Effective for services starting March 1, 2020, and for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will reimburse for telehealth services for all beneficiaries. To help explain this and other changes to telehealth coverage related to the pandemic, ASCO developed reference guides for practices outlining updates to Medicare, Medicaid, and private payer coverage for telehealth and other communication-based technology services including e-visits, virtual visits, and telephone evaluation and management services.
ASCO Special Report: A Guide to Cancer Care Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic—which provides guidance on short-term steps practices can take before resuming more routine care operations to help protect patients and health-care staff during the crisis—identifies the following as telemedicine visit types:
- Patients not requiring an in-person physical exam, treatment, or in-office diagnostics
- Follow-ups, oral oncolytic treatment adherence, survivorship, palliative care, genetic counseling, support services, and patient education
- Telephonic and telehealth interactions for triage and quick assessment of patients
- Symptom monitoring for high-risk patients.
ASCO is committed to providing the cancer community with the most current information and resources to help ensure that individuals with cancer continue to receive high-quality care during the pandemic, including additional resources on expanded access to telemedicine.
ASCO’s COVID-19 resources were developed to support clinicians, the cancer care delivery team, and patients with cancer. News, advocacy, and analysis on cancer policy are available on ASCO in Action.
© 2020. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
