This week, current and former CMS administrators attending the American Telemedicine Association’s 2010 summit in Baltimore agreed that the agency could do more to boost adoption and reimbursement for telemedicine services, Modern Healthcare reports.
CMS Administrator Donald Berwick and former CMS Administrator Mark McClellan — who held the post during the George W. Bush administration — said that stronger ties between CMS and the telemedicine community could help:
Cut health care costs;
Expand health care access; and
Improve the quality of medical services.
Berwick also highlighted telemedicine’s ability to lower medical error rates and empower consumers.
McClellan — who now serves as director of the Brookings Institution’s Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform — focused on telemedicine’s potential for cost savings.
In a statement, ATA CEO Jonathan Linkous said the support of the two health care leaders “reflects the growing consensus for telemedicine” (Lubell, Modern Healthcare, 9/29).
