The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved payment by Medicaid to federally qualified health centers in Connecticut for electronic consultations with medical specialists, according to Safety Net Connect, which provides web-based care solutions.
Middletown-based Community Health Center Inc., a federally qualified health center, uses SNC’s eConsult technology to access care for the state’s medically underserved population.
Dr. Daren Anderson, director of Weitzman Institute and vice president and chief quality officer of CHC of Connecticut, was instrumental in obtaining reimbursement status for the eConsult program. CHC used SNC’s eConsult technology in a yearlong pilot, meeting objectives for Medicaid reimbursement, he said.
SNC said its eConsult system has increased access to timely, cost-effective specialty services for underinsured and underserved patients, many of whom live in rural areas with limited access to specialty care.
CHC has used SNC’s eConsult technology for more than 1,000 eConsults between primary-care physicians and specialists at federally qualified health centers across Connecticut. It demonstrated an ability to provide specialty advice for patients through the primary-care physicians’ office in less than one day on average, with 89 percent of specialty needs resolved within the medical home.
In January, CHC began contracting with state and federal agencies, as well as private insurers, to provide the SNC eConsult system to medically underserved patients across the U.S.
