Forgive me if this question has been asked already, I couldn’t find anything definitive. I have never worked for a practice that’s even entertained the idea of telemedicine, so it’s brand new to me.

Everything I’m reading on telemedicine (from Medicare and Medicaid) indicates that it’s primarily for "underserved rural areas". Does this mean that it’s for when a patient is in a hospital or PCP office in the middle of nowhere and needs a specialist to consult on their case and that’s how the specialist is brought in rather than one of them having to make the trip to wherever? Or if the doctor is on call for a local facility and gets "dialed in" (for lack of a better term) rather than rushing over to the hospital? Or is it for a patient after hours who has a minor ailment that can be addressed without making them wait for the next business day to physically come into the office?

I would imagine that in the the instance of the first two scenarios, all the elements of the E&M could be hit because it’d be almost a collaborative effort, right? (the practitioner who’s physically with the patient does the exam) But in the last scenario – the after hours patient – it really could never be higher than a 99213 because it would be a limited physical exam.

Do I have the right idea on this or am I not even in the right ballpark?

Thanks!