Massachusetts should keep telehealth flexibility and other pandemic health care changes, report says

Flexibility for patients and doctors, such as telehealth accommodations, that were made in response to the COVID-19 state of emergency should remain in post-pandemic times, according to a new Pioneer Institute report.

“This is an important moment in time and it’s really important that the public not let our politicians off the hook and go back to business as usual,” said Joshua Archambault, author of the report and Pioneer’s senior fellow on health care policy.

Massachusetts’ state of emergency that was declared at the start of the pandemic will end on June 15 and so will special health care accommodations that were brought on in response to the coronavirus.

For example, the Department of Public Health allowed full across-state-line practice, meaning Massachusetts residents could access telehealth from providers outside the state, but that is set to expire.

Archambault argues that lawmakers should permanently remove such barriers so that all health care providers can use telehealth.

Widespread access to telehealth allows patients to see more diverse doctors from different areas of the country, cuts down on barriers to care such as transportation and allows providers to focus more attention on complex, in-person appointments, Archambault said.

“It should be a win-win, they can see more patients in an hour by telemedicine, and when patients do come in they can focus on the most complicated cases,” Archambault told the Herald.

One solution Archambault suggests in the report would be to have doctors register with the appropriate board, provide basic information about their license and pay a fee to serve patients via telehealth. Such a process is used in Minnesota.

Another pandemic order that should stick around allowed all staff at hospitals and facilities licensed or operated by DPH to work at any other facility.

“This commonsense flexibility should remain in place permanently to ensure better patient access, and also to make sure we are ready for the next pandemic, when rotating staff may be necessary,” Archambault wrote.

At the start of the pandemic, the state also suspended mandated nurse staffing ratios, which allowed more flexibility on various hospital units.

The issue of nurse staffing ratios has been a hot button issue in recent years after a failed ballot question to implement strict ratios, but Archambault argues the state should make the suspension permanent, “which would enhance the ability to respond to the next pandemic.”

The difficult course of the pandemic highlighted many gaps in health care while also shining a light on solutions that worked well, Archambault said, adding, “The pandemic helped to put some more tools in the toolbox for providers to use and I think some patients will want to utilize going forward.”

Earlier this year, Gov. Charlie Baker signed legislation requiring coverage of telehealth services including behavioral health, expanding the scope of practice for nurse practitioners and increasing access to care.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3wSNnL3