In this monthly series we are seeking out the transforming technology of Virtual Care. How does virtual care fit into what we know as telemedicine? What are the newest innovations and products in virtual care? For telemedicine policy and reimbursement issues, read our regular reporting on Telehealth on RCM Answers.
Hashtags to follow for updates on virtual care:
To Listen:
On this episode of Conversations on Health Care, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome Dr. Ken Duckworth, Medical Director for NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots organization addressing mental health issues. They discuss causes behind the growing problem of anxiety, depression, suicide and the opioid use disorder, and viable solutions to address the gap in access to mental health care through better screening, telehealth and better training of primary care clinicians.
Industry News:
VitalCare Remote Patient Monitoring Platform for Seniors Incorporates New Medication Module
VitalTech announced that its VitalCare platform for remote patient monitoring now includes a dedicated module for medications. Clinicians and patients can set medication reminders by time of day, which are then sent to the patient’s tablet or smartphone. These reminders can also be sent in the form of messages to VitalTech’s VitalBand smartwatch.
eWellness’ PHZIO and MSK360 Patients Are Experiencing a 50 Percent Reduction in Pain Within 4 Digital Visits
eWellness Healthcare Corporation – (EWLL) – a provider of the state of the art PHZIO platform for the physical therapy and telehealth markets, announced that based upon internal data metrics, PHZIO and MSK360 patients are experiencing a 50 percent reduction in pain within 4 digital visits.
GE Healthcare’s New Imaging Tech and Intelligent Apps Unveiled at #RSNA19 will Deliver Hundreds of Millions in Cost Savings and Provider Productivity
GE Healthcare (@GEHealthcare) launched more than 30 new, imaging intelligent applications and smart devices designed to drive efficiency in radiology departments, aiming to double productivity and cost savings for systems by 2025. For healthcare executives, the new offerings help systems to save costs, improve technology utilization, and increase patient volumes. Clinicians also will benefit from the new technologies through intuitive workflows, improved diagnostic confidence and less rework, allowing them to spend more time with patients.
Competitive Health, Inc. Partners with Healbright, Expanding Behavioral Health Offering
Orange County based Competitive Health, Inc. (@CompHealthInc) announces a new partnership with Healbright (@HealBright). This partnership adds to the expansive behavioral health collection within CHI’s virtual health services marketplace, SHOWBenefits. In addition, CHI will offer Healbright on its WellCard Savings platform, making Healbright the latest addition to the exclusive membership program.
Onduo Extends Virtual Diabetes Clinic to Bring Care Services to Full Continental U.S.
This Diabetes Awareness Month, Onduo’s (@onduo) virtual diabetes clinic announced expansion to Delaware, the 49th and final state in the continental U.S. For the past two years, Onduo has been building and expanding access to a network of endocrinologists who can support people living with type 2 diabetes in making suggested medication and lifestyle changes, including for individuals living in rural communities that do not have endocrinologists nearby.
SCL Health Announces Virtual Health Collaboration With Bright.md
SCL Health (@SCLHealth) continues to transform the patient experience by taking virtual healthcare delivery to the next level. Through their partnership with Bright.md (@BrightMD_Health), a healthcare automation company creating technology that helps meet the rapidly evolving needs of systems, patients and providers, SCL Health will be the first healthcare system in both Colorado and Montana to offer patients convenient and low-cost virtual healthcare through Bright.md’s asynchronous virtual-care platform, SmartExam™.
Through Apple Heart Study, Stanford Medicine Researchers Show Wearable Technology Can Help Detect Atrial Fibrillation
Wearable technology can safely identify heart rate irregularities that subsequent clinical evaluations confirmed to be atrial fibrillation, reports a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine (@StanfordMed) and Apple now published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
Lenovo™ Collaboration With Starlight Children’s Foundation® Shows the Power of Virtual Reality to Reduce Pain for Hospitalized Children
Lenovo (@Lenovo) previews results from a new global survey that shows people believe in the potential of technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR), to positively impact our health. In fact, VR is starting to be used in some hospitals in place of general anesthetics to alleviate pain for young patients.
Excentium and GlobalMed Awarded Military Health System Virtual Health Services and Support Contract
Excentium Inc. (@excentium), a Prime SDVOSB has been awarded a five-year contract to provide maintenance, service and support to the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) Virtual Health delivery systems. The specialized and secure delivery systems, software platform and services will be provided by GlobalMed® (@GlobalMed_USA), a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based virtual health solutions manufacturer and systems integrator.
To Read:
Synzi
How Virtual Care Helps A Patient Feel Like A VIP – According to the NEJM Catalyst, patient-centered care means that an individual’s specific health needs and desired health outcomes are the driving force behind all health care decisions and quality measurements. Home health agencies deliver patient-centered care when they partner with their patients to make a real difference in their patients’ lives.
GlobalMed
Is Telehealth the Key to Changing the Opioid Crisis? – The American nightmare that is the opioid epidemic affects everyone. More than 130 people die of an overdose every day; every 25 minutes a baby is born suffering from opioid withdrawal. The costs are staggering for both the healthcare industry and the nation, which Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates is $78.5 billion a year.
Treating Skin Cancer in West Texas: A Teledermatology Story – Nearly 20 Americans die from melanoma every day. That’s a dire statistic and a frustrating one, given that the five-year survival rate for people whose melanoma is detected and treated early is 99 percent. Skin cancer screenings can undoubtedly save lives – but only when patients are aware of their risk and able to receive dermatological care. Unfortunately many people lack access to skin cancer prevention resources or the right providers.
Too Old for Telemedicine? Seniors Say Otherwise – Here’s what an ideal world might look like for older patients and their caregivers. Your father who has Parkinson’s disease dials up his neurologist for his quarterly appointment. Over video conferencing, the neurologist watches your father walk back and forth, watching his gait and facial expressions and listening to his speech. You participate in this virtual visit from your workplace, which allows you to share your own observations with the neurologist, ask her questions and listen to her recommendations.
Several more interesting articles on Virtual Care have been posted on GlobalMed, click on the links below to check them out.
- Telemedicine in the Golden Hour: Saving Neonatal Lives
- Telemedicine in Native American Tribes
- Why the World Needs Tele-ID More Than Ever
- Treating Skin Cancer in West Texas: A Teledermatology Story
- How Good is Your Webside Manner?
Events
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 AAPF
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).
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.
Virtual Care is a patient service model for healthcare providers.