Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1275740
63 CIO / HEALTH IT CMS releases 39 telehealth-eligible quality measures for 2021 By Laura Dyrda C MS released its telehealth guidance for electronic clinical quality measures for telehealth-eligible clinicians in 2021. e agency listed 39 telehealth-eligible eCQMs for the next reporting period: 1. Preventive care and screening: screening for depression and follow-up plan 2. Closing the referral loop: receipt of spe- cialist report 3. Functional status assessment for total hip replacement 4. Functional status assessment for total knee replacement 5. Documentation of current medications in the medical record 6. Primary caries prevention intervention as offered by primary care providers, including dentists 7. Functional status assessments for conges- tive heart failure 8. Childhood immunization status 9. Diabetes: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) poor control (>9%) 10. Cervical cancer screening 11. Breast cancer screening 12. Pneumococcal vaccination status for old- er adults 13. Antidepressant medication management patients from ICU to Medical / Surgical beds and potentially by delaying some procedures 14. Colorectal cancer screening 15. Diabetes: eye exam 16. Diabetes: medical attention for nephrop- athy 17. Heart failure: angiotensin-converting en- zyme inhibitor or receptor blocker or angio- tensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor therapy for le ventricular systolic dysfunction. 18. Follow-up care for children prescribed ADHD medication 19. Preventive care and screening: tobacco use: screening and cessation intervention 20. Falls: screening for future fall risk 21. Heart failure: beta-blocker therapy for le ventricular systolic dysfunction 22. Coronary artery disease: beta-block- er therapy-prior myocardial infarction or le ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF <40%) 23. Appropriate testing for pharyngitis 24. Preventive care and screening: influenza immunization 25. Dementia: cognitive assessment 26. Chlamydia screening for women 27. Appropriate treatment for upper respira- tory infection 28. Weight assessment and counseling for nutrition and physical activity for children and adolescents 29. Initiation and engagement of alcohol and other drug dependence treatment 30. Use of high-risk medications in older adults 31. Oncology: medical and radiation — pain intensity quantified 32. Depression readmission at 12 months 33. Adult major depressive disorder: suicide risk assessment 34. Controlling high blood pressure 35. Child and adolescent major depressive disorder: suicide risk assessment 36. Appropriate use of DXA scans in women under 65 years old who do not meet the risk factor profile for osteoporotic fracture 37. Statin therapy for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease 38. HIV screening 39. Bone density evaluation for patients with prostate cancer and receiving androgen deprivation therapy n Dr. David Blumenthal: Why telemedicine will not 'totally transform our healthcare system' By Jackie Drees W hile telemedicine has rapidly expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, its effect on patient-physician relationships is not likely to create widespread trans- formation across the healthcare system, according to David Blumenthal, MD. In a June 30 op-ed for Harvard Business Review, Dr. Blumen- thal, president of the Commonwealth Fund and former national coordinator for health IT under the Obama administration, ex- plained where telemedicine falls short and why he is skeptical of its transformative effect. Dr. Blumenthal wrote that while he believes new IT can ben- efit patients and their caregivers, these relationships grow strongest through in-person encounters. "…There is no diagnostic test more cost-effective than the laying on of hands," Dr. Blumenthal wrote. "I have found treatable cancers multiple times in routine exams that would be impossible to replicate in the virtual world. Could a Zoom visit detect a lymph node too firm, a spleen or liver too large…?" Despite its limitations, telemedicine "makes perfect sense" in certain situations, such as the current pandemic when in-per- son exposure must be limited or to reach patients and family physicians in remote areas. Ultimately though, telemedicine works best when it is tailored to accommodate the patient's needs and promotes the relationship between the patient and clinician, Dr. Blumenthal wrote.n