The COVID-19 virus is ravaging the planet at a scale not seen since the infamous Spanish Flu of the early 1900s, inflicting immense devastation as the U.S. loses more than 200,000 lives and counting. According to CDC statistics, 94% of patient mortalities associated with COVID-19 were simultaneously suffering from preexisting conditions, leaving a mere 6% of victims with COVID-19 as their sole cause of death. However, while immediate prospects for a mass vaccine might not be until 2021, there is
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COPD
Blue Cross NC Launches No-Cost Virtual Programs to Quit Smoking and Reverse Diabetes
What You Should Know: - Today, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina partners with Carrot Inc. and Virta Health to help address two of the largest ongoing health issues facing Americans today - smoking and type 2 diabetes. - Virta and Carrot’s programs will be available to individual under-65 members and fully insured group members beginning November 2020. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC), today announced it is teaming up with Carrot Inc. and Virta
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Innovative Technologies Are the Future of Respiratory Care and Treatment
Breath measuring algorithms, smart inhalers, and wearable analytics are at the forefront of respiratory care technology. Lung cancers, including mesothelioma and asthma, account for 70% of the country’s breathing issues. Technological advancements are making it easier for specialists to diagnose and patients to administer self-care. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages forward, the advancement of pulmonary technology has gotten a boost. There is no way for the medical field to prepare for the
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CurieAI Launches AI-Driven Platform for COVID-19 Respiratory Monitoring and Management
What You Should Know: - SRI Ventures spin-off CurieAI announces the launch of its AI-driven COVID-19 case management platform - The Curie solution has been deployed to monitor inpatients and outpatients at San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation (SCAHC). CurieAI, a Menlo Park, CA-based healthcare startup spun-off from SRI Ventures, the corporate venture arm of SRI International, today announced the release of CurieAI’s first-of-its-kind AI-driven platform specifically designed for
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Innovaccer, CareSignal Partner to Enable Deviceless Remote Patient Monitoring
What You Should Know: - Innovaccer has recently partnered with CareSignal to address healthcare’s urgent need amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: to create and maintain solid, clinically actionable relationships with patients in a new set of predominantly virtual care. - CareSignal offers evidence-based end-to-end support services for chronic medical conditions such as asthma, CHF, COPD, diabetes, depression, hypertension, and hospital discharge support, and maternal health monitoring.
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Call to Action: Restrictions Around Virtual Health Can’t Go Back to “Normal”
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has passed several stimulus packages with the goal of helping employers keep their business in operation while office volume is down and, in some cases, practices are physically closed. The CARES Act, which included the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Provider Relief Fund, for example, has provided some relief to eligible healthcare providers, including low-interest rate loans to help providers pay staff salaries, rent, and other
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Propeller Health, Novartis Co-Package Asthma Medication in Europe for Prescription
What You Should Know: - Propeller Health announced it will co-package a new asthma medication from Novartis, which was approved by the European Commission this week for use in the EU. - Enerzair® Breezhaler® plus Propeller Health sensor is the first asthma medication to be co-packaged and co-prescribed with a digital health platform. - Propeller’s solution works by attaching a sensor to the Enerzair® Breezhaler® inhaler, which then delivers objective data on medication use to the
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How Parkland’s COVID-19 Vulnerability Index Identifies Dallas Hot Spots by Zip Code
PCCI’s Vulnerability Index: Uncovering and capturing factors in Dallas' COVID-19 risk Taking the fight to COVID-19 Management of pandemic spread (e.g., COVID-19) has tested the healthcare, political, and social fabric of communities around the world. For all, the term “flatten the curve” has come to represent how specific measures, such as social distancing, can slow the spread of the virus, which in turn can help to mitigate the tidal surge that would overwhelm the capacity of the
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Lenovo Launches Virtual Care Solution with Voice Activated Digital Assistant
What You Should Know: - Today, Lenovo launches Virtual Care solution to help healthcare provider organizations remotely monitor, engage with and educate patients with many of these chronic health conditions, including diabetes, COPD, congestive heart failure (CHF), and hypertension. - Easy to use, patients take the kit home, plug it in and can immediately begin interacting with their care team. Patients are guided through an individual daily care plan aided by biometric devices and
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Kaia Health Lands $26M to Expand AI-Driven Digital Therapeutics for MSK Conditions & COPD
What You Should Know: - Digital therapeutics company Kaia Health raises $26M in Series B funding to help grow its digital therapy solutions for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, and expand into new conditions. - The investment was led by Optum Ventures, Idinvest and capital300, plus participation from Balderton Capital, Heartcore Capital and Symphony Ventures, an investment partnership with world #1 golfer Rory McIlroy. - Kaia Health’s smartphone-based approach to managing chronic
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