Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Telehealth Updates
External Resources
There are many resources available for both patients and health care providers, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) has listed some of them below for your convenience. Inclusion of these links does not imply AANP endorsement.
Billing and Participation With Medicare, Medicaid and Insurance Payors
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) General Provider Telehealth and Telemedicine Toolkit.
- CMS End-stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Telehealth and Telemedicine Toolkit.
- CMS Telehealth Video.
- Long-term Care Nursing Homes Telehealth and Telemedicine Toolkit.
- Medicaid Telehealth Overview.
- Medicare Telehealth Waiver FAQs.
Additional Federal Guidance
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Telehealth Consent Forms.
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Telemedicine Buprenorphine Guidance.
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) COVID-19 Telehealth Program and Connected Care Pilot: Applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program are open as of April 13, 2020.
- New FCC Telehealth Programs.
- Health and Human Services (HHS) Telehealth Resources: For Patients and Health Care Providers.
- Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Telehealth Programs.
Technical Guidance
- COVID-19 Health IT Resources.
- HHS Telemedicine Hack: A 10-week learning community to accelerate telemedicine implementation for ambulatory providers. Occurs every Wednesday from July 22 through September 23, 2020, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. CT (12–1 p.m. ET).
- National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) Webinar: Dealing With COVID-19 by Implementing a Telehealth Program: The State of Telehealth Today.
- Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) webinars: Health System Transformation: Improving Population Health After COVID-19 and COVID-19: Changing The Healthcare Technology Landscape.
Mental Health Guidance
- American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Webinar: Telepsychiatry in the Era of COVID-19.
- National Quality Forum: Redesigning Care: A How-To Guide for Hospitals and Health Systems Seeking to Implement, Strengthen and Sustain Telebehavioral Health.
State Telehealth Policy Updates
- National Consortium of Telehealth Research Centers.
- Alliance for Connected Care: State Telehealth Expansion by Governor’s Orders.
- Center for Connected Health Policy: COVID-19 Related State Actions to Remove Policy Barriers Regarding Telehealth.
- COVID-19 Checklists and Tools to Accelerate Relief for State Medicaid and CHIP Programs.
Hit the Ground Running: Telehealth in the Time of COVID-19
NP Tools and Resources
AANP-developed COVID-19 Resources
CE Courses
Review the history of telehealth and key terminology in Telehealth: What Nurse Practitioners Need to Know, available free for members at the AANP CE Center. This 1.0 contact hour continuing education (CE) activity will include a general overview of the applications of telehealth, as well as key credentialing considerations and current trends in legislation, reimbursement and billing.
Specialty Interest Group
Engage, Learn, Network and Progress Practice in Health Informatics and Telehealth
The Health Informatics and Telehealth Specialty Interest Group (SIG) offers a unique opportunity to interactively collaborate with colleagues who share an interest or clinical expertise in health information technology (IT). As an SIG member, you’ll have access to a cutting-edge, online forum where you can engage in discussions, document sharing and knowledge exchange with fellow NPs. Come learn, share and help progress the development of theory and practice in health IT.
JAANP Resource Center
Find evidence-based articles, up-to-date guidelines and other resources about telehealth at this resource center, brought to you by the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (JAANP).