I have too much news for a Saturday, but this article caught my eye too…

MPR had an article yesterday about telemedicine in Wadena (well patient in Wadena, doctor in Twin Citifies). Telemedicine is a big boon to patients who no longer have to make the drive 6 hours to and from the Cities. So Wadena used it despite the fact that often Medicare didn’t pay for it – despite the fact that the remote visits do save money. (A study in Maine found an average savings of $580 for each nursing home patient seen with a telemedicine appointment.)

The hard thing for many hospitals and homes is installing the necessary equipment to participate in telemedicine. Telemedicine savings would quickly pay for the cost of equipment. But, most of those savings would go to Medicare or private insurers, not nursing homes.

There’s a new federal rule that will allow nursing homes to charge a $20 facility fee for each patient using telemedicine. It’s not a lot – but I guess it’s some incentive. (Maybe the latest $25 billion proposed by the TIA would help hospitals too – at least with the broadband they need to offer telemedicine!)