Reference no: EM133343624

Case Study: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Southtown Medical Group (SMG) has increased the services and support functions of their patient portal to better serve their needs of their patients. SMG now have dedicated clinical staff manning the information system from 6:00am to 11:00pm. They are able to communicate through email, Skype, Facetime, and regular landline phone. Patient communication is triaged, much like they would have been if the patients had come to the Emergency Department. Most of the communications are addressed by nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA). This has not only increased the volume of business due to the calls/telehealth visits, but also better streamlined the process of determining what services the patients need and/or what specialist they need to see. The physicians, in turn, are also happy because they are able to spend more quality time with patients who actually do need to
see the doctors in person.
The NPs and PAs had specialized training regarding the documentation of services provided through the telehealth services, but also to identify the appropriate CPT codes and modifiers needed for accurate billing. If the patient was not able to satisfy their needs by using the established protocols already on the patient portal, they can immediately be funnelled into the que to speak to an NP or PA directly. Patients have been very pleased with these new services since many of them are concerned about going out of their home in the midst of the pandemic.

Question 1. In State of Wisconsin, determine what legislation supports payment equity for telehealth sessions by providers.? Provide sufficient details regarding legislation that supports telehealth sessions.

Question 2. How recent is this legislation and how has the COVID-10 pandemic affected the use of telehealth in state of Wisconsin and payment for these services? Provide justification regarding telehealth and telehealth payment during the COVID-10 pandemic