Week 11 Discussion Response- Law and Ethics in Healthcare

Discussion

Most Pertinent Healthcare Policy Issue: Expanding Telehealth

The healthcare policy issue with the greatest potential to transform healthcare delivery is the expansion of telehealth services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and state governments temporarily allowed for telehealth to be used and reimbursed, and eased regulations, to ensure that patients were able to receive healthcare in a safe environment. These policies have shown that virtual care enhances access for rural and underserved populations, older adults, and those with chronic conditions, and decreases unnecessary A&E utilization and health care expenditure (Ohannessian et al., 2020). Nevertheless, many temporary requirements have expired or differ by state, leaving providers and healthcare organizations unsure. As a future health care administrator, I think permanent telehealth policies will expand access to quality care, foster the use of preventive services, enhance chronic disease management, and lower health care costs through earlier interventions.

One of the greatest barriers to expanding telehealth is inconsistent reimbursement among Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance plans. Other factors include interstate licensing regulations, low digital literacy among certain patient groups, limited internet speeds in rural areas, and privacy and cybersecurity issues. Permanent reimbursement parity for clinically appropriate telehealth services, more interstate licensure compacts, investments in broadband infrastructure, enhanced digital education programs, and toughened cybersecurity requirements for electronic health information can help remove these barriers.

The stakeholders are primarily patients and healthcare providers, healthcare organizations, insurers, policymakers, and technology companies. Patients appreciate the convenience of access to specialists, saving travel time, and improved access. Healthcare providers and healthcare delivery organizations benefit by improved care coordination, higher efficiency, and decreased missed appointments, while insurers can lower long-term costs by promoting preventative health (Laurisz et al., 2023). Legally, telehealth policies should meet HIPAA requirements and ensure patient privacy. Ethically, telehealth fosters justice by making it easy to provide equitable access to care while also maintaining patient autonomy. From the operational point of view, telehealth can help simplify workflow and facilitate value-based care.

References

Laurisz, N., Ćwiklicki, M., Żabiński, M., Canestrino, R., & Magliocca, P. (2023). The stakeholders’ involvement in healthcare 4.0 services provision: the perspective of co-creation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 2416. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032416

Ohannessian, R., Duong, T. A., & Odone, A. (2020). Global telemedicine implementation and integration within health systems to fight the COVID-19 pandemic: A call to action. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 6(2), e18810. https://doi.org/10.2196/18810