Caregivers tapping mHealth devices for emergency notification capabilities
The increasing use of mHealth digital devices for home-based care
reflects two trends: an increasing number of households featuring a
caregiver and advancing technology that can help those in the role,
according to the report. Read More
Digital Health Devices, Tools Popular Among Caregivers
A new report finds that 41% of caregivers with broadband connections use
a digital health device. The report also finds interest among present
and future caregivers in "electronic panic button" devices, online care
coordination tools and other health IT products. MobiHealthNews et al. Read More
ATA Launches Accreditation Program for Telehealth Services
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The American Telemedicine Association launched an accreditation program for providers who offer online consultations directly to patients. The program -- which initially will include only U.S. providers -- aims to ensure consumers and payers that telehealth services are safe and secure. MedCity News, MobiHealthNews. Read More |
Study finds most patients want the option to withhold data from their doctors
The study
comes out of The Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University School of
Medicine and Eskenazi Health, published as a five-part special
supplement to the Journal of General Internal Medicine,
and it shows that patients for the most part want controls of their
data. Using Eskenazi Health’s in-house electronic record system,
researchers gave 105 patients the option to block sensitive information,
including information on sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse
or mental health, from their care providers. Doctors could still gain
access to the data if they deemed it medically essential by hitting a
“break the glass” button in the back-end interface. Read More
Eight things we learned about HealthKit from Duke, Oschner
Duke University and Oschner Health System in Louisiana are two of the
first hospitals to integrate with Apple HealthKit via Epic. Here’s eight takeaways from a confence.
1) Patients and doctors are clamoring for patient-generated data
2) The Epic integration is a one-way pipe
3) The current set of data fields is just the beginning
4) Apple can’t access patients’ data
5) HealthKit is already reimbursable by CMS
6) Hospitals don’t want to leave Android users out
7) Apple’s glucose goof hasn’t shaken doctors’ confidence
8) HealthKit has big implications for medical research
Read More
1) Patients and doctors are clamoring for patient-generated data
2) The Epic integration is a one-way pipe
3) The current set of data fields is just the beginning4) Apple can’t access patients’ data
5) HealthKit is already reimbursable by CMS
6) Hospitals don’t want to leave Android users out
7) Apple’s glucose goof hasn’t shaken doctors’ confidence
8) HealthKit has big implications for medical research
Read More
ONC Releases Health IT Strategic Plan for 2015-2020
The Office of the National Coordinator
for Health IT today released a strategic plan for federal health IT. The
plan outlines five goals through 2020, including increasing the
adoption and use of health IT and advancing secure and interoperable
health data. Modern Healthcare et al. Read More
Mobile overcomes communication challenges
Survey results show mHealth is key to relieving communication issues in healthcare organizations, especially for nurses. http://bit.ly/1yQxLUJ
An Accenture survey has found mHealth is key to alleviating communication problems in healthcare organizations, especially for nurses
UK & Depression App
The app initiative is part of a broader NHS effort to modernize and enhance youth mental health care in Britain.
Take Two Apps And Call Me In ThenMorningmraalert.blogspot.com
Depression is the most common type of mental illness, affecting some 350 million people globally and contributing to other problems like obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. But it often goes undiagnosed, and once you know you suffer from...Read More
How Do We Activate Engagement in Mental Health Patients?
mraalert.blogspot.com
The National Institute of Mental Health reports that 1 in 4 adults - approximately 57.7 million Americans - experience a mental health disorder in a given year – and less than half get help. 1 in 17 Americans live with a serious mental illness....
Read More
Check out the ‘ambulance drone’ that could one day save your life
...installing a network of the first-aid quadcopters across a city would give someone suffering a cardiac arrest an 80 percent chance of survival, up from around 8 percent today Check out the ‘ambulance drone’ that could one day save your life digitaltrends.com
An engineering student in the Netherlands has unveiled an 'ambulance drone' fitted with a defibrillator that he believes could save thousands of lives a year. Read More
The Case for Nurse Navigators
Nurse navigation programs have exhibited benefits to key performance metrics including cutting costs and saving lives, as well as reducing length of stay.
What’s Your Patient Navigation Strategy? orthoserviceline.com
Patient navigation has become the new favorite strategy for healthcare organizations trying to overcome the challenges of a fragmented care continuum. Whether seeking control over a complete episode in a bundled payment, or trying to make...Read More
Healthcare, Poverty, and Technology: Connecting the Dots
A new nongovernmental organization is seeking to leverage mobile and connected health technologies to improve healthcare access for the poor in the United States.
There is an opportunity here to improve access to healthcare for the poor using technology. With that in mind, Aventor’s mission is to help social entrepreneurs trying to bring these important technologies to market by helping them cope with the legal, regulatory, and policy obstacles that lie in their way. Mobile health and telemedicine have great potential, but that potential also makes them disruptive to the current healthcare system. Read More
There is an opportunity here to improve access to healthcare for the poor using technology. With that in mind, Aventor’s mission is to help social entrepreneurs trying to bring these important technologies to market by helping them cope with the legal, regulatory, and policy obstacles that lie in their way. Mobile health and telemedicine have great potential, but that potential also makes them disruptive to the current healthcare system. Read More
Does Telemedicine Work in 'Hands-on' Specialties?
This was a demonstration project, showing that even the most clinical
exam–dependent subspecialties can do this if they do it with the right
infrastructure. It is a good example of how broad the reach of
telemedicine can be. It is very empowering for patients, many of whom
are very challenged by getting to major medical centers—physically,
economically, or because of time and distance. A big problem in
rheumatology is access. We have 3-month waiting lists. Telemedicine
dramatically increases our ability to care for more patients. Read More
Treatment of Ebola in the Digital Age
There’s many ways digital tools could impact the process
of diagnosing and treating a disease like Ebola. One example would be an
Ebola hotline to serve as the point of entry for care. A single national Ebola hotline number could connect an at-risk patient to a trained Ebola screener who can assess the patient’s likelihood of exposure, clinical acuity, and need for care. The hotline number could produce an audio or audio/video connection depending on how the at-risk patient chooses to access the service. A screener would then follow an evidence-based decision-tree to conduct the assessment. The screening process limits exposures while facilitating care for the person potentially exposed to Ebola. Read More
PHR Alerts to Patients Help Narrow 'Prevention Gaps'
A study published in Telemedicine and e-Health
shows that alerts sent to patients via their personal health records
can help ensure individuals receive recommended care. Researchers note
that nearly three-fourths of patients took action on their care after
two alerts. FierceEMR, Telemedicine and e-Health. Read More
ECRI’s Top 10 Technology Hazards for 2015
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Alarm Hazards Top ECRI's List of 2015 Health Technology Risks
Alarm issues have ranked as the top
health technology hazard for 2015 on ECRI Institute's annual top-10
report. The authors recommend that facilities address alarm issues
through staff training and by limiting the number of people who
establish default settings. MedCity News et al. Read More
CMS expands Medicare benefits for telehealth services in the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
CMS continues
to expand coverage for telehealth services, and now includes annual
wellness visits, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, and prolonged evaluation
and management services. This another step in aligning Medicare
coverage in ways that promote cost saving strategies like ACOs and
bundled payments.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) issued the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (Medicare
PFS) on October 31, 2014.
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New favorable CMS guidelines on telemedicine reimbursements
New CMS guidelines on telemedicine reimbursement include 'significant additional coverage' medcitynews.com
Buried in an almost 1200-page document for 2015 Medicare payments to physicians and practitioners were provisions paying for remote chronic care management using a new current procedural terminology. Read More
6 insider tips for safer surgery
Consumer Reports' safety experts give their best advice
Published: November 2014
Hospitals are dangerous places: 440,000 Americans each year are estimated to die after experiencing medical errors in hospitals. That’s 10 times the number of people who die in car crashes annually. It’s more than two jumbo jets crashing every day. And it’s nearing the number of people who die from heart disease or cancer. “Yet many of the deaths go unnoticed except by devastated families,” says Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumer Reports’ Safe Patient Project.
Patient Engagement is Crucial to Healthcare Reform
Consumers who
are actively tracking their own wellness are truly the “low-hanging
fruit” for healthcare providers looking to engage patients.Is Patient-Reported mHealth Data Actually Useful? blog.nomise.com
The potential value of patient data
management has led experts to suggest that it should be incorporated
into future meaningful use standards Read More
How government agencies leverage mHealth, growing consumer expectations
At the Department of Veterans Affairs, technology director William
Cerniuk said in his role he is responsible for the latest push to give healthcare providers iPads across the VA.
In the last six months, he said, the VA has delivered 12,000 iPads to
clinicians across the agency. The agency also is developing a series of
100 applications to be used on the iPads, which boast remote desktop
capabilities."These apps will allow our clinicians to not only access the patient record in very efficient ways, but do it anywhere at any time," he said. Read More
Digital and Social Habits of Nurses at Work
Infographic created by Wolters Kluwer Health highlights nurses' digital and social habits at work as nurses are increasingly relying on mobile devices.
83 percent of nurses perceive that their organization’s policy allows patient care staff access to public web sites, including social media, to access general health information that will help them with patient conditions, according to a recent survey from Wolters Kluwer Health.
The findings reveal that 65 percent of nurses are using mobile devices for professional purposes at work at least 30 minutes per day, while 20 percent use them for two hours or more. Also notable, these same results indicated that the vast majority of organizations strictly prohibit actual interaction with patients through the technology.
3 reasons for provider moderation in health IT use
While
digital tools enhancing communication between physicians and patients
has been proven an effective method for boosting medication adherence
for some patients, their use should be approached with caution,
according to Esther Choo, an assistant professor at Warren Alpert
Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island.
Choo, in a commentary
for Quartz, warns that while email and text messaging can be helpful for
engaging patients, there are a number of challenges associated with
using such tools.
read in
http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/3-reasons-provider-moderation-health-it-use/2014-11-21
Read More
Choo, in a commentary
for Quartz, warns that while email and text messaging can be helpful for
engaging patients, there are a number of challenges associated with
using such tools.read in
http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/3-reasons-provider-moderation-health-it-use/2014-11-21
Read More
Compassionate care key in decreasing patient pain, boosting outcomes
Healthcare that is delivered with kindness and compassion that
celebrates the importance of human connection is more effective than not
when treating sick patients, and can help them have less pain and
anxiety, according to an article in Newsmax Health.
After reviewing various research on kindness and compassion in medical care, James Doty, M.D., founder and director of Stanford University School of Medicine's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, presented his findings at the Compassion and Healthcare Conference in San Francisco this month. Read More
After reviewing various research on kindness and compassion in medical care, James Doty, M.D., founder and director of Stanford University School of Medicine's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, presented his findings at the Compassion and Healthcare Conference in San Francisco this month. Read More
Medical errors traumatize doctors and nurses
Patients aren't the only ones who suffer after an adverse event, study finds.
While errors made by medical professionals are known to have a profound impact on patients, a new study finds that such missteps also are a major source of trauma for doctors and nurses.
A 2013 study indicates that medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in the United States, making it more pressing than ever for the medical community to address the impact and prevention of such mistakes. Read More
To learn more:
- here's the study
- read the article
While errors made by medical professionals are known to have a profound impact on patients, a new study finds that such missteps also are a major source of trauma for doctors and nurses.
A 2013 study indicates that medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in the United States, making it more pressing than ever for the medical community to address the impact and prevention of such mistakes. Read More
To learn more:
- here's the study
- read the article
Insurers should embrace telemedicine
Pittsburgh-based Highmark recognizes the importance of technology. That's why the insurer decided to cover online visits via Iagnosis, a tele-dermatology solution, for 5.2 million of its members.
While insurers are slowly incorporating telemedicine into their health plan offerings, many doctors worry the increased use of online visits with patients could lead to wrong diagnoses. >> Read the full story at FierceHealthPayer
While insurers are slowly incorporating telemedicine into their health plan offerings, many doctors worry the increased use of online visits with patients could lead to wrong diagnoses. >> Read the full story at FierceHealthPayer
Topol: Why Are Doctors and Hospitals the Owners of Patient Records?
Figure.
Data from WebMD/Medscape Digital Technology Survey.More than half of patients believe they own their records, and nearly 40% of physicians think they own their patients' records. Well, these doctors (and hospitals) are right—they legally own the records. But should they?
Read More
Eric Topol Pushes a Patient-Centered Healthcare
Topol notes that digital health tools can help the patient "come alive" "The mantra should be 'nothing about me without me'. You are your data
and you need to control and own your data. And there are new tools now
that we didn't even hear of four years ago that can help," he said. "I
believe technology can actually enhance the intmacy of the
doctor/patient relationship," Topol concluded. "When we're giving the
patient the data in real time that they're entitled to, it puts the
doctor and patient on equal footing. The patient has come alive, to a
much higher degree." Read More
Tech-Savvy Seniors Seek Digital Tools to Manage Health
Clinicians Increasingly Comfortable with Digital Health
Survey: Clinicians Increasingly Comfortable with Digital Health
Healthcare InformaticsA recently released survey of clinicians reveals that more and more are accepting of digital health devices and concepts to bring them closer to patients.The survey, from PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) Health Research Institute (HRI), indicates a changing attitudes among physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician's assistants. HRI surveyed 1,000 clinicians and found that they have begun to share the same attitude with consumers on how digital health can move care from beyond the four walls of the hospital. Read More
Healthcare InformaticsA recently released survey of clinicians reveals that more and more are accepting of digital health devices and concepts to bring them closer to patients.The survey, from PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) Health Research Institute (HRI), indicates a changing attitudes among physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician's assistants. HRI surveyed 1,000 clinicians and found that they have begun to share the same attitude with consumers on how digital health can move care from beyond the four walls of the hospital. Read More
Medicare codes and payment information for Online consultations
An in-depth outline of the telemental health reimbursement codes the CMS recently approved for 2015. Read More
AMA Adopts Policies on EHR Penalties, Interstate Licensure
The American Medical Association at its Interim Meeting adopted a policy that calls for meaningful use penalties to be removed from the electronic health record incentive payment program, EHR Intelligence reports (Murphy, EHR Intelligence, 11/11).
Under the 2009
economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate
meaningful use of certified EHRs can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare
incentive payments.
Penalties are
scheduled to start in 2015 for eligible professionals and hospitals that
have not yet met meaningful use requirements (Gold, "Morning eHealth," Politico, 11/11). Read More
ONC Unveils 10-Year Quality Improvement Vision for Health IT
The Office of the National Coordinator
for Health IT has released a 10-year vision report for using health IT
to achieve a fully interoperable quality improvement ecosystem. The
report complements ONC's roadmap for achieving interoperability. Health Data Management et al.Read More
Improving Patient Use of Interactive Preventive Health Records
Primary
care practices can encourage patients to use interactive preventive
health records (IPHRs) by directly engaging patients, according to
research supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Investigators conducted a mixed methods assessment of a proactive
implementation strategy for an IPHR portal offered by eight primary care
practices. Strategies included learning collaboratives with practice
champions and redesigned workflow to integrate portal use into care.
The study found that a customized implementation strategy designed by
practices resulted in 25.6% of patients using the personal health
portal. The study, “Engaging Primary Care Patients to Use a
Patient-Centered Personal Health Record,” was published in the
September/October issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
Select to access the abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Select to access the abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Providers Embrace Telemedicine, Despite Obstacles
Telemedicine is not a distant possibility; it is here and in play now, the report concluded.
Healthcare leaders said that their organizations are committed to
continuing to implement telemedicine programs, even as they face
challenges such as getting doctors to buy into the programs and insurers
to pay for them. Why? For the majority of respondents, it’s simple —
they believe telemedicine will help them keep patients healthier. Most
also say that offering meaningful telemedicine services will be critical
to the future success of their organizations.
Additionally:
- 84% of respondents felt that the development of telemedicine services is either very important (52 percent) or important (32 percent) to their organizations. Virtually none said they considered the technology to be unimportant (3 percent).
One third of physicians use telemedicine, one fifth are reimbursed
Most
healthcare practitioners are either using telemedicine or planning to
use it soon, but less than a fifth of them are being paid for those
services.
Telemedicine reimbursement is gradually gaining steam. Just this month CMS released a final rulethat will expand the range of telehealth services that can be reimbursed under Medicare starting in 2015. In July a House bill was proposed that would also expand reimbursement by Medicare; it’s currently in committee.
Read More
Telemedicine reimbursement is gradually gaining steam. Just this month CMS released a final rulethat will expand the range of telehealth services that can be reimbursed under Medicare starting in 2015. In July a House bill was proposed that would also expand reimbursement by Medicare; it’s currently in committee.Read More
Arkansas physicians use telemedicine to aid high-risk pregnant women in Oklahoma
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is providing telemedicine support for high-risk pregnant women at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences’ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The collaboration will allow consultations in real time between medical specialists, pregnant women and the physicians who treat them at the OSU Medical Center in Tulsa. Medical professionals at OSU will be able to collaborate with medical specialists to co-manage patient care so they don’t have to refer patients to distant hospitals or clinics. Read More
Palliative Telehealth
The pilots are not intended to supplant in-person visits.In fact, because the this pilot is being conducted in patient homes,
the RN case manager and social worker are bringing the video device to
the patient, so the in-person component is built in. Read More
Electronic Data Enables Care Evaluation at Individual Nurse Level
Researchers from the University of Michigan, the University and
Colorado, and Marquette University have demonstrated differences of
individual nurse performance in quality of care, based on individual
nurse level data linked to patient-specific outcomes. Read More
The study is available here.
The study is available here.
I-PASS the BATON
More evidence for implementing standardized handover protocols
Standardized handoffs reduce patient harm modernhealthcare.com
Significant reductions in medical errors and preventable adverse events are possible when healthcare providers standardize the way patients are handed off from one physician to the next during shift changes, according to a new study. Read More
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e-Behaviorial Health
Benefit from new technologies... enable people to have remote access to CBT
