March 18, 2020 — Nautilus Medical, Inc announced the immediate availability of TeleRay, its complete telemedicine solution in compliance with the Telehealth Services During Certain Emergency Periods Act of 2020 for the treatment of patients during the Coronavirus / Covid-19 outbreak.
Telemedicine – the ability of a clinician to interact, diagnose and advise patients remotely over an audio/video feed – is a vital tool in the management of pandemic conditions. It reduces the exposure of at-risk clinical staff to infection and, in the unfortunate event they need to self-quarantine, allows clinicians to continue to practice from confinement. Further, the use of telemedicine eliminates patient exposure to cross-infection when visiting a healthcare facility. Evidence of this is clear by comparing the morbidity and mortality rates of the Coronavirus outbreak prior to its being identified in Wuhan, China (5.1 percent) and after aggressive social distancing and quarantine rules were imposed once the outbreak was understood (0.7 percent). The US mortality rate for this condition is currently above 3 percent.
Under the State of Emergency announced by President Trump recently, significant resources have been made available by the U.S. government to fund such consultations. Telehealth coverage included in the Coronavirus Spending Bill allows full reimbursement from Medicare and waives geographical restrictions on telehealth allowing care to be received at patients' homes. However, while widely used, telemedicine is still unavailable in many care sites and implementation can be expensive, burdensome and time consuming at a time when it is most needed. CEO Tim Kelley noted "Many of our professional users already suffer from physician burnout and this crisis will add to the stress. Telehealth is a method to reduce stress and exposure."
TeleRay telemedicine is a totally elastic, HIPAA-compliant platform which allows for immediate implementation and on-boarding of patients. Unlike many other solutions, there is no requirement for changes to a practice's existing systems such as scheduling and electronic medical records, while TeleRay's split payment capability allows for accurate and simple billing. Nautilus provides free technical support for implementation and reimbursement advice.
CTO Cody Neville commented, "We are receiving many requests for a fast solution which can be scaled quickly and economically. TeleRay can be implemented with no up-front cost and nominal call charges per consultation, which delivers much needed relief at a particularly difficult time for US health providers and their patients."
More information: www.TeleRay.io