Skip to content
Sales: 888-357-3226

Medical Billers and Coders Logo
  • Our Specialties
      • We Excel In
      • Ambulance Transportation
      • Ambulatory Surgical Centers
      • Durable Medical Equipment
      • Optometry
      • More Specialties »
      • We Dominate Over
      • Florida
      • Illinois
      • Ohio
      • Georgia
      • New York
      • Texas
      • We also Serve in »
      • Our Reach
      • Atlanta
      • Chicago
      • Houston
      • Jacksonville
      • New York
      • Philadelphia
      • We also Serve in »
  • Services
      • Medical Billing
      • Charge Entry
      • Payment Posting
      • Account Receivable
      • Denial Management & Appeals
      • RCM Services
      • Medical Coding
      • Physician Credentialing
      • Physician Group
      • Outsourced Services
  • Resource Center
      • Best Billing Practices
      • Specialty Billing Guideline
      • Press Release
      • Newsletter
      • Billing Insight
      • Billing and Coding Updates
      • Billers and Coders Digest
      • Something of Interest
      • Infographics
      • Quiz
      • Glossary
      • Case Study
      • In house Blogs
      • Medical Billing Blog
      • DME Billing Blog
      • Pharmacy Billing Blog
  • Articles / Blogs
    • Articles
    • MBC Blog
    • DME Blog
    • Pharmacy Blog
  • Company
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Careers
Leading Medical Billing Services
  • Contact
  • Sample Page
  • Subscribe
  • UnSubscribe

USA – medical billers and coders
  1. Home
  2. Medical Billing Services
  3. Telehealth and Physical Therapy

Telehealth and Physical Therapy

Rapid Expansion of Telehealth

According to the IHS Markit report, the number of patients using telehealth is expected to rise to more than ten million in 2020, up from less than 350,000 in 2013. With such exponential growth, practices providing physical therapy can no longer afford to ignore the opportunity telehealth provides. Telehealth allows physical therapists/chiropractors to deliver high-quality care while improving practice profitability. Telehealth physical therapy makes it easy to support patients as they implement their treatment plan without the need of frequent office visits.

Telehealth in Physical Therapy

Follow-up visits:

Using telehealth for routine follow up visits is not only more efficient for providers and patients, but it also increases the chances that patients will complete their entire treatment plan, reducing missed appointments and improving patient satisfaction.

Chronic condition management (CCM):

Sometimes patients with chronic conditions might require a short period of intensive therapy, followed by long-term care to sustain wellness. The use of telehealth physical therapy eases CCM and could be less expensive for patients.

Post-hospitalization care:

Physical therapy is often necessary post orthopedic surgeries and other post hospitalizations care. Telehealth eliminates the need for travel during a time when patients may have limited mobility or require the use of medications that shouldn’t be used while driving.

HIPAA Compliance and State Regulations

  • It is crucial to stay on top of HIPAA compliance when it comes to practicing telehealth. The transmission of data to and from various locations increases the risk of inappropriate disclosure and data breaches. You must implement privacy and security safeguards at all points of exposure, including at the originating site, across the transmission medium, and at the distant site. Examples of these safeguards include user authentication, patient verification technologies, data encryption, password security, protected wireless networks, data tracking and auditing, and others.
  • Taking full disclosure and informed consent from patients is vital when it comes to telehealth. Patients should be aware of the limitations and advantages of telehealth and a well taking a written consent is a must.
  • You should be aware of federal and state regulations, practice acts, and standards of care for each state in which you plan to practice telehealth. There are laws that can prohibit you from practicing telehealth across different states.

Preparing for Telehealth

  • You will need a computer or mobile device, a built-in or external microphone, and a camera with video capability, and telehealth software. The basic requirement would be to have a high-speed internet connection to avoid breaks in audio or video.
  • While technological advances have helped advance telehealth, technological failures can be one of its biggest drawbacks. Networks are subject to delays, interruptions, system overloads, or other technical difficulties. Because telehealth is wholly dependent on working technology, its effectiveness is severely hampered when technology fails. Researching and choosing the best hardware and software can ensure your telehealth practice is a success.

Billing for Telehealth Physical Therapy

  • Billing for telehealth physical therapy can be tricky and as mentioned above it may vary by state and by the insurer. The best practice would be, verifying the patient’s coverage before the visit, and knowing the telehealth guidelines for each payer. You can ask the payers which CPT codes are eligible for telehealth billing and need to use the appropriate modifier (GT) that tells the insurer that the service was delivered via telehealth to ensure payment.
  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is now allowing physical therapists in private practice to bill for their face to face technology visits. Most of the insurance companies have started covering physical therapy delivered via telehealth.

Telehealth is never intended to completely replace patient care in a clinical setting, but it can make your practice more flexible to meet your patient’s needs and provide services in a greater capacity.

About Medical Billers and Coders

We are catering to more than 40 specialties, Medical Billers and Coders (MBC) is proficient in handling services that range from revenue cycle management to ICD-10 testing solutions. The main goal of our organization is to assist physicians looking for billers and coders.

Posted by Medical Billers and Coders November 24, 2020November 27, 2020Medical Billing Services

Post navigation

Previous: Importance of Insurance Eligibility Verification During COVID-19
Next: Provider Relief Funds – Post-Payment Reporting Requirements

Search Our Blog Posts

Get a Quote

Are you looking for more than one billing quotes?

Categories

  • Categories
    • Accounts Receivables
    • Ambulance Billing Services
    • Ambulance Transportation Billing Services
    • Ambulatory Surgical Centers
    • Behavioral Health Billing
    • Cardiology Billing Services
    • Chiropractic Billing Services
    • Claims Denials
    • Credentialing Services
    • Dental Billing Services
    • Dermatology Billing Services
    • DME Billing Services
    • EMR / EHR / Health IT
    • EMS Billing Services
    • ENT Billing Services
    • Family Practice Billing Services
    • Gastroenterology Billing Services
    • General Surgery Billing Services
    • Geriatrics Billing Services
    • Health Insurance
    • Healthcare Reforms
    • HIPAA / ACA / ACO
    • Infographics
    • Insurance / Payer
    • Internal Medicine Billing Services
    • Medical Billing Services
    • Medical Coding
    • Mental Health Billing Services
    • Neurology Billing Services
    • OB Gyn Billing Services
    • Oncology Billing Services
    • Optometry Billing Services
    • Orthopedics billing services
    • Otolaryngology Billing Services
    • Pain Management Billing Services
    • Pathology Billing Services
    • Payment Models
    • Pharmacy Billing Services
    • Physicians/ Doctors
    • Plastic Surgery Billing Services
    • Podiatry Billing Services
    • Practice Administration
    • Practice Management
    • Primary Health Care
    • Radiology Billing Services
    • Revenue Cycle Management (RCM)
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities Billing Services
    • Specialty
    • Uncategorized
    • Urology Billing Services
    • Wound Care Billing Services
  • Recent Posts

    • Increased Coverage of Interprofessional Consultations
    • Covered Destinations for Ambulance Transportation
    • Arthroscopy Coding Guidelines
    • Medicare Ambulance Transports and ABNs
    • Differentiating Between Improper Payments and Medical Billing Fraud

    Catering to more than 40 specialties, Medical Billers and Coders (MBC) is proficient in handling services that range from revenue cycle management to ICD-10 testing solutions. The main goal of our organization is to assist physicians looking for billers and coders, at the same time help billing specialists looking for jobs, reach the right place.

    Connect with us

    info@medicalbillersandcoders.com

    Company

    • About Us
    • We Excel In
    • We Dominate Over
    • Testimonials
    • FAQ
    • Privacy Policy
    • Healthcare Analytics

    Services

    • Physicians
    • RCM Services
    • Transcription
    • Consultancy
    • Medical Coding
    • Hospital Billing
    • Medical Billing Outsourcing

    Resources

    • Best Billing Practices
    • Articles
    • Press Release
    • Case Study
    • Billing Guidelines
    • Medical Billing Quiz
    • Billing Bytes

    HIPAA

    ICD-10

    • ICD-10 Services
    • ICD-9 to ICD-10
    • ICD-10-E-book

    Refer a Friend

    HTML Sitemap

    Copyright © 2023 Medical Billers and Coders All Rights Reserved.

    REQUEST A CALL BACK

    Are you looking for more than one billing quotes?