The American Telemedicine Association (ATA), a leading trade group for telehealth providers and advocates, this week released its first report since 2017 that tracks state policies on telehealth.
Telehealth adoption is growing, and more states are embracing policies that improve coverage and reimbursement for telehealth services, according to the report. Lack of reimbursement mechanisms has been one of the biggest barriers to telehealth adoption. Continue reading
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided AHCJ with the email addresses and phone numbers of three key media officers, a move that a top official said she hoped would foster “a better working relationship” with reporters.
Michelle E. Bonds, director of the Division of Public Affairs at the CDC, provided the contact information after AHCJ’s Right to Know Committee described members’ difficulties getting answers from the CDC. Continue reading
Photo: Lorenia via Flickr
A survey of dozens of dental organizations from Brazil to Vanuatu reveals that patients around the globe dread root canal treatments.
A new white paper from the Geneva-based FDI World Dental Federation aims to dispel the fear surrounding such procedures and highlight the tooth-saving potential of endodontics; which is the care and treatment of the soft tissues within and around the teeth. Continue reading
Photo: Spazzy Max via Flickr
About 60 million Americans depend upon Medicare for their health care coverage. But the national health insurance program for retired and disabled people has never covered routine dental services. The gap represents a significant barrier to necessary care for a growing segment of the country’s population, experts say.
An estimated 65% of beneficiaries – nearly 37 million people on Medicare — are dentally-uninsured, according to an issue brief from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation published this spring. Continue reading
In September, Yen Duong, Ph.D., had just started work for North Carolina Health News when Hurricane Florence was churning up the east coast.
Duong’s assignment was to cover health care in Charlotte. Being three hours inland from the coast turned out to be somewhat fortuitous for Duong who had just started her second journalism job after a summer at the Raleigh News & Observer as a mass media fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Continue reading
Photo: Kate Sumbler via Flickr
A new initiative launched by grassroots and tribal organizations aims to accelerate efforts to bring dental therapists to millions of Americans in communities where oral health services are scarce.
The National Partnership for Dental Therapy seeks to build visibility and support for midlevel dental workers, according to its organizers.
“Everyone, including the most vulnerable in our country and those in hard-to-reach areas, should have the opportunity to get basic oral health care,” said Tera Bianchi, program director with the nonprofit Community Catalyst, which is co-sponsoring the partnership together with the National Indian Health Board (NIHB). Continue reading