Advanced Safe Testing at Residence Telehealth (A-START) Act: A New Bill to Launch Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring Pilot Programs

Share this post:

The enactment of the A-START Act will promote more affordable remote patient monitoring and telehealth amongst patients and providers, improving patient care and changing healthcare processes.
doctors using telehealth and RPM in their practice
Table of Contents

While patients, clinicians, and policymakers were once reluctant to adopt telehealth and remote patient care before the pandemic, it is now becoming a tried-and-true solution.

Congressman Schweikert presented the Advanced Safe Testing at Residence Telehealth, or A-START Act, on July 22, 2021, to expand advanced healthcare technologies such as remote patient monitoring, digital therapies, and telehealth, as well as lowering healthcare costs.

Transitioning to digital health technologies has fast-tracked during the COVID-19 pandemic; it is a significant step in improving access to healthcare between patients and providers. Individuals who receive care through Medicare Advantage (MA), Medicaid, or the Veterans Affairs (VA) will be able to receive FDA-approved at-home tests at home in conjunction with assistive telehealth consultations under the new bill, which promises to hasten the enormous accomplishments recently achieved in expanding patient nursing technology, screening, diagnostics, and telehealth.

In addition, A-START Act will create a pilot policy in the Veterans Affairs. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs will be required to design a pilot program not later than 180 days of the A-START Act’s enactment. Patients will be able to access medical technology of machine learning, artificial intelligence that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from the comfort of their own homes. The clinical devices will be tests to diagnose influenza or other respiratory diseases, coronavirus tests, and tests to diagnose breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and other health conditions.

Emergency intervention at the home and hospital-at-home using remote patient monitoring is the first step in helping our community combat this COVID-19 pandemic and address the growing number of untreated patients with chronic diseases and behavioral issues. Native American Veterans Association (NAVA) has already implemented this RPM program in collaboration with DrKumo, Inc. to reach the most vulnerable and under-represented groups, including Native Women American Veterans. “This is a major step forward for the future of healthcare,” said Dr. Kelly Nguyen, CEO of DrKumo Inc, the leader in next-generation RPM.

The enactment of the A-START Act will promote more affordable remote patient monitoring and telehealth amongst patients and providers, improving patient care and changing healthcare processes. The need to visit healthcare institutions will lessen because patients will be monitoring their health within their homes using devices like wearables and send the data to their care providers, improving patients’ health outcomes and compliance rates.

68 percent of doctors still wish to use telehealth in their practice. In this expanding era of telemedicine, most patients, whatever of age, are now eager to utilize phones for consultations. It will only be a matter of time until RPM rises and expands globally. Furthermore, many clinicians stated a wish to continue remote patient monitoring in the post-pandemic phase for the following reasons: (1) chronic illness management; (2) better care coordination; (3) preventative care; and (4) hospital or emergency department follow-ups.

Innovation will change health care and completely transform the industry as technology improves. Patient-generated data will decrease the number of unnecessary hospital visits, and will enable healthcare providers to provide a more tailored diagnosis and the best treatment (Pickle, 2021). With the availability of devices and tools underway and the reinforcement of A-START) Act, remote patient monitoring has an opportunity to grow and assure patients and care providers of better health care delivery in the future.

To learn more about NAVA Chronic Care Program, click here.

References:

Pickle, J. (2021). What is the future of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)? Biomedical Health and News. https://biomedj.org/healthcare/future-remote-patient-monitoring-rpm/

Wicklund, E. (2021). The new bill aims to launch pilot programs for Telehealth, Remote Patient Monitoring. mHealth Intelligence. https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/new-bill-aims-to-launch-pilot-programs-for-telehealth-remote-patient-monitoring

Share this post:

Revolutionize your healthcare with real-time

Remote Patient Monitoring

and elevate patient outcomes today.

Related Posts

independence day 2023
happy flag day 2023
On this Flag Day, we salute the spirit of our great nation! 🎉 As we embrace unity and freedom, let us honor the symbol that represents our shared values. Happy Flag Day! 🎆✨ #FlagDay #ProudAmerican #DrKumo #RemotePatientMonitoring
remembering d-day 2023
memorial day 2023

Memorial Day: A Day of Gratitude and Honor
Today, we pause to remember and express our heartfelt gratitude to our Veterans. Their service to our nation is beyond compare, and their loved ones’ sacrifices are immeasurable. We recall the words of Ronald Reagan, “Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden.” We take immense pride in having the privilege of serving you, and on this day, we salute you. Thank you, Veterans, and their families for your service and sacrifices.

Free Initial Consultation

Get a free 30-45 minutes consultation with one of our DrKumo RPM experts to learn everything you need to know about Remote Patient Monitoring and how you can make your RPM program successful.

To start please fill out the form and we will get in touch with you shortly.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.