By Zach Hester, Reporter • zach@southerntorch.com (Photo by Butch Gill | AP Photo)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) has joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in introducing a bill to strengthen telemedicine across the country.
"The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the benefits of telemedicine for our country's patients, providers, and health care systems so that folks can stay healthy and safe and receive the care they need from their homes," Jones said in a statement.
The bill introduced last week will direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study telehealth programs and how they can be utilized in the future. It also requires HHS to publish a report every five years on the following:
- Conduct an inventory of telehealth initiatives in existence, including their capacity to handle increased volume during the response to a public health emergency;
- Identify methods to expand and interconnect regional health information networks and state and regional broadband networks;
- Evaluate ways to prepare for, monitor, respond rapidly to or manage the events of a public health emergency through the enhanced use of telehealth technologies;
- Promote greater coordination among existing federal interagency telehealth and health information technology initiatives; and
- Make recommendations related to updates on the use of telehealth in public health emergencies in Federal and State public health preparedness plans and any actions taken to implement such recommendations.
Telehealth services have become a highly useful tool amidst the coronavirus pandemic that erupted in March.
"This bill will help us continue to build our telehealth infrastructure so we can ensure that patients have access to these services, both during the pandemic and beyond," Jones concluded.
