CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield will offer up to $1.5 million in grants to help medical providers develop telemedicine-based behavioral health services, the Baltimore insurer announced this week.
CareFirst wants to seed projects that use video conferencing or other technologies to allow doctors and others to diagnose and treat patients remotely.
“We are focused on proposals that demonstrate an ability to expand access to care through telemedicine which articulates a solid plan for sustainability that would extend beyond our three-year grant funding period,” said Maria Harris Tildon, CareFirst’s senior vice president of public policy and community affairs.
Telemedicine is considered a potentially excellent tool to expand services into rural or otherwise under-served regions, but adoption can be slowed by laws or contracts that limit full payments to traditional, in-person visits.
Date: Oct 18, 2013