While proponents promote telemedicine as a way to reduce costs, a new study suggests telemedicine may actually generate higher healthcare costs when offered as an alternative to face-to-face visits.

The study, released in March by RAND Corporation and published in Health Affairs, analyzed the behavior of more than 300,000 people with access to telemedicine services and found they spent an average of $45 more per year than patients without access to telemedicine. The study authors concluded that access to telemedicine generates additional physician visits and the use of services that patients would not have otherwise pursued.

Shorten your revenue cycle and keep cash flowing by taking a close look at how you’re collecting out-of-pocket fees from patients as cost-sharing continues to shift away from insurers.

Practices that do risk-adjustment coding for Medicare Advantage plans should watch their step as the government pursues two big fraud cases that hinge on risk-adjustment issues. So far, only insurers are in the line of fire — but that may not last.

Hints in Congress of a new anti-Obamacare plan, big rules submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and payment changes for Part C and Part D plans are among the big health care news items from Washington.

Payments for obesity-counseling code G0447 (Face-to-face behavioral counseling for obesity, 15 minutes) continue to climb as the service gains traction among medical practices.

Telemedicine is still a niche business for physician practices and one that’s been slow to expand due to restrictive policies that make billing for services a challenge. But some analysts say the industry may be just a few years away from gaining real traction in the maret.

While major health systems like Kaiser Permanente have already made telemedicine an integral part of their operations, opportunities to enter the telemedicine market are still limited for most small- and medium-sized practices. That’s part of the reason that - like many technology-based mediums - the mainstreaming of telemedicine has been slow to arrive despite the hype.