Practice Frequently Asked Questions
Click an option below to review our frequently asked questions from orthopedic practices. If you have a question not addressed here, please contact us to schedule a demo.
Pricing for the OrthoLive platform depends on the state you’re in, the size of your practice and the functionality options you choose. Please contact us for complete pricing details or to schedule a demo.
Reimbursement for telemedicine services had long been a friction point that providers use when arguing against adopting the service. That all changed in March of 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The federal government and private and public payers have taken unprecedented steps to promote telehealth by changing reimbursement rules.
In early March, the U.S. Congress passed the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. The emergency supplemental appropriations bill provided funding to help fight the pandemic. Part of the legislation dealt specifically with telemedicine services, temporarily waiving some of the restrictions around providing virtual care while mandating parity in reimbursement between in-person visits and remote care.
The goal, according to the CMS Fact Sheet, was “so that beneficiaries can receive a wider range of services from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility.”
These changes affect more than 23 million people currently covered by Medicare and Medicaid. They also affect every healthcare provider in the nation. The new rules shift telemedicine billing to allow reimbursement for Medicare telehealth visits at the same rate as an in-person visit.
Telemedicine services can now also provide care wherever the patient is—including at home. It discards, at least for now, the requirement that patient treatment occurs at a government-approved originating site. It also discards the requirement that the doctor has a prior relationship with the patient before providing telehealth services. Like all medical visits, the patient must initiate the service and give their consent to be treated via telehealth.
Healthcare providers must continue to comply with all state telehealth rules, including licensure and credentialing, standard of care, scope of practice, patient consent, and data security. This ruling did not affect private payers, however, most states have already mandated telehealth coverage, and some also required reimbursement parity.
Please contact us to discuss the specifics of the state(s) you practice in.
The vast majority of routine orthopedic problems can be (at least) initially diagnosed and treated without touching the patient.
Medicine is highly repetitive and histories are predictable – orthopedics is no different.
Average patient treatment time for the thousands of providers using OrthoLive has been shown to be less than 6-minutes.
You should definitely check with your med/mal carrier and inform them you will be bringing telemedicine into your practice.
Most carriers we have spoken to have said they will NOT increase med/mal coverage pricing for existing patients.
Some carriers have stated there might be a small increase in coverage amounts if you are going to use telemedicine to see new patients.
We recommend you limit visits to non-emergent conditions for treatment and any condition noted to be urgent or emergent be told to proceed for an in-person visit. This still accomplishes the “first touch” and patient capture to your practice.
OrthoLive is hosted with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its HIPAA compliant data communications platform. We also use ARMOR secure data housing’s network of services.
Although the technology that powers both platforms is very good, neither is a form of HIPAA compliant video communication and should therefore not be used to treat patients.
Once the appointment is set up with your practice, patients can access the appointment through their smartphone, tablet, mobile device or desktop browser.
Ortholive gives users the option of downloading our app (compatible with iOS and Android operating systems) or conducting a browser-based visit via Google Chrome (preferred), Safari, Firefox or Edge.
Connectivity note: the better the Wi-Fi connection the better the platform will work
It’s our experience that you’d be surprised how tech-savvy older patients are. We’ve designed OrthoLive to be easy to use via mobile device or desktop with one click appointment entry, and a vas majority of patients can figure out how to use the technology.
The patient literally receives and opens a text, clicks a link, and then answers a phone call. It’s that easy. Plus, our U.S.-based support team is available during normal business hours to call the patient on your behalf to help ensure they’re ready for their appointment.
Lastly, a lot of elderly patients have family members or caregivers who are usually available to help.
There is no cost for a patient to use OrthoLive or to download our app.
The practice bills the medical insurance carrier just as if the patient were in-office for a visit. The same patient responsibility applies.
Most likely, yes we can.
However, you typically don’t need integration to begin seeing patients. Think of OrthoLive as your virtual exam room – you simply log in from your desktop or laptop on a web-browser. All other systems you would normally access are right there, as well – EMR, PACS, etc.
To find out more about our integration capabilities, please be sure to ask an OrthoLive representative.
You will use the same codes as if the patient was in-office for the visit, but you must preface the code with a G. For example:
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- An established visit would be G9921x (x=1,2,3,4,5) for telemedicine
- A new patient visit would be G9920x (x=1,2,3,4,5) for telemedicine
For the note, the provider must state where the patient was located at the time of the visit, where the provider was located, and that the visit was a telemedicine visit.
- Visits are billed based on History, Physical Exam and Medical Decision-Making bullets
- A post-op visit is in the 90-day global period and is not reimbursed
- In an established visit, where imaging is being reviewed, two of the three bullets must be met
- In an MRI recheck, the physical exam does not need to be performed for billing to occur
- If a regular established patient visit occurs, billing must occur as normal
- Telemedicine allows for adequate physical examination of range of motion, palpation, neurovascular examination, and inspection
- Special tests and instability examination can be more challenging, but bullet points may be checked using basic physical examination
We recommend all users be on a stable, secure wifi connection while using the platform.
OrthoLive will also function on a cellular signal, however, streaming quality may be impacted.
Data is kept secure using secure HIPAA-compliant servers and during the transmission process, the data is 256-bit encrypted.
Employer Frequently Asked Questions
Click an option below to review our frequently asked questions from employers using our Remote Injury Care program to save as much as 80% on workplace injury costs. If you have a question not addressed here, please contact us to schedule a demo.
Pricing for the Remote Injury Care program depends on several factors including your company size, number of regular injuries and the functionality options you choose. Please contact us for complete pricing details or to schedule a demo.
Yes, with Remote Injury Care, all employees for an enrolled company have 24/7, 365 days a year access to our network of athletic trainers via telehealth. If needed, employees will also have access to a local network of orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists for required follow-ups.
Average patient treatment time for employers using OrthoLive Remote Injury Care has been shown to be less than 6-minutes.
No, the fee is paid by the employer so there is no cost for employees to use the service.
Our mission is to provide the highest quality, most efficient remote injury care available, allowing employees to get back to work quickly and safely while reducing costs and minimizing lost revenue for employers.
Athletic trainers, or AT-Cs, regularly care for the “industrial athlete”, developing and managing programs designed to keep employees at full capacity, improving company productivity and even reducing health care and insurance costs.
AT-Cs are also knowledgeable in the design, implementation, and measurement of injury prevention, injury reduction and return to work programs. Plus, our AT-Cs undergo additional training to provide the best care while preventing an OSHA recordable event.
What else can our athletic trainers do?
- Provide analysis and remedy of ergonomic stressors that cause repetition injuries
- Develop wellness programs
- Deliver nutrition education
- Customize physical readiness programs and pre-shift exercise programs
- Present safety training and injury prevention programs
Following every visit, we provide a detailed evaluation and care plan for the patient available on-demand to you through our Employer Dashboard so you can stay up-to-date on the status of employees in the Remote Injury Care program.
Just like our team of athletic trainers, our orthopedic physicians have specific training to triage injuries as quickly and safely as possible while reducing OSHA recordable events.
Should a physician visit or surgery be required, our team will work with you to see the employee via telehealth to avoid lost time and revenue as much as possible; and if an in-person visit is required, your employee will be given a priority appointment at one of our local partner’s offices.
As a member of the Remote Injury Care team, our physicians work with you to reduce costs and get employees back on the job as soon as safely possible.
Using the Remote Injury Care program, employers can reduce their work comp claims by up to 85% because of the highly trained, skilled athletic trainers treating, preventing and understanding workplace injuries. To learn more, take a look at a recent Remote Injury Care case study where one national e-commerce company saved more than $300,000 per year using the service.
To see how much you could save, use our savings calculator by clicking here.
We recommend all users be on a stable, secure wifi connection while using the platform.
OrthoLive will also function on a cellular signal, however, streaming quality may be impacted.
Data is kept secure using secure HIPAA-compliant servers and during the transmission process, the data is 256-bit encrypted.
Patient Frequently Asked Questions
Click an option below to review our frequently asked questions from patients. If you have a question not addressed here, please contact us to schedule a demo.
Telemedicine is the delivery of healthcare over modern communication methods. In the case of OrthoLive, this is done with HIPAA compliant secure video chat.
In 2013 there was 350,000 visits using telemedicine. In 2018 it is projected that 7 million patients will use telemedicine.
Yes. OrthoLive uses HIPAA compliant video that is also utilized by other leading telemedicine providers and NASA.
Simplified Access, Eliminate Travel Time, Can be seen/treated from anywhere, Easy Virtual Scheduling
WiFi is not required but highly recommended. You will need the ability to connect to the internet, so if you do not have WiFi at your location you will need a mobile device with LTE, 4G or 3G service.
The visit is billed to your insurance and coverage is the same as if you were in the office for an in-person visit.
It is estimated that over 70% of initial injuries can be diagnosed via telemedicine.
Your provider can order testing such as MRI, CT, Electrodiagnostic studies (EMG/NCS) and X-rays. Treatment can ordered such as injections, physical or hand therapy, prescription medications and bracing.
You can use your HSA account just as you would for a visit in the doctor’s office.