Op-ed Embracing telehealth helped Kentucky flatten the curve in COVID-19 battle
The past three months have proven to be a formidable time for health care delivery. The environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic has shined a brighter light on telemedicine technology services. Telemedicine — also known as telehealth — is a means of providing patient care delivery through technologies such as at-home video that, in some cases, may replace an in-person visit by a patient.
While telemedicine has slowly increased in popularity, the COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be a watershed event, accelerating the integration and participation in telemedicine years into the future. Kentucky Association of Health Plans, the trade organization representing the commercial and Medicaid managed care health insurance community, saw usage significantly increase during this time. Plans are experiencing increases up to 3100% in utilization, and many of the plans operating in multiple states witnessed their Kentucky telehealth numbers surge higher than in other places across the country.
Kentucky was particularly well-prepared to accommodate the surge because the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 112 in 2018, which encouraged greater utilization of telehealth services. The result of that legislation was to encourage more providers to offer telehealth services.
The state took extra measures on March 25 of this year, waiving some telehealth regulations to enable more Kentuckians to seek much-needed remote care amid the pandemic.