State Senator Chuck Hufstetler, who represents a portion of Chattooga and Floyd Counties in the Georgia Senate participated in a health care focused summit in Rome last week. One of the topics at the forum was tele-health.
Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan says that the state needs to continue to find ways to create opportunities for better delivery of health care services. Duncan and Senator Hufstetler signaled that they would like to see Georgia expand its use of telehealth services that have been critical to providing primary care during the pandemic.
“I don’t think we’re just creating patterns and health habits around [COVID-19],” Duncan said. “I think long-term, we’re going to watch digital health play out [and] telehealth play out in a more formidable format.”
Health care providers have leaned more on video chats and other telehealth options to continue treating patients in the nearly nine months since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Georgia, forcing new distancing habits and the need for greater care to limit viral exposure in hospital settings.
Many providers are now eyeing telehealth and telemedicine services as essential for hospitals and health care organizations to continue treating patients, Dr. Kenneth Jones, chief medical officer at Floyd Medical Center, said. “That’s probably a lot of the future of medicine is the ability to access your physician and get care provided in a quick, prompt way,” Jones said. “I think it’s going to change how we provide health care for the next five to 10 years.”
Health care- and insurance-related legislation was a top priority for state Senate leaders during this year’s session, which saw passage and signing of several bills to curb unexpectedly high “surprise” hospital costs, tamp down runaway prescription drug prices and boost insurer transparency.
State Sens. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, who is an anesthetist, and hospital administrator Dr. Dean Burke, R-Bainbridge, both of whom brought bills on those subjects as well as co-sponsored Unterman’s 2019 bill on telehealth, said the pandemic has highlighted ongoing health care issues like insufficient broadband internet in rural parts of the state that the legislature still needs to tackle.
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