7 ways the coronavirus is affecting medtech

6. Telehealth’s moment?

Because emergency rooms and doctors’ offices will need to avoid getting swamped with patients as they deal with the most urgent cases, the coronavirus pandemic could be telehealth’s moment. On March 17, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — which covers a large chunk of the U.S. population — said it will temporarily pay clinicians to provide telehealth services for beneficiaries residing across the U.S.

“These changes allow seniors to communicate with their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility so that they can limit risk of exposure and spread of this virus. Clinicians on the frontlines will now have greater flexibility to safely treat our beneficiaries,” CMS administrator Seema Verma said in a news release.

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