Thelhealth and E-Visits have been around for a few years now, but not often used by PT's.
Now with the Coronavirus epidemic, PT's and their patients have entered the realm of the high tech visit.
Telehealth = A video visit with a unique link for patient privacy (think HIPPA). This replaces an in office visit with all the usual PT activity, education and exercise except for hands on treatment and modalities. ALL payors are now paying for this type of visit.
The virus is still negatively impacting the US and insurance companies are trying to open the access to patients to get the care they need from a distance and not risk interaction with others. This is the type of visit available to all our patients. If you have no insurance, you can still do this type of visit and pay a 50% reduced fee than our usual private pay in office fee.
E-Visit= A non video visit meant for guidance, management and support. This is a ONE TIME PER WEEK visit that Medicare will pay for. This may be a telephone call or sharing of information through a patient portal, upgrading a home exercise program (HEP).
More information on this topic is available on a daily basis and we will update this blog accordingly.