Welcome to The Future of Health Now! Hello Reader This week: a major Telehealth prescribing policy update for behavioral health, fresh AI funding and tools, and a security heads-up worth flagging to patients. DEA/HHS Extend Controlled-Substance Telehealth Prescribing Through 2026 January 2, 2026 — HHS The DEA and HHS issued a fourth temporary extension of telemedicine flexibilities that let patients receive prescriptions for controlled medications without a prior in-person visit, averting the...
about 3 hours ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader Week 3: Show Me The Money! Week 3: Telehealth for Larger Health Systems Last week we looked at what scale does to the patient experience — the inconsistency that's easy to shrug off in one department turns into an access problem, a trust problem, and eventually a bottom-line problem once you're running dozens of them the same way. If you missed it, check it out here This week we follow the money. The Money: Reimbursement and ROI at System Scale Send this to your CFO. Everything...
9 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader Week 2: Telehealth for Larger Health Systems Last week we looked at where Telehealth programs leak value — inconsistent utilization, blended metrics that hide winners and losers, referral handoffs nobody owns, and vendor sprawl that makes it impossible to answer basic questions about your own program. This week, the same scale problem shows up somewhere more personal: the patient's actual experience. Have you ever heard of "White Lab Coat Syndrome"? Studies have shown that many...
16 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader Week 1: Telehealth for Larger Health Systems First off, last Month was the biggest month in the history of the Newsletter. Thank you! We dove in to the four main areas current independent and small practices can use Telehealth more efficiently to grow their practice or get back some valuable free time. If you missed any, click the link at the bottom for all previous newsletters to get caught up. This month will be similar but more geared toward larger hospitals and health systems....
23 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader Week 4: Telehealth Tune Up Series Four weeks ago I said this month wasn't going to be about starting Telehealth. Most of you have already done that. It was going to be about making the Telehealth you already run actually work harder for you. We've discussed diagnosing where you can grow, improving the patient experience, and how to maximize your revenue. This week — the last one in the series — is about growth. Not "get more patients" growth. The kind that actually holds once you...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader Week 3: Telehealth Tune Up Series Weeks 1 and 2 of this series were about friction — the diagnosis, then the patient experience gaps quietly costing you rebookings. This week is about the money. Telehealth billing isn't the same as it was when most of you first set it up. Modifiers, place-of-service codes, and payer Telehealth policies have all shifted — some as recently as this year. A setup that was correct in 2021 can be quietly wrong today, and most practices haven't rechecked...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader Week 2: Telehealth Tune Up Series A lot of the providers I talk to are thinking about growth right now — more patients, maybe a second provider, maybe expanding into new states. All good instincts. But here's what I've seen trip up more practices than anything else: growth doesn't fix friction, it multiplies it. If something's costing you a few patients a month at your current volume, it costs you a lot more once you've doubled your patient count or added providers who didn't build...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader Secure Telehealth Most of you reading this aren't deciding whether to do Telehealth, You already do it. It's been running for a while now — maybe since 2020 — and it works. Mostly. That's what this month is about. Not "How to start Telehealth" but How to make the Telehealth you already have actually pull its weight. We'll spend the next four Tuesdays on it: this week, spotting where it's quietly underperforming. Then patient experience and friction. Then the money you're probably...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
-Secure Telehealth 🎁 Bonus Edition: Tuesday Telehealth Tip Tech That Actually Works for Mental Health Providers Your patients are opening up about their deepest struggles — the last thing you need is technology getting in the way. Hi Reader Mental health providers have some of the most unique tech needs in all of healthcare. You're not ordering labs or reading imaging — you're building trust, holding space, and navigating deeply personal conversations. That means your technology has to be...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read