The coronavirus pandemic forced many physicians to switch from in-person visits to telehealth in a bid to keep their patients safe and also prevent the virus from spreading. While this may have been a temporary solution for some, many herald it as the future, with one industry expert urging optometrists to continue utilizing the technology for their practices even as in-person visits resume.
Christopher Wolfe recently gave a presentation at Vision Expo East in which he explained how at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, instructions were given to not offer emergent or urgent care via telemedicine, revealing that in his practice, physical work hours were limited to 8 a.m. through 2 p.m. Now, he observed, telehealth allows physicians to be available at all hours of the day, without having to be in the office.
Wolfe encourages physicians to use telehealth regularly, giving the example of his work day where he has the option of either scheduling a patient for an in-person visit or having an online consultation via telehealth. He notes that in this way, clinicians can be available to their patients at any given time.
Additionally, in-person and telemedicine visits are reimbursed at the same rates. According to him, established and new patients with -95 modifiers can use the 99215 and 99201 codes respectively. It should be noted that video and real-time audio communications are also needed, with Wolfe recommending the use of Skype, FaceTime, Eyecare Live and Doxy.me. Other options include captured images and videos as well as communication initiated by a patient via an online portal. However, the codes used for these situations are different from the ones mentioned above.
Wolfe also gave the example of a phone call he had with one of his patients who he’d seen during an in-person visit a month before. He diagnosed the patient with allergies and prescribed medication that was to be ingested two times a day. Wolfe noted that the call did not last more than 10 minutes, during which time he recommended a follow-up evaluation in a few months after he had informed the patient that the dosage could be altered once improvement had been seen.
These visits all have different codes, with visits carried out via real-time video and audio being coded as 9921x, visits conducted through text and a patient portal coded as 99421, and those done via captured video and sent to the clinician coded as G2010; the above example being given the code G2012. Wolfe also revealed that telehealth visits brought in significant revenue, with figures ranging from $12 to $110.
With companies such as RYAH Group Inc. (CSE: RYAH) coming up with software and devices intended to expedite the switch to remote health solutions, it won’t be long before telehealth is a norm in all sectors of the medical field.
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