CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) plans to award up to $3 million in telehealth grants over the next three years to programs aimed at increasing patients' access to quality health care services through the use of telemedicine in Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.
In an effort to remove barriers to care and address existing health outcome disparities in its service area, CareFirst has issued a request for proposals from qualified nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations, or
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Technology
In-Person Visit vs. Telehealth Visit? Time Is Money
A recent study released by Harvard Medical School (HMS) published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that the average total visit time for typical in-person medical visits was 121 minutes. This total time spent includes 37 minutes in travel time and 84 minutes in the clinic waiting and filing in paperwork.
Of the 84 minutes, only 20 minutes were spent face-to-face with a doctor. HMS estimates that the average opportunity cost per visit was $43 (not including cost
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Mercy Health Unveils $54M Virtual Care Center
St. Louis, Mo.-based Mercy Health today officially open its Virtual Care Center, a first of its kind $54 million 125,000-square-foot building that will serve as the center of its existing telemedicine programs. Mercy’s Virtual Care Center houses 330 specialized medical professionals and is designed to be a workspace for innovations in patient care and product testing. The building space is designed to invite collaboration and new ideas for getting care to patients when and where they need it,
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Study: Veterans Prefer Telehealth Visits Post Surgery
69 percent of veterans preferred telehealth visits over in-person followup visits for post surgery, according to a study published in JAMA Surgery, Reuters reports (Seaman, Reuters, 9/23). The project conducted by researchers from Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Vanderbilt University and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Nashville evaluated data collected between May 2014 and June 2014 from 23 veterans examines preferences of veterans with regard to telephone, video, and
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98% of Med Students Prefer Face-to-Face Visits Over Telehealth Visits
98 percent of medical students would prefer to see their future patients face-to-face for the initial visit as opposed to telehealth visits, according to results from the 10th annual Epocrates Future Physicians of America survey. Even for follow-ups, 89 percent of students favor the traditional face-to-face exam over virtual visits. The survey of more than 1,000 medical students who use Epocrates, finds 41 percent of students turn to a medical app first for clinical answers while
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American Well vs Teladoc Telehealth Trademark Battle Leaning Teladoc’s Way
This week, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) has agreed to move forward with Teladoc’s case to invalidate a patent held by rival American Well Corporation. The PTO’s order to proceed with the case, issued September 14, noted that Teladoc has a “likelihood” of prevailing.
“As the pioneer and leader in telehealth, Teladoc has the responsibility to protect consumers’ access to health innovations like telehealth,” said Jason Gorevic, chief executive officer of Teladoc in an official
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Partners HealthCare, Health Catalyst Partner to Create Population Health Center of Excellence
Partners HealthCare and Health Catalyst have established a $30 million initiative strategic collaboration aimed at fostering and accelerating the adoption of population health management (PHM) strategies and practices nationally to improve the quality of health care and lowering costs while meeting the needs of patients, providers and payors. The new population health center of excellence is designed to enable the development and testing of innovative PHM strategies at Partners and, in
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Doctor On Demand Named Preferred Telehealth Provider for Blue Cross Minnesota
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota has named Doctor on Demand the healthcare plan's preferred telehealth service provider, starting in 2016. Beginning January 1, 2016, a Doctor On Demand video visit will be an affordable and convenient telehealth option for Blue Cross members, as an extension of the provider network. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is the first Blues plan to select Doctor On Demand as a preferred provider of telehealth services and has named Doctor On Demand as an
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How CMS Is Redefining Telemedicine with Its Chronic Care Management Service Guidelines
Telemedicine is about reaching out to patients in remote locations, but limited to videoconferencing between patients and health providers. It is similar to a face-to-face service with the exception that the patient and primary care provider are not physically together. Such efficient is limited in term of scope and only addresses the geographical challenge and scarcity of physician availability, a far cry from what CMS wanted for its Chronic Care Management Services (CMS) which would
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3 Benefits of Telehealth Kiosks for Health Systems, Employers & Retailers
Telehealth kiosks are rapidly becoming a key part of national employer healthcare programs, retail healthcare, and health system outreach strategies, according to telehealth provider American Well. In fact, consultancy IHS projects the U.S. market for healthcare kiosks will rise from roughly 10,000 kiosks in 2015 to over 36,000 annually by 2020[i].
With American Well’s telehealth kiosks – the industry’s only kiosks that offer walk-in, unscheduled visits – patients anywhere can get
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