What is telemedicine?
Telemedicine is a live, two-way television that lets a health care provider examine you from a distance, as if you are both in the same room together.
What should I expect during the telemedicine appointment?
Your telemedicine consultation will last about as long as a regular office visit. You will see and talk to the doctor over the television. Depending on your symptoms, the telemedicine doctor may ask a nurse or other health care provider at your location to help with your physical examination. Also, special cameras or scopes may be used in order to view your ears, nose, throat or skin just as they sometimes are during an office visit.
During the telemedicine consultation, you may be able to talk and interact with the physician just as you normally would in person. You may speak in your normal voice and at your normal volume. You may notice a little bit of delay in the sound.
The UNM Physician Access Line Service (PALS), is a consultation and referral service. The PALS toll-free number is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and was created in response to the growing need for community physicians to reach UNM physicians quickly. PALS provides opportunities for practicing physicians and faculty to assist one another in the diagnosis and care of patients.
As a physician, a PALS referral specialist will receive your call. Each of our referral specialists has access to UNM's physicians' schedules, on call list, telephone and pager numbers necessary to promptly reach the physician. If you wish to speak with a specific physician, and he or she is unavailable, the referral specialist will direct you to an available physician or arrange for the requested physician to return your call.
Can anyone see me on television?
The telemedicine system uses a special private telephone line. Only the people in the room at your consulting physician’s office can see and hear you.
What if I’m uncomfortable with the telemedicine consultation?
If you are uncomfortable with the telemedicine consultation, you may stop the consultation at any time and ask to see the doctor in person.
Is there anything special I need to know to prepare for my telemedicine appointment?
Please arrive at least 15 minutes before your appointment time to give yourself time to get used to the telemedicine system.
Who supports the telemedicine equipment?
The University of New Mexico Center for Telehealth supports the telemedicine equipment in cooperation with your local health care provider. Other telemedicine equipment is available at New Mexico Department of Health offices and other health care organizations around the state.
As a PALS representative, the referral specialist is responsible for every call being completed to your satisfaction. The referral specialist is available to help you with any needed arrangements.
If a referral requires emergency transportation, the PALS referral specialist will assist in making the necessary arrangements. They will make arrangements for fixed-wing air transport of adult and neonatal patients, contact lifeguard helicopter or arrange for ground transportation.
Telemedicine achieved final victory in its quest to add new originating sites for Medicare reimbursement on July 16 when Congress overrode President Bush's veto of H.R. 3661. Under this new law, as of January 1, 2009, skilled nursing facilities, in-hospital dialysis centers and community mental health centers will be originating sites for Medicare reimbursement.
NEXT STEPS: The law goes into effect January 1, 2009. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) needs to issue regulations detailing how it will be implemented. ATA (American Telemedicine Association) will work with CMS as they develop these regulations.
Starting August 1, 2007, New Mexico Medicaid has begun one of the nation’s most comprehensive reimbursement programs for telehealth services. Recognizing the value of using Telehealth to enhance access to covered services for its patients/clients, the NM Medical Assistance Division, Human Services Department, will reimburse for covered services by eligible providers at the same rate as a physical face-to-face encounter. In addition, reimbursement is made to the originating-site, where the patient is located, for an interactive telehealth system fee; $22.47 per transmission. The reimbursement criteria follow very closely the New Mexico Telehealth Act of 2004. Any approved Medicaid provider is authorized to use Telehealth for their patients/clients. The client/patient receiving the telehealth service can be located at a variety of originating sites, including their place of residence. An interactive telehealth communication system must include both interactive audio and video and be delivered on a real-time basis at the originating and distant-sites. These new regulations are a major step forward in facilitating the use of Telehealth in New Mexico aimed at enhancing the health and wellness of its citizens, particularly the underserved.
Medicaid Telehealth Reimbursement PR-30-10
NM Medicaid Telehealth prov 831013
Medicare Reimbursement Checklist
Billable Medicaid BH TH Services
NM Medicaid Telehealth reimbursement VO PA
