What You Should Know:
- Luna, a provider of in-home physical therapy, announced that it has been chosen as the exclusive provider of in-home physical therapy for AARP members.
- Based on specialty, geography, schedule, and other factors, Luna will match AARP members with local therapists at the time and location of their choosing. For consistency of care, the same therapist will treat AARP members for the entirety of the treatment plan. Additionally, AARP members and therapists
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AARP
Why It’s Time for Intelligent Prior Authorization
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed a new rule to advance interoperability and improve the prior authorization (PA) process for Medicare and Medicaid patients. Specifically, the rule stipulates that health plans adopt electronic prior authorization processes, adhere to shorter turnaround times, clearly communicate denial reasons, publish key metrics annually, and implement the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) Application Programming Interface
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M&A: Rendever Acquires AARP’s Alcove Virtual Reality Platform
What You Should Know:
- Rendever, the company pioneering the future of aging through VR acquires AARP’s Alcove, a popular consumer VR platform publicly available to families at home through their own VR headsets.
- The Rendever team has been co-developing Alcove with AARP since 2020. By bringing Alcove in-house, Rendever is amplifying its reach through an integrated ecosystem of products that enable a better aging experience for seniors worldwide, regardless of where they live.
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Drug Price Transparency: Planning for Change
Currently, some 22 states have enacted prescription drug transparency laws that require entities across the drug supply chain to report pricing information to state officials. Designed to shed light on the true cost of drugs and to ensure that consumers and insurers aren’t being gouged, drug pricing transparency laws seek to level the playing field by delivering greater visibility into drug costs. And given the fact that prescription drug prices continue to increase, the topic of drug price
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Oak Street Health Opens Ninth Center in Arizona
What You Should Know:
- Oak Street Health, a network of value-based primary care centers for adults on Medicare and the only primary care provider to carry the AARP name, is now welcoming patients at the new Rolling Hills Square center at 7040 East Golf Links Road in Tucson.
- This is Oak Street Health’s ninth center in Arizona.
Oak Street Health Background
Oak Street Health delivers personalized, preventive primary care through a model that was created to meet the unique needs of
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Our Nursing Home Industry – A National Scandal
A society defines itself by how it cares for its most vulnerable, and especially its seniors. As a Board-Certified Internist and Geriatrician with over 35 years of providing care in nursing facilities, this sentiment has guided me throughout my career. It has led me to found Tapestry Health, a multispecialty medical practice that focuses on providing medical infrastructure in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), as well as Project Patient Care, a patient advocacy organization based in Chicago,
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XRHealth Secures $10M to Expand Virtual Reality Treatment in the Metaverse
What You Should Know:
- XRHealth, the gateway to the healthcare metaverse, announced today that they raised $10M in funding to expand virtual healthcare treatment in the Metaverse. The funding was backed by HTC, Bridges Israel impact investment fund, AARP, and crowdfunding on StartEngine.com and existing investors.
- XRHealth’s platform is FDA and CE registered and provides an immersive experience for users, transporting them to a virtual world for comprehensive
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9 Ways UX/UI Design Can Improve Digital Health Adoption for Seniors
Seniors have the lowest reported usage of telehealth of any age group. As many healthcare providers are increasing the use of telehealth, especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of new tools and technologies could impact seniors.
In my experience, this doesn’t indicate that older adults aren’t tech-minded, or that they are not using tech products currently. In fact, studies show that seniors use smartphones at the same rate as younger groups. Over 80 percent of
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Understanding and Alleviating Social Isolation Among Older Adults
Social isolation and loneliness among older adults are common and far-reaching issues that have been linked to serious health concerns including depression, cognitive decline, and poor physical health. A recent study found 52 percent of older adults age 65 and older experience feelings of loneliness a few times a year, and 21 percent reported feeling lonely every day. With evidence of social isolation and loneliness among older adults being as unhealthy as smoking 15 cigarettes per day, this is
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Addressing Loneliness and Social Isolation in the Medicare Population
In recent years, the healthcare industry's understanding of social determinants of health (SDoH) and their impact on patient outcomes has grown dramatically. Researchers and practitioners now recognize that social isolation and loneliness fall under the SDOH umbrella. In response, many payers and providers are exploring initiatives to address social isolation among members and patients.
The health effects of social isolation and loneliness are costly and harmful. According to Health
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