Author: Tom Entrikin | Posted: 18. April 2012 11:06
The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) announced on April 5 that telehealth services may be covered in the home for Colorado Medicaid recipients with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and diabetes who require on-going and frequent monitoring of their vital signs, such as pulmonary function for patients with COPD and blood glucose levels for diabetics, to manage their conditions effectively and safely at home. Telehealth in the home enables medical professionals to monitor patients’ vital signs remotely on a real-time basis via equipment that transmits data from their homes to appropriate provider locations, so as to facilitate timely medical interventions that may reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, avoid costly emergency room visits, reduce Medicaid expenditures, and save lives. Colorado’s innovative coverage of telehealth in the home has earned well-deserved recognition from the National Governors Association and warrants consideration in other states.
