The impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare industry’s ability to innovate has been stunning. We have seen FDA emergency authorizations and relaxed regulatory guidelines enable the development of radical new ventilator ideas, accelerated timelines for vaccine development, and an extraordinary transition to telehealth services. Many of these actions were a response to the exposure of weak spots […]
The Draft Consumer Privacy Framework for Health Data aims to set standards for the collection, use and protection of health data on smartwatches, fitness bands, mHealth apps and other consumer-facing technology. Two digital health organizations have joined forces to develop guidelines to protect health information gathered by consumer-facing mHealth devices. The Draft Consumer Privacy Framework […]
For a person living with a rare disease, it can take five years or longer to receive an accurate diagnosis. With more than 40% of patients initially misdiagnosed, this “diagnostic odyssey” can have serious and long-term health consequences for the 300 million individuals affected by rare diseases and their families. It is also incredibly frustrating. A key factor contributing to […]
The grants are part of a two-year program launched by HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to help states and Tribal organizations use telehealth and other resource to tackle the opioid abuse crisis. Federal officials are issuing roughly $1.5 billion to healthcare providers and other organizations to help them use telehealth and […]
SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic, and the corresponding need for social distancing, has catapulted telehealth into the mainstream. According to some estimates, the proportion of ambulatory patient visits using telehealth (video, phone, or e-visit) increased from 10 percent before the pandemic to more than 90 percent during the pandemic. These shifts have been buttressed by temporary […]
Kimberly Sanders was recovering from a heroin addiction when the coronavirus struck. She had been homeless before and struggled to commute long distances for treatments. But because of her failure to attend several appointments, her previous doctors stopped seeing her. Years later, in a bid to get clean, she moved to Estes Park, Colorado, and began attending […]
Other major challenges include remote patient monitoring, interoperability, real-time data analytics, work-from-home resources and patient surveillance, according to a new KLAS report. A new report from research firm KLAS found that nearly half of the 19 healthcare executives surveyed say that either telehealth functionality or capacity has been their primary problem to solve during the early stages […]
In the year ahead, nearly one-fourth of healthcare leaders anticipate increased telehealth usage to have one of the biggest impacts on the healthcare industry, according to a new Definitive Healthcare report. For its 2020 Healthcare Trends Survey, data firm Definitive Healthcare polled 2,300 industry leaders on the trends they predict will have the greatest impact on the […]
Covid-19 has seen a massive increase in the use of telemedicine. While it may seem novel, it’s actually been around for decades and research shows it’s frequently just as effective as face-to-face interventions, if not better. But how well it works for you mostly depends on your healthcare system. When it comes to telemedicine, we […]
A group of 14 Democratic senators penned a letter to FCC chairman Ajit Pai on Aug. 20 detailing what they say is the agency’s failure to manage the Rural Health Care Program and COVID-19 Telehealth Program. In the letter, the senators said that FCC “has not made sufficient funding available, has delayed rural healthcare funding decisions, and […]
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other federal agencies are joining forces to increase access to telehealth solutions in rural areas across the U.S. According to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) issued in early September, the FCC, along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will […]
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is calling on President Donald J. Trump to make permanent telehealth flexibilities introduced as part of the nation’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The call comes in a letter addressed directly to Trump sent Aug. 19. It says that the flexibilities put in place by the U.S. Department of Health and […]
The grants, part of a $35 million package announced last week, target programs that expand telehealth access for emergency services, rural health research and telementoring. Federal officials have announced almost $12 million in grants aimed at expanding access to telehealth services in rural parts of the country. The awards are part of more than $35 million […]
It’s been 24 years since the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law. Designed to protect the privacy, security and integrity of protected health information (PHI), the law has been notoriously difficult to comply with and requires organizations to have specific measures in place to safeguard this information. Combine these challenges […]
Tele consultation may not be a silver bullet for all COVID-19 related problems but it will help hospitals and doctors to continue with patient consultations anytime – anywhere, improving the hospital’s image and at the same time maintaining a steady revenue streamThe concept of tele consultation has been around for a while, but its use […]