
Communication Waiver if a
patient is willing to use
unsecured means of
communication? (Download
Guide from website and see
Appendix A)
3. Schedule Patient Visit and
Provide Initial Technology
Orientation
a. What disciplines and
individuals will need to be
present for the visit?
b. Who will schedule the visit and
where will it be documented?
c. Who will provide the initial
technology orientation and
instructions to the patient/
caregiver and what will it
contain? (Download Guide from
website and see Appendix C)

https://www.telehealthresourcecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Telehealth-Etiquette-Checklist.pdf https://www.telehealthresourcecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Telehealth-Etiquette-Checklist.pdf https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WONKDR8IYD0X1_SDxFPAXcmaMZ2THPlK/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WONKDR8IYD0X1_SDxFPAXcmaMZ2THPlK/view

NHPCO NewsLine Summer 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NHPCO NewsLine Summer 2020