Traditional patient care patterns have been radically altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. And after more than a year of disruption, it’s doubtful that everyone will revert to those patterns after the pandemic. New habits have been formed, and consumers are more willing to pursue the path of least resistance in obtaining care, such as opting for quick and easy telemedicine appointments. Both patients and clinicians have identified benefits from virtual care approaches. However, this and other
Read More
Could ‘Hospitals Without Walls’ Be the New Normal for Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring?
The statistics surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be startling, despite the ever-growing mental and physical fatigue that we’ve all experienced living through this frightening, intimidating and unprecedented era. More than 125 million cases worldwide have resulted in a death toll closing in on three million, while in the United States alone, 30 million reported infections have resulted in a death toll that reached 550,000. (1) One thing that can be said for certain about
Read More
Best Practices to Ensure Telehealth Security and Protect Patient Data
To support the sudden increase in test results and medical records being transmitted during the pandemic, hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies implemented additional devices and remote connections into their networks. After the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) lifted penalties around telehealth to expand care options amid the crisis, new platforms were adopted that were not previously allowed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This exercise of discretion
Read More
Escalating Cyberattacks on Healthcare Organizations Highlight Need for Security Interventions
Healthcare organizations have faced continual stress from heavy COVID-19 caseloads in 2020. Cyberattacks on their information networks also loomed as a serious threat, and the pressure to protect data is expected to grow this year, as more criminals target healthcare providers. Protecting patient data from unauthorized access has long been a regulatory prerequisite for healthcare organizations. But increasingly, cybercriminals see profit potential in attacking and crippling their networks,
Read More
ATA, Hims & Hers, Others Form Telehealth Equity Coalition to Improve Access to Telehealth Among Underserved Populations
What You Should Know: - . Together with nonprofit, academic, and industry partners, the Telehealth Equity Coalition (TEC) has formed to improve access to quality and affordable healthcare by increasing adoption of telehealth, especially among those who have been left out or left behind. - Founding members of the TEC include: Adaptation Health, American Telemedicine Association, BlackDoctor.org, Foley & Lardner, Grapevine Health, Hims & Hers, Howard University Dept. of Community
Read More
Top 5 Business Opportunities for Digital Health Companies in 2021. Where Is The Money?
For many companies, 2020 has been a devastating year due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the same can be said for the digital health sector, the pandemic has also paved a way for unexpected and extraordinary business opportunities in 2021. In 2020, Digital health start-ups and more established companies have suffered, as have other companies from a variety of industries. We have seen governments set up rescue funds for start-ups, including those that offer services for the
Read More
Provider Strategies for Mitigating Telehealth Fraud & Abuse in 2021
As healthcare spending continues to rise, so too does the inherent risk for bad actors to take advantage. Today, the United States is estimated to spend nearly 18 percent of its GDP, or $3.6 trillion, on healthcare, and is expected to increase to one-fifth of GDP within the next decade, according to the latest data. This alone provides ample motivation for fraud and abuse. While the full extent of healthcare fraud is difficult to measure, The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association
Read More
Behavioral Health Services Fueled Telehealth Adoption During Pandemic, Study Finds
What You Should Know: - Telehealth adoption for behavioral health services
jumped sharply during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown,
according to a new RAND Corporation study. Telehealth adoption increased sharply during the first
months of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, with the approach being used more
often for behavioral health services than for
medical care, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Prior to the
Read More
12 Telehealth & Virtual Care Predictions and Trends for 2021 Roundup
Dr. Paul Hain, Chief Medical Officer of GoHealth Telehealth is Here to Stay in 2021 Prior to the pandemic, telehealth was a limited ad-hoc service with geographic and provider restrictions. However, with both the pandemic restrictions on face to face interactions and a relaxation of governmental regulations, telehealth utilization has significantly increased from thousands of visits in a week to well over a million in the Medicare population. What we’ve learned is that telehealth allows
Read More
Ensuring Telehealth Providers’ Virtual Care Dollars Make Sense
Telehealth and virtual care are not brand-new phenomena suddenly cobbled together as a rapid response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the average US patient could be forgiven for thinking that it is. Indeed, virtual visits to care providers and remote patient monitoring have been available for quite some time, delivering two key benefits: - Providing a platform to address cost-efficiencies and accessibility to quality healthcare for the populace at large - Playing a
Read More
