The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan, also known as the Federal Employee Program (FEP) has selected Teladoc, Inc. to provide general medical and behavioral health services for the 2018 benefit year. The implementation of Teladoc will allow millions of federal employees around the country anytime, anywhere to access quality health care services through multiple devices – mobile app and web video capabilities, as well as phone – along with easy-to-use tools and alerts to encourage
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Technology
Indica MD Launches Medical Marijuana Telehealth Platform in California and New York
Indica MD, a Pasadena, CA-based digital health startup has launched a HIPAA compliant medical marijuana telehealth platform in California and New York that provides patient evaluations for the safe, complementary and alternative use of cannabis. The online medical marijuana doctor service connects patients with licensed physicians in California and New York which can approve them for their medical marijuana card so they are able to gain access to medical cannabis dispensaries in their
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What Functionalities Should Patient Portal Tools Have To Succeed?
It’s no surprise that the HIMSS17 conference dwelled on high profile topics around population health, data analytics, more affordable EHRs and security. What IS surprising is that patient engagement is now being reported right up there as an HIT priority. Why?Most hospitals are still experiencing dismal usage of patient portals, especially in community and rural hospitals. But this is a problem plaguing even our large health systems. As a result, the many anticipated benefits to patients and to
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Fruit Street Health Lands $3M to Expand Telehealth Platform for Lifestyle & Obesity Medicine
Fruit Street Health, a NYC-based provider of HIPAA-Compliant telehealth software for lifestyle and obesity medicine has raised $3M in funding led by Dr. Jeremy Tucker, a senior emergency medicine physician who sits on the board of directors of Fruit Street, with participation from other physician investors. The latest round brings the total number of physicians who have invested in the company to over 200.Founded in 2014, Fruit Street provides telehealth software to healthcare providers allowing
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Despite ACA Uncertainty, 80% of Providers Believe in Future of Population Health Management
A recent Health Catalyst survey finds that despite uncertainty around the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), 80 percent of healthcare executives stand firm on their population health strategy to address the quality and cost of healthcare. According to a July survey of 199 US healthcare executives by Health Catalyst. Sixty-eight percent of healthcare executives reported that PHM is “very important” to their healthcare delivery strategy during the next two years, while
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TELUS Health Launches MedDialog for Physicians to Connect Through EMRs Across Canada
This week, TELUS Health announced the launch of MedDialog, a new national clinical solution that delivers doctor-to-doctor communication through electronic medical records (EMRs) for enhanced patient care across Canada. By eliminating the need for phone and fax communications, the solution technology will enable more efficient clinical practice and ensures that all communication history, such as referrals, specialist consultations, laboratory testing results and other patient information,
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Chilmark: New Prior Authorization Solutions Can Address Provider-Payer Friction
Prior Authorization is often viewed as the poster child for throwing the Quadruple Aim off balance with its pursuit of cost reduction at the expense of provider experience, but the latest research from Chilmark Research shows that new PA models and maturing PA technology solutions could benefit both providers and payers.Traditionally, primitive PA and its associated impacts account for the great divide in provider-payer relationships. The sheer volume of PA requirements is getting increasingly
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Can Telemedicine Transform the Mental Health Care Delivery Model?
People who suffer from mental illness not only struggle with their condition, but oftentimes struggle to get care. This is especially concerning when you consider that mental illness affects 1 in 5 people or 43 million in the US and that number is growing.1 These individuals stand to benefit from behavioral health counseling and support, but unfortunately their need is met with a shortage of mental health professionals. In fact, according to the U.S. Health Resources and Services
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Providers: Do We Have To Define Population Health To Make It Useful?
Maybe the initial challenge of population health is deciding exactly what that phrase means.Well before it became a catchphrase in health IT, population health was the province of academics who devised predictably academic definitions like “… the aggregate health outcome of health-adjusted life expectancy (quantity and quality) of a group of individuals, in an economic framework that balances the relative marginal returns from the multiple determinants of health.”Originally created by and
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Telehealth Monitoring Provider VRI Acquires Healthcom
Valued Relationships, Inc.(VRI), a provider of telehealth monitoring solutions to seniors has acquired Sullivan, Illinois-based Healthcom to expand its footprint in senior care market. Founded in 1992 by CEO Ralph Kirk, Healthcom partners with healthcare providers to provide services that enhance the standard of care.From medical alert services and medication management to telehealth solutions and care transitions, Healthcom offers an integrated service to help reduce readmissions, improve
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