We are combining our Telemedicine and Virtual Care reports into Telemedicine News and Updates. We are seeking out the latest developments around Telemedicine. How is telemedicine used to benefit patients and care givers? What are the newest innovations in telemedicine technology? How telehealth and virtual care fit into the realm of Telemedicine.
Trending News:
Delivering on the Promise of Remote Patient Monitoring
Carium (@cariumcares), a provider of virtual care technology, announces the launch of Pinellas County Primary Care and Hospitalists remote monitoring program.
Industry News:
Wolters Kluwer launches telemedicine value sets for payers and providers to thrive post-COVID
The continued use of telehealth as an essential care modality beyond the COVID-19 public health emergency requires payers and providers to develop forward-looking strategies that facilitate high-quality virtual care at a lower cost. In response, Wolters Kluwer, Health (@Wolters_Kluwer) released telehealth-specific value sets for use in health insurance claims processing, coordination of care, and benefits systems.
Neupath Health Announces Strategic Acquisition of Virtual Care Business and Management Changes
NeuPath Health Inc., owner and operator of a network of clinics that deliver category-leading treatment for chronic pain, as well as spinal injuries, sports-related injuries, and concussions, announced a strategic transaction to acquire KumoCare (@kumo_care), a virtual care platform to further expand NeuPath’s virtual care and telemedicine offerings.
Andor Health Partners with Caregility to Bring AI Enhancements to Caregility’s Virtual Care Platform
Andor Health, a healthcare technology company that harnesses machine and human intelligence to change the way care teams connect and collaborate, announces a partnership with Caregility (@caregility), a clinical collaboration and communications company dedicated to delivering virtual care to wherever the patient is located. The partnership brings ThinkAndor® functionality into the Caregility Virtual Care Platform, to orchestrate a seamless process for the entire virtual visit experience, from the initial scheduling through the post visit follow-up.
LetsGetChecked Announces $150 Million Series D Fundraise to Grow Comprehensive Virtual Care Capabilities
LetsGetChecked (@LetsGetChecked), a virtual care company, announced the completion of a $150 million Series D round of financing. The funding was led by Casdin Capital with continued participation from CommonFund Capital, Illumina Ventures, Optum Ventures, Transformation Capital, HLM Venture Partners, Qiming Venture Partners USA, and professional golfer Rory Mcllroy through Symphony Ventures, an investment partnership. This latest financing brings the total capital raised by LetsGetChecked to more than $260 million.
Reliq Health Technologies, Inc. Announces New Contract in Nigeria to Provide iUGO Care and iUGO Voice to Chronic Disease Patients
Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (@ReliqHealth), a global telemedicine company that develops innovative Virtual Care solutions for the multi-billion dollar Healthcare market, announced that it has signed a paying contract with a large regional clinic in Nigeria to provide its iUGO Care Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), Chronic Care Management (CCM) and Behavioural Health Integration (BHI) modules and its iUGO Voice automated interactive voice recognition platform to their chronic disease patients.
State News:
Oregon House Telemedicine Bill 2508A Passes with ZoomCare Support
ZoomCare (@zoomcare), the Pacific Northwest-based innovator and creator of on-demand healthcare, led the passing of House Bill 2508A alongside multiple healthcare organizations in Oregon, including Oregon Medical Association, OCHIN and The Portland Clinic. The passing of HB 2508A expands coverage of and reimbursement for telemedicine services in Oregon, ultimately promoting equitable and safe access to care.
Policy News:
Cassidy, Smith, Cardin, Thune Introduce Bill to Remove Barriers to Telemental Health Care
U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tina Smith (D-MN), John Thune (R-SD), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced the bipartisan Telemental Health Care Access Act of 2021 to remove barriers to telemental health services for Medicare beneficiaries.
AMA: Equity must be baked into expansion of telehealth
The American Medical Association (@AmerMedicalAssn) approved policy intended to help close the digital divide in access to telehealth services. The new policy will help ensure that minority communities, individuals residing in underserved rural and urban areas, older adults, and individuals with disabilities can reap the benefits and promise of telehealth.
American Telemedicine Association: Policy Halftime Report As State Legislators Head Into Summer Recess
As most state legislators head into summer recess, the American Telemedicine Association (@AmericanTelemed) reflects on a very active first half of the year, which saw all 50 state legislatures introducing new or updated telehealth bills.
Product News:
Pager Announces Suite of Flexible Enterprise Solutions to Address Healthcare Fragmentation and Gaps in Care
Pager (@getpager), a virtual care collaboration platform, announced its suite of next-generation solutions that enable health plans and healthcare organizations to deliver a seamless care journey for their consumer-members.
HealthTalk A.I. Introduces Emergent Telehealth Capabilities
HealthTalk A.I. (@HealthTalkAI), a patient engagement company, announced the addition of on-demand Telehealth and Tele-EMS capabilities to its platform. This enhancement enables healthcare organizations to connect patients with on-call clinicians expeditiously.
To Read:
Amazon has signed up multiple companies to its telehealth service, executive says by CNBC – Amazon has attracted multiple companies that are interested in using its telehealth service, known as Amazon Care (@AmazonCare), company executive Babak Parviz said.
What is and isn’t telehealth care? by Washington Time Herald – Perhaps during the pandemic you had a chat with your doctor about an ongoing condition or a new symptom that showed up. Your questions were answered, and maybe you got a prescription without stepping foot in a physician’s office. Those are the so-called telehealth doctor’s visits—new and not-so-new ways of getting health care.
Telemedicine: Is Virtual Medical Care as Good as In-Person Care? by Paul Dibble, M.D. – Telemedicine (also known as telehealth or virtual care) has been growing in popularity in recent years. From 2016 to 2017, telemedicine usage increased 53%.1 With pandemic fears in 2020, telemedicine explode —seemingly solving the problem of fear of spreading infection. According to a CDC report, telemedicine visits increased 154% in March 2020 compared to 2019.
Why Amazon’s push into healthcare could be its most important project yet by ZD Net – As well as providing virtual care through Amazon Care, Amazon also provides in-person services through a partnership with Crossover Health. Amazon said it plans to open 20 bricks and mortar clinics with Crossover Health, where Amazon employees and their families can access services in population centers where there are lots of Amazon staff working from home.
Listen:
HealthcareNOW Radio Telehealth Playlist
The Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines telehealth as “the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support and promote long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration.” To learn more and find out about the latest in telehealth tune in to the episodes on this playlist. Additionally, be sure to read HCNR’s Friday Five which recaps the site’s month long concentration on telehealth.
Telehealth.HHS.gov
During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, we don’t have to choose between medical care and social distancing. When patients can get health care through telehealth — and doctors can provide it — we protect ourselves and our communities. The Telehealth.HHS.gov website provides information about the latest federal efforts to support and promote telehealth services.
The American Telemedicine Association Events
ATA is a non-profit association based in Washington DC with a membership network of more than 10,000 industry leaders and healthcare professionals. We are a leading telehealth association helping to transform healthcare by improving the quality, equity and affordability of healthcare throughout the world. Find their next event.
Defining the Industry According to the AAFP:
Telemedicine is the practice of medicine using technology to deliver care at a distance. It occurs using a telecommunications infrastructure between a patient (at an originating or spoke site) and a physician or other practitioner licensed to practice medicine (at a distant or hub site).
Virtual Care is a patient service model for healthcare providers.
Telehealth refers to a broad collection of electronic and telecommunications technologies that support health care delivery and services from distant locations. Telehealth technologies support virtual medical, health, and education services.
Hashtags to follow for updates on Telemedicine:
Upcoming Events
American Telemedicine Association Annual (Virtual) Conference
(@AmericanTelemed)
What: First-Annual Telehealth Awareness Week
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays in June 2021
Where: Virtually
Register here.
The ATA2021 Annual Conference and Expo is taking place virtually each Tuesday and Thursday in June 2021 (11am-2pm EST). ATA2021 will tackle what’s next for telehealth — where the market is headed, federal and state policy priorities, and what it will take to achieve permanent and widespread adoption of telehealth for all individuals, including underserved populations and our most vulnerable patients.
Telehealth Awareness Week
What: First-Annual Telehealth Awareness Week
When: September 19-25. 2021
Where: Series of Virtual Events
The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) will convene leaders in telehealth service delivery, hospital systems and medical practices, patient advocacy organizations, policymakers and other stakeholders during the first-annual Telehealth Awareness Week™, September 19-25, 2021. During the week, the ATA will host a series of events, publish educational resources and share patient and healthcare provider experiences that support the permanent adoption of telehealth as part of a two-channel care delivery system that combines in-person and virtual care.