Virtual care is everywhere and ubiquitous. But at a time when the world is amid a global pandemic, virtual care is also being underutilized. The technology exists today to help our healthcare system not only more effectively and efficiently manage care during COVID-19, but also exponentially scale capacity in the face of future outbreaks.
Virtual care defined
Virtual care is a broad term. It encompasses all the ways healthcare practitioners provide for care remotely. This can mean
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Why Patients, Not EHRs, Deserve our Undivided Attention
We cannot earn patients’ trust and respect if we are tethered to a computer in the exam room, navigating the EHR concurrent to a visit or otherwise in a hurry to finish so we can return to our office where data entry to the EHR awaits us.
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I am a physician married to a physician, and for years, our evenings consisted of putting the kids to bed, then sitting next to each other, laptops open, finishing our charting. If you are a
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VR and AR Simulation Medical Training Can Reduce Medical Errors
Human error is an inevitable event in the practice of any trade, including healthcare and medicine. The errors made in medicine can have many negative effects for patients and healthcare providers. A study out of Johns Hopkins in 2016 found that medical errors accounted for over 250,000 deaths annually in the United States – making it the third leading cause of death in the country (Makary 2016). Research has shown that most medical errors occur during the administration and prescribing stages
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3 Ways to Boost Patient Confidence with Real-Time Contactless Communication
Although the vaccine’s rollout is slowly underway, Covid cases worldwide are continuing to reach all-time highs as new mutations make the virus even more contagious than ever before. Not surprisingly, patients’ concerns about visiting their healthcare providers in the midst of this global pandemic persist, pushing demand for telehealth solutions that allow patients and their doctors to communicate without the need for in-person visits.
In fact, a recent report from McKinsey found that
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11 Best Practices of a Successful Care Model Transformation Plan
Health systems across the country will require a plan to react to government deep spending cuts and revenue shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospital services have seen a significant downturn in demand in 2020, and the recent resurgence in cases has led to further decreases. The public health emergency has also resulted in innovation, most notably telehealth, which has been granted temporary pay parity during the pandemic.
Still, hospitals and health systems face a year of losses, but
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Best Practices to Ensure Telehealth Security and Protect Patient Data
To support the sudden increase in test results and medical records being transmitted during the pandemic, hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies implemented additional devices and remote connections into their networks. After the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) lifted penalties around telehealth to expand care options amid the crisis, new platforms were adopted that were not previously allowed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
This exercise of discretion
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Electronic Signatures Speed Care, Keep Providers in Compliance
While certain healthcare regulations—especially those around telehealth visits—have been relaxed during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the core compliance and regulatory environment remain intact, including rules around signatures.
Many hospitals and health systems have set up temporary care facilities or COVID-19 testing sites, while all types of healthcare providers have been forced to reconfigure waiting rooms, registration areas, and treatment rooms. The adjustments can throw
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Why Labor Management Systems Are a Resource Healthcare Can Rely On
In 2021, the role of advanced technology solutions across the healthcare sector can – and should -- be expanded. They already have been applied in such areas as billing, administrative work, in prescription management and some staff position scheduling. But with the ongoing advances in digital capability and automated intelligence, now is the time to consider a more holistic approach for how to integrate digital systems and solutions.
The rate of employment in healthcare has been on a
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Escalating Cyberattacks on Healthcare Organizations Highlight Need for Security Interventions
Healthcare organizations have faced continual stress from heavy COVID-19 caseloads in 2020. Cyberattacks on their information networks also loomed as a serious threat, and the pressure to protect data is expected to grow this year, as more criminals target healthcare providers.
Protecting patient data from unauthorized access has long been a regulatory prerequisite for healthcare organizations. But increasingly, cybercriminals see profit potential in attacking and crippling their networks,
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The Future of Remote Care Automation Begins with Cardiac Rehabilitation
2020 was undeniably the year that saw telehealth and remote care services come to the forefront of medical care. Many have hypothesized that, in the post-COVID world, remote care programs will be ubiquitous throughout hospitals and health systems. However, such a future is far from certain, as too many organizations currently lack the budget, IT infrastructure, and time necessary to implement new innovative remote care programs. There is a considerable disparity between the hype surrounding
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