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CompuGroup Medical US (CGM) is assisting medical providers in the United States in the effort to prepare for and contain the coronavirus by offering its CGM ELVI Telemedicine service at no initial cost.
CGM ELVI Telemedicine is a web-based, electronic telehealth service that allows healthcare providers to connect with patients using HIPAA-compliant, secure video calls via web, phone, or mobile app.
In a guideline on its website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises those who are sick with the coronavirus (COVID-19) to stay home except to receive medical care. With CGM ELVI, those patients can further limit the spread of the virus by receiving medical care from home.
"As one of the leading eHealth companies in the world, we realized that we can do much more to help contain the virus, and that's when we decided to provide those same providers with a free, introductory subscription to our CGM ELVI telehealth service," said Benedikt Brueckle, Chief Executive Officer, CompuGroup Medical US.
Today's announcement arrives just days after President Donald Trump signed into law the bipartisan Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriation Act, 2020 (H.R. 6074). Introduced on March 4 and enacted on March 6, the new law provides $8.3 billion in emergency funding for federal agencies to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
In a statement on March 4, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "To protect public health, the bill will allow Medicare providers to extend telemedicine services to seniors regardless of where they live, at an estimated cost of $500 million."
H.R. 6074—enacted as Public Law 116-123—allocates an additional $100 million for grants under the Health Centers Program to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. During a public health emergency, the bill would waive Medicare's geographical restrictions on telehealth services, enabling providers to use CGM ELVI in urban and rural areas, as well as in the patient's home.
Health centers are community-based and patient-directed organizations that deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care services. CGM serves community health centers with electronic medical record and practice management solutions.
"Serving our communities and improving the public health is a daunting task any time, and one that is greatly magnified by the threat of the coronavirus," Brueckle said. "It is our hope that the funding from Congress and our offer to provide CGM ELVI electronic videoconferencing at no charge will combine to greatly improve the American response to and containment of COVID-19."
