mHealth Text Messages Promote Medication Adherence

Nine of 13 articles show improvement in adherence rates with mobile health text messages

MONDAY, Aug. 3, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Mobile health (mHealth) short message service text messages can improve medication adherence, according to a review published online July 27 in the Journal of Clinical Nursing.
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Texas Law Will Bring Telemedicine Care to Children at School

Under a new law going into effect on Sept. 1, children enrolled in Texas' Medicaid program will be able to access virtual doctor visits at school while being supervised by a school nurse. However, some stakeholders are concerned that the services could put patient safety at risk. Texas Tribune. Read More

Updated Online Tool Aims To Help Users Find Info on Providers

An updated tool released by the Federation of State Medical Boards enables users to look up information on licensing and state medical board disciplinary actions for more than 900,000 providers. The tool, DocInfo, searches regularly updated data from 70 state medical and osteopathic boards. MedPage Today, FSMB release. Read More

33% of CVS MinuteClinic Telehealth Users Favor Remote Care

A new survey published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine finds that one-third of telehealth users at CVS' MinuteClinic preferred the remote video visit to an in-person visit. According to the survey, more than 95% of respondents were highly satisfied with the telehealth visit. FierceHealthIT, MobiHealthNews. Read More

Patient Portal Messages Not Yet Sufficient for Clinical Decisions

A Mayo Clinic study finds that patients and physicians say the use of secure portals to discuss blood pressure management is helpful. However, the information shared via portal messages rarely is sufficient for a physician to write a prescription. MobiHealthNews, Telemedicine and e-Health. Read More

Varying State Definitions of Telehealth Cause Confusion

Variations in state definitions of telehealth and telemedicine create "confusing environments" for users, according to a report by the Center for Connected Health Policy, FierceHealthIT reports.  ccording to the report, 48 states and Washington, D.C., have definitions of telehealth or telemedicine written into state law or their respective Medicaid programs (Bowman, FierceHealthIT, 8/4). Rhode Island and New Jersey are the only states that lack a definition for either term.

Meanwhile, the report found that states that do define the terms often alternate between telehealth and telemedicine. While there are some similarities, no two definitions are the same (CCHP report, July 2015).

The report also found that:

• Nine states reimburse for store-and-forward services, which enable electronic transmission of medical information;
• 16 states reimburse for remote patient monitoring (FierceHealthIT, 8/4); and
• Email, phone and fax are rarely accepted as reimbursable forms of telehealth services, unless combined with another method.

Findings on Licensure

In terms of licensing, the report found that:

• Eight state medical boards issue telehealth licenses that could allow providers to offer telehealth services in other states; and
• 11 states have joined the Federation of State Medical Boards' Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which allows for an expedited licensure process for providers to apply for licenses in other states.

The report also found that more than 200 telehealth-related measures were introduced across 42 states during the 2015 legislative session (CCHP report, July 2015).  Read More

Telehealth Can Help Special-Needs Kids Access Care

A new report suggests that telehealth can help address the barriers to care that special-needs children in California face, such as provider shortages and inadequate access to specialists. The report also offers recommendations to reduce challenges to implementing telehealth technologies. mHealth Intelligence, California Healthline's "Capitol Desk." Read More

Using Social Data to Build Our Evidence Base

RWJF- Jul 16, 2015, 2:22 PM, Posted by Alonzo L. Plough, Lori Melichar

Social media offers an exciting opportunity to innovate in health research—but the social data sandbox could use more players to conduct research, share datasets, and generate ideas about what we should be studying.  Read More

Researchers Examine Rural Pediatricians' Experiences With Telehealth

A new study published in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health looks at rural pediatricians' experiences and preferences when using telehealth for subspecialty care. The researchers identify several telehealth strategies that can be used to improve access to subspecialty pediatric care, including scheduling flexibility for providers. FierceHealthIT, Telemedicine and e-Health.  Read More

3 ways to improve communication and care coordination--from the patient and family's perspective

It's easy to write about the importance of effective provider-patient communication and care coordination. How fragmented care causes patients frustration, fear and can lead to readmissions. But it's another matter entirely to attempt to navigate the healthcare system and experience the lack (or at least perceived lack) of care coordination first-hand.  Read More