Mercy and other hospitals say virtual care has allowed them to achieve better patient outcomes with fewer staff. From within the walls of Mercy Virtual, doctors and nurses supplement in-person care to patients in the health system’s 32 acute care hospitals. Of the 110 hospitals where it provides virtual care services, at least several dozen of the facilities are ineligible for Medicare telehealth payments. In light of this reality, there are some exceptions to the tight set of Medicare rules around payment for virtual care. “What can we do within the current rules?”NOTE TO READERS: This is Part 1 of a two-part series about paying for virtual health care.

Source: Washington Post March 22, 2019 11:48 UTC