KTTC Rochester reports…

Three Mayo Clinic health professionals spoke virtually Tuesday about the advantages of remote care and the future of the health care provider-patient relationship.

Telehealth has been growing…

At its height, the pandemic is blamed for an 80 to 90% drop of in-person health care appointments.

“Beyond the height of the pandemic, we have witnessed a decline in the use of digital health care but not back to the pre-pandemic levels,” Damaerschalk said.

A new law in Arizona is expanding the definition of telehealth to be more inclusive, meaning providers will be compensated for helping patients when they aren’t in-person or virtually face-to-face.

“From a reimbursement standpoint, both government and commercial payors are reimbursing telemedicine activities on the same basis as in-person activities,” Ommen said.

The trio of doctors hopes to see that law adopted in Minnesota and Florida as well.

The doctors were very supportive…

Damaerschalk also recounted his difficulty to tell the difference between telehealth and in-person practices from a provider standpoint.

“I was completing documentation on my patients, and I had actually forgotten in several instances whether I had seen that patient in person or if I had seen them by telemedicine,” Damaerschalk said. “I paused for a moment, because to me that resonated, as it should, that digital health care is health care.”