On New Years Eve, just as the Covid-19 outbreak in Los Angeles was at its worst, all 451 of Olympia Medical Center’s exhausted employees learned they would soon lose their jobs. After 74 years, the hospital closed for good on March 31st, leaving residents of the surrounding community — poor and mostly people of color — without a place to see a doctor. And it isn’t the only hospital closing. At least 47 hospitals have closed or filed for bankruptcy in the last year, and there will
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Q1 2021 Health IT/Digital Health PC/VE, M&A, IPOs/ SPACs Activity
The first quarter of 2021 has been one of investor optimism as the vaccine rollout continues ahead of expectations and economic activity begins to accelerate in response. Within the Health IT industry, the already strong investment and M&A trends seen in 2020 have only accelerated. Over the course of the quarter, we observed $7 billion in private equity and venture capital investment across 158 companies. By comparison, Q1 of 2020 saw $3.2 billion and 127 investments. Health IT
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How a Virtual Care Mindset Leads to Greater Patient Acceptance and Sustainable Telehealth Growth
There's no question that the demand for telehealth and virtual care has grown exponentially over the last twelve months. With that growth has come a fundamental shift in the attitude toward virtual care. No longer do patients and providers take a "let's try it" approach—now, it's "we must do it." This is evidenced by the number of telehealth claims filed. In 2020, telehealth claims skyrocketed, increasing by 2,938% in November 2020 versus November 2019 as patients demanded virtual options and as
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Key Lessons from COVID-19 & How We Can Better Support our Healthcare Provider
COVID-19 has been a novel pandemic in many ways beyond the actual virus itself – from the irreparable impacts it’s having on society, to the immense strain it’s put on the healthcare industry. A recent report stated that 93% of healthcare professionals reported experiencing stress, 86% reported experiencing anxiety, and 76% reported exhaustion and burnout [1]. Considering that the virus will continue to have an impact in 2021 and the reality that COVID-19 will likely not be the last epidemic we
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How the Pandemic is Accelerating the Shift to Alternative Care Delivery Models
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we interact with one another, with businesses, and with the world around us. From social distancing to hand sanitation to remote working, its impact on society is immense. And among the various industries that are experiencing significant change as a result of the pandemic, healthcare tops the list. Supply chain disruptions, crowded ICUs and exhausted medical staff has taken a toll on hospitals and clinics — and they’ve had to pivot rapidly to new
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Bright.md Expands Solution to Automate Pre-Visit Workflows
What You Should Know: - Bright.md today announced the launch of its expanded solution to automate pre-visit workflows to drive efficiencies in care delivery - Bright.md new three offerings include Navigate, Interview, and Treat. - Navigate: Healthcare systems can now engage their patients and coordinate care delivery through the platform's new offering, Navigate. This product captures the symptoms and chief complaints from patients to instantly route them to the optimal care pathways
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AI-Powered COVID-19 Solution Reduces Report Turnaround Times by 30%, Study Finds
What You Should Know: - The Moscow Center for Diagnostics & Telemedicine found that the introduction of RADLogics’ AI-Powered solution into radiology workflow to analyze Chest-CT scans during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced report turnaround time by an average of 30 percent, which is equivalent to 7 minutes per case. - The study was conducted over two separate phases with the first taking place between April 30, 2020 to June 18, 2020 and the second taking place between June 18, 2020 to
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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. ______________________________________________________ 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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Verily and Janssen Launch COVID-19 Immune Response Study
What You Should Know: - Verily and Janssen launches COVID-19 Immune Response Study that aims to collect detailed information about how the coronavirus affects the immune system immediately after someone tests positive for COVID-19. Verily, an Alphabet company, is partnering with Janssen Research & Development LLC (Janssen) to launch a COVID-19 Immune Response Study as part of Verily’s Project Baseline. The study aims to collect detailed information about how the coronavirus affects
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