AOA’s Telehealth Safeguards in Final ‘Cures’ Bill

Bipartisan medical innovation legislation that includes key telehealth policy safeguards backed by the AOA over the past two years has become law in the closing days of the 114th Congress. 

The 21^st Century Cures Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 13, overhauls regulatory processes aimed at bringing new drugs and proven medical devices to market sooner. In particular, successfully pushing back against efforts to make sweeping telehealth changes that would have radically altered how eye care is delivered under Medicare, AOA won the following language in the new law that makes clear that “any expansion of telemedicine under Medicare … must meet or exceed the conditions of coverage and payment with respect to the Medicare program if the service was furnished in person, including standards of care….”

In addition, the law encourages the exchange of health information between registries and EHR systems by adding a requirement that to be certified, EHRs must be capable of transmitting to a clinical data registry, such as AOA MORE (Measures and Outcomes Registry for Eyecare).

"It is because of the tireless work of hundreds of AOA volunteer leaders and staff that we were able to fight back and win against those seeking to downplay and discount the essential, in-person care provided by America's doctors of optometry," says Andrea P. Thau, O.D., AOA president. "From the very start, we made clear that, while we fully embrace appropriate uses of new and evolving technologies, we will do everything in our power to beat back those seeking to undermine the standard of care that our patients need and deserve."