Quote Of The Year

Timeless Quotes - Sadly The Late Paul Shetler - "Its not Your Health Record it's a Government Record Of Your Health Information"

or

H. L. Mencken - "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."

Saturday, May 15, 2021

Weekly Overseas Health IT Links – 15 May, 2021.

Here are a few I came across last week.

Note: Each link is followed by a title and few paragraphs. For the full article click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or subscription payment.

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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/regenstrief-creates-teaching-ehr-system-to-boost-ehr-training

Regenstrief Creates Teaching EHR System to Boost EHR Training

The optimized EHR system gives medical students a hands-on approach to EHR training.

By Christopher Jason

May 07, 2021 - Regenstrief Institute and its partners have developed a teaching electronic medical record (tEMR) system that leverages deidentified patient data to improve EHR training and teach healthcare students how to use health IT.

With full EHR adoption almost widespread, the upcoming generation of clinicians need health IT and EHR knowledge at an earlier stage in medical education to gain health IT competence. However, EHR training is not always available.

Quality EHR training is critical to clinicians, especially those new to health IT. An effective EHR training program can mitigate the likelihood of clinician burden and boost satisfaction.

The data shows that adequate EHR training may be the key to improving EHR user satisfaction rates. The healthcare community recognizes the importance of better preparing future clinicians by teaching medical students core EHR competencies.

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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/understanding-ehr-adoption-use-with-medical-specialties

Understanding EHR Adoption, Use With Medical Specialties

From cardiology, neurology, and behavioral health, EHR adoption, use, and satisfaction vary between medical specialties.

By Christopher Jason

May 07, 2021 - An EHR system does not automatically optimize to each specific medical specialty. In fact, EHR adoption, usability, and satisfaction differ significantly across medical specialties.

According to the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nationwide EHR survey, office-based cardiologists and neurologists have the highest EHR adoption rates by specialty, at 95.6 percent and 94.5 percent, respectively.

Urology (94 percent), general surgery (93.8 percent), orthopedic surgery (93.2 percent), and general/family practice (92.7 percent) have the next highest EHR adoption rates.  

On the other hand, behavioral health providers and psychiatrists have the lowest adoption rate at 61.3 percent. Dermatologists also rank low at 70.2 percent.

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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2021/05/07/the-quickly-evolving-telehealth-and-rpm-solutions/

The Quickly Evolving Telehealth and RPM Solutions

May 7, 2021

John Lynn

This past year, we’ve spent a lot of time covering the telehealth and RPM markets for obvious reasons.  While it’s been fascinating to watch the money pour into the telehealth space, I’ve found it more interesting to watch how providers are acting and what they’re interested in when it comes to the telehealth and RPM solutions.

Most of you have probably seen the live video telehealth company list and the Remote Patient Monitoring company list that we created.  Hopefully you’ve found them useful as your healthcare organization has had to navigate this new world of telehealth.  What’s been interesting to watch is how each of these lists have performed on our site.

As I look over the stats for the telehealth and RPM vendor lists, the live video telehealth list saw some initial traffic, but then has largely tailed off.  The RPM vendor list has seen constant and growing traffic since the start.  Plus, we’ve had a whole bunch of new RPM vendors reach out to us to be added to the list of RPM companies.  Very few have done so on the live video telehealth side of things.

I should mention that this isn’t a scientific study and there are a lot of things that could influence the popularity of each page.  Maybe the RPM list does better on SEO than the other page.  Maybe we promoted one better than the other.  It’s possible we did a more comprehensive job on the live video telehealth list than the RPM company list.  With these disclaimers, I believe there’s something more interesting to think about when it comes to these lists’ popularity that might be helpful as healthcare organization’s work on their RPM and telehealth strategies.

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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/how-brigham-and-womens-hospital-is-relieving-ehr-alert-fatigue

How Brigham and Women’s Hospital is Relieving EHR Alert Fatigue

EHR alert fatigue has been running rampant throughout hospitals, but health IT leaders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital might have found a solution.

By Christopher Jason

May 06, 2021 - Picture life on the internet before pop-up blockers. An individual would log onto the internet, and unrelated or obnoxious pop-ups would fill the screen. EHR alerts are just like those web browser pop-ups, except these alerts are not only frustrating, but an excessive amount could also carry significant consequences.

“An EHR alert appears and clinicians develop a reflex to immediately close it,” David Bates, MD, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in an interview with EHRIntelligence.

“That happens especially when the warnings are mostly not that clinically useful. Clinicians are very motivated to get their work done and they're typically pressed for time. One of the key things about alerting is that it's critical to do so, fairly judiciously. In other words, only when there's a reasonable chance that the clinician should change what they're doing.”

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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/wearable-sensors-confirm-ehr-inbox-use-clinician-burnout-link

Wearable Sensors Confirm EHR Inbox Use, Clinician Burnout Link

Researchers leveraged wearable heart rate sensors to effectively link EHR inbox use to clinician burnout and high stress levels.

By Christopher Jason

May 06, 2021 - Wearable heart rate sensors proved EHR inbox work outside work hours, EHR inbox management duration, and EHR workflow switching are three critical factors that directly associate with clinician burnout and stress, according to a study published in JMIR Publications.

This study builds on the growing literature about EHR use and clinician burden.

Past EHR inbox studies primarily focused on self-reported measures to describe the impact of EHR inbox volume and burnout. In this case, researchers aimed to collect EHR use and physiologic stress data through a wearable sensor. The sensor provided objective and continuous measures, EHR inbox work patterns, clinician daily physiologic stress patterns, and the association between inbox work patterns and clinician physiologic stress.

Researchers from Kaiser Permanente equipped 42 outpatient clinicians from five separate medical facilities with wearable device heart rate sensors and the associated mobile apps for seven days. The devices tracked physiological stress throughout the workday based on heart rate variability.

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https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/providers-adapt-to-telehealth-to-identify-sings-of-child-abuse-and-neglect

Providers Adapt to Telehealth to Identify Signs of Child Abuse and Neglect

With the pandemic cutting out in-person care and curbing wellness checkups, healthcare providers are using telehealth platforms to try and identify - and treat - cases of child abuse and neglect.

By Eric Wicklund

May 06, 2021 - While telehealth has helped providers with care delivery during the coronavirus pandemic, it has also created challenges for those who’d always focused on in-person treatment. This includes nurses and doctors who are trained to look for evidence of child abuse or neglect.

Studies have shown that the isolation and tension brought on by COVID-19 is fueling an increase in cases of abuse and neglect, and without in-person visits those cases are harder to identify. Shifting those visits to telehealth can present challenges in spotting problems, but it also opens the door to newer and even better ways to address the issue.

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https://healthitsecurity.com/news/report-healthcare-iot-devices-most-impacted-by-tcp-ip-vulnerabilities

Report: Healthcare IoT, Devices Most Impacted by TCP/IP Vulnerabilities

Forescout’s ongoing TCP/IP vulnerability research shows that IoT and medical devices in healthcare face the greatest risk of exposure and attack.

By Jessica Davis

May 06, 2021 - At least 75 percent of healthcare entities are impacted by a host of TCP/IP vulnerabilities, uncovered by Forescout Research Labs within the last year. NUMBER:JACK, NAME:WRECK, and AMNESIA:33 are found in millions of healthcare IoT and other IT devices, posing a serious risk of remote code excution and hacking.

In fact, healthcare organizations are nearly five times more affected by TCP/IP vulnerabilities than any other sector with a total of 79 vulnerable types of devices and 259 vulnerable vendors.

Forescout’s Project Memoria is focused on assessing security vulnerabilities and associated threats against IT, OT, IoT, and IoMT devices, along with providing support for entities to address these risks.

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https://slate.com/technology/2021/05/artificial-intelligence-moonshots-usually-fail.html

Why A.I. Moonshots Miss

Ambitious predictions about the future powers of computers keep turning out to be wrong.

By Jeffrey Funk and Gary Smith

May 04, 20215:45 AM

Since the very beginning of the computer revolution, researchers have dreamed of creating computers that would rival the human brain. Our brains are information machines that use inputs to generate outputs, and so are computers. How hard could it be to build computers that work as well as our brains?

In 1954 a Georgetown-IBM team predicted that language translation programs would be perfected in three to five years. In 1965 Herbert Simon said that “machines will be capable, within twenty years, of doing any work a man can do.” In 1970 Marvin Minsky told Life magazine, “In from three to eight years we will have a machine with the general intelligence of an average human being.” Billions of dollars have been poured into efforts to build computers with artificial intelligence that equals or surpasses human intelligence. Researchers didn’t know it at first, but this was a moonshot—a wildly ambitious effort that had little chance of a quick payoff.

So far, it has failed. We still know very little about how the human brain works, but we have learned that building computers that rival human brains is not just a question of computational power and clever code.

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https://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/health-it/a-road-well-traveled-sunsetting-the-interoperability-roadmap

A Road Well Traveled – Sunsetting the Interoperability Roadmap

Steven Posnack | May 4, 2021

Over six years ago, ONC embarked with all of you on an ambitious initiative to create a shared, nationwide interoperability roadmap (the Roadmap). In typical fashion, we produced a draft, many of you shared your comments (about this time in 2015), and we released the final Roadmap in October, 2015.

At a time when consistent direction was needed, the Roadmap sparked action and sharpened dialog across a number of technology and policy dimensions. Indeed, having worked on the Roadmap, it’s hard to believe that we’re almost midway through 2021. Like many of you, I’ve got my wish-we-could-haves, but on the whole the entire health IT ecosystem has made substantial leaps forward in many areas highlighted by the Roadmap.

The Roadmap helped lay the groundwork and set the direction for policy development on information blocking, reducing provider burden, and nationwide, electronic health information exchange – to name a few. On the technical side, the Roadmap set the stage for regulatory and industry investment around the HL7® Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®) standard and application programming interfaces, spoke to the need for what is now the United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) standard, and laid out a vision for patients and their care teams to have greater, more convenient access to electronic health information.

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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2021/05/06/amwell-releases-open-platform-for-integrating-multiple-virtual-care-applications/

Amwell Releases Open Platform for Integrating Multiple Virtual Care Applications

May 6, 2021

Anne Zieger

Telehealth vendor Amwell has released a platform allowing providers to integrate multiple types of virtual health services using a single infrastructure.

Amwell’s Converge platform is designed to integrate with existing workflows, EHRs, patient portals and consumer digital health technologies. It offers access to single sign-on technology and its APIs leverage FHIR. Its goal is to create a streamlined and regulatory–compliant exchange of information across its ecosystem.

With the Converge launch, Amwell is making several of the company’s products, programs and modules available, along with applications from other vendors, in a single place with a single code base.

Products available from outside vendors include:

  • An iteration of Google Cloud which will include real-time captioning and translation services designed to help providers deliver patient education during visits
  • Livestream-based telehealth technology from TytoCare, which includes a handheld device offering visual feedback during exams
  • Virtual second opinion services from the Cleveland Clinic
  • Support for wearable wireless remote patient monitoring devices from Biobeat, which offer continuous monitoring of 15 vital signs

In addition, Amwell is working with partners to develop apps for its own App Marketplace.

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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/onc-teases-retooling-of-nationwide-interoperability-roadmap

ONC Teases Retooling of Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap

ONC stuck to the interoperability roadmap for six years, but it is time to advance to the next level of health IT.

By Christopher Jason

May 05, 2021 - After six years of following the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) nationwide interoperability roadmap, the agency said it is now time to execute on its goals, according to a recent ONC blog post.

“At a time when consistent direction was needed, the Roadmap sparked action and sharpened dialog across a number of technology and policy dimensions,” wrote Steve Posnack, MS, deputy national coordinator for Health IT, acknowledging that the Roadmap laid a good foundation.

“Collectively, we have all made solid progress on many of the early milestones identified by the Roadmap,” Posnack added. “It’s important to recognize those successes while at the same time acknowledging that the Roadmap itself no longer drives our work. Though the Roadmap has been sunset slightly ahead of the third time band’s final date, it will continue to be accessible on HealthIT.gov for referential purposes.”

With the 21st Century Cures Act and some regulations in place, along with the 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, Posnack said the future of health IT interoperability is in an area to steer away from the Roadmap.

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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/white-house-announces-website-to-advance-artificial-intelligence

White House Announces Website to Advance Artificial Intelligence

The new White House website will serve as a connection point to ongoing activities that will advance US leadership in artificial intelligence.

By Jessica Kent

May 05, 2021 - The White House has launched AI.gov, a website that will be home to the National AI Initiative and ensure continued US leadership on artificial intelligence research and development.

The National AI Initiative Act of 2020, which became law on January 1, 2021, provides a coordinated program across the entire federal government to accelerate AI research and application for the nation’s economic prosperity and national security.

The new website is designed to make artificial intelligence information and news more widely available to the public. Users can visit the website and see the latest in AI news, legislature, and research and development. The overall goal is to advance AI research within the US and increase excitement in the field from both the public and private sector.

The website will be run by the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office (NAIIO), located in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

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https://www.healio.com/news/rheumatology/20210503/covid19-raises-profile-utility-of-digital-therapeutic-approaches-in-oa

May 04, 2021

COVID-19 raises profile, utility of digital therapeutic approaches in OA

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the rheumatology community to adopt a number of telehealth and digital approaches in patient care, according to a speaker at the 2021 OARSI World Congress virtual meeting.

Kim Bennell, PhD, chair of physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne, suggested that osteoarthritis patients may benefit from real-time or asynchronous interventions or a combination of those approaches. Clinicians may also work technology into a package of in-person and out-of-office care. “There is a range of digital approaches,” she said.

Bennell’s talk covered data sets pertaining to telehealth, fully automated web-based interventions and phone-based or wearable technologies. She acknowledged that most of the studies she discussed were conducted pre-pandemic. “COVID-19 obviously dramatically changed the way health care was delivered around the world,” she said. “It provided a good opportunity to look at real world delivery of these telehealth approaches.”

When reviewing data on telehealth, it is important to note whether the study was conducted before or after COVID-19, according to Bennell. Prior to the pandemic, skepticism and lack of acceptance of telehealth were common in the rheumatology community. “Some doctors do not like that they could not use a typical hands-on approach,” she said.

Since the pandemic, however, that thought process has changed across the specialty, even for telehealth visits that are conducted by phone. “It is pleasing to show that the therapeutic relationship does not necessarily suffer as much as some people may think when you are unable to see the person you are interacting with,” Bennell said.

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https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/04/28/coronavirus-blood-test-severe-illness-study/7181619625893/

Health News

April 28, 2021 / 3:42 PM

Test accurately identifies those at risk for severe COVID-19, researchers say

April 28 (UPI) -- A new test accurately predicts who faces the highest risk for hospitalization, ventilator-supported breathing and death from COVID-19, according to an analysis published Wednesday by the journal mSphere.

The two-step test, which combines a newly developed disease risk factor score with conventional blood screening for virus antibodies, was more than 92% accurate at identifying those who would experience serious illness, the data showed.

The test can be administered during COVID-19 screening to help guide treatment before the most severe symptoms appear, the researchers said.

"We found an antibody that can be detected for predictive diagnosis really early in the disease, within one to six days after the first COVID symptoms [appear]," study co-author Gregory Weiss told UPI in an email.

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https://www.medpagetoday.com/patientcenteredmedicalhome/patientcenteredmedicalhome/92389

Building a Better Discharge Summary, Again

— We've improved the outpatient-to-ED flow -- now let's fix things in the other direction

by Fred N. Pelzman, MD May 3, 2021

Now that our entire enterprise is moving to a unified electronic medical record, we've seen enormous advantages appear across the spectrum of care. Being able to see everybody's notes, and everybody's labs and plans, has improved communication and collaboration significantly.

Many years ago, after a patient who was transferred from our practice to the emergency department suffered a catastrophic outcome due to poor and missed communication, we in the outpatient world, along with our colleagues in the emergency department, worked together to streamline and build a better process for all involved.

We created a dedicated telephone line where outpatient providers sending a patient over for evaluation could speak to the administrative attending covering the emergency department, to let them know what was up.

"I saw Mr. John Doe today in clinic, and he's been having some fevers and abdominal pain, he has some pretty significant right upper quadrant tenderness with mild voluntary guarding, and I'm worried about cholecystitis or diverticulitis; he's a bit tachycardic and his blood pressure is on the low side for him, and we can't arrange an outpatient CT scan before the end of the day. I'm worried he may need to be admitted so I'm sending him your way." The emergency department attending would then put them in their tracking system -- "up on the board" -- and we would arrange for him to be transported over to the ED for them to continue his care.

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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/majority-healthcare-decision-makers-prioritize-virtual-care-delivery-says-philips-report

Majority of healthcare decision-makers prioritize virtual care delivery, says Philips report

A whopping 89% of U.S. healthcare leaders say they're currently heavily investing in telehealth, though many expect to shift gears toward artificial intelligence in the future.

By Kat Jercich

May 05, 2021 12:31 PM

The Philips Future Health Index 2021 report found that nearly two in three healthcare leaders are prioritizing investments in telehealth – but that priorities will shift to artificial intelligence in three years.  

The report surveyed nearly 3,000 executive officers, financial officers, technology and information officers, operations officers, and other C-suite or senior executive healthcare leaders from 14 countries about current and future priorities, particularly amid the enduring COVID-19 pandemic.  

"While the industry’s recent surge in adoption of innovation like virtual care is promising, healthcare leaders are now keenly focused on cementing these solutions into care delivery models long-term," said Dr. Joe Frassica, head of Philips Research and chief medical officer for North America, in an email to Healthcare IT News.

WHY IT MATTERS  

The Future Health Index report found that healthcare leaders appear to be taking a three-step approach to digital transformation:

  • by investing in telehealth in the shorter term.
  • by investing in AI in the longer term.
  • by collaborating with other private hospitals and health technology companies.  

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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/cerner-launches-search-new-ceo

Cerner to search for new CEO

As it announced its Q1 earnings report, Brent Shafer and the company's board also said they've reached a joint decision to start looking for a new chief executive.

By Mike Miliard

May 05, 2021 02:30 PM

Cerner Corporation on Wednesday announced that it will begin the process of looking for a new chief executive officer, more than three years since current CEO Brent Shafer succeeded the health IT giant's late founder Neal Patterson.

WHY IT MATTERS
The news was concurrent with Cerner's first quarter earnings report, in which it beat earnings projections by a smidge, but missed on revenue.

The move to find a successor was described as a joint decision between Shafer and Cerner's board, with the CEO having served his role as a "bridge" between Patterson's nearly four-decade tenure and the company's plans for future growth under new leadership – including several recent C-suite hires.

"Cerner is on the right trajectory, with increased financial guidance based on actions we are taking to improve performance," said Shafer in a press statement.

"With the support of the entire organization, we have simplified the business while implementing a new operating model to make Cerner more efficient and effective. We have strengthened our senior leadership team, including the recent addition of Mark Erceg as our CFO, and I believe we now have the right team assembled to drive our company forward."

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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/most-health-information-exchanges-in-strong-position-for-tefca

Most Health Information Exchanges in Strong Position for TEFCA

Fifty-six percent of local and statewide health information exchanges revealed plans to participate in TEFCA.

By Christopher Jason

May 04, 2021 - Most state and local health information exchanges (HIEs) are supporting a vast number of services and are developing connections to each other and national networks in preparation for the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), according to a study published in Health Affairs.

HIEs are overcoming financial issues to fulfill the role of supporting patient data exchange to fulfill the goals of TEFCA. Additionally, HIEs that can offer increased services will be in a stronger position to compete with national HIE networks under TEFCA, the study authors wrote.

Drafted by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) to fulfill the aims of the 21st Century Cures Act, TEFCA is a set of policies and standards to support the development of the Common Agreement. Ultimately, this should help support nationwide electronic patient data exchange across health information networks (HINs).

TEFCA aims to ensure that HINs, healthcare providers, health plans, individuals, and stakeholders have secure access to electronic health information when needed. Although it intends to create new potential opportunities, it also creates challenges for local and statewide HIEs.

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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/artificial-intelligence-powers-rapid-covid-19-antibody-test

Artificial Intelligence Powers Rapid COVID-19 Antibody Test

University of Utah researchers have developed a fast, easy-to-administer COVID-19 antibody test powered by artificial intelligence.

By Jessica Kent

May 04, 2021 - The University of Utah (the U) has partnered with ARUP Laboratories and Techcyte Inc. to develop NanoSpot.AI, a quick and simple COVID-19 antibody test fueled by artificial intelligence.

NanoSpot.AI is a less than five-minute test, and researchers estimate it to be significantly less expensive to manufacture than other COVID-19 antibody tests. With this more affordable option, it may be possible to extend NanoSpot.AI around the world.

NanoSpot.AI is performed on a spot of blood obtained through a finger prick using a microcollection tube. Droplets of blood are then placed on three spots on a ready-to-use, synthetic, embossed card. One of the spots displays the test result, while the other two spots are positive and negative controls for the test. Individuals then receive their test results on their cellphones.

The team believes the test could be used around the world to help prioritize who should receive COVID-19 vaccinations, or to quickly and easily detect whether individuals have some immunity against COVID-19 for travel or immigration purposes. Clinical studies validating NanoSpot.AI are currently underway.

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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/post-pandemic-majority-patients-say-they-prefer-person-care-survey-finds

Post-pandemic, majority of patients say they prefer in-person care, survey finds

At the same time, a large percentage said they'd prefer telehealth, or a combination of the two.

By Kat Jercich

May 04, 2021

03:34 PM

A survey conducted on behalf of Kyruus, a patient-experience software vendor, found that the majority of consumers say they still prefer in-person care for long-term needs.

At the same time, nearly one-third of respondents are more likely to choose virtual visits now than before the pandemic – and nearly two-thirds say access to telehealth will be an important factor in deciding where to obtain care in the future.   

"While some of the pandemic’s influence on consumer choice may be shorter-term, it is evident that the pandemic permanently re-shaped patient preferences and expectations in profound ways," read a report accompanying the survey.  

WHY IT MATTERS  

The Kyruus report is based on a survey of 1,000 people older than 18 from across the U.S. who represented a mix of private and public insurance users.   

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https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/another-benefit-for-telehealth-its-good-for-the-environment

Another Benefit for Telehealth: It’s Good for the Environment

One of the nation's largest health systems has found that its telehealth platform is not only helping patients and providers, but reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving trees.

By Eric Wicklund

May 03, 2021 - Telehealth is often marketed for its benefits to the patient and clinician, but what about its effect on the environment?

One health system analyzed the impact that its connected health platform has on the world around us during the coronavirus pandemic, and found that virtual care not only reduces travel to and from the doctor’s office or hospital, but cuts down on gas use and emissions, thereby reducing the negative impact on our planet.

“We recognize the significant impacts virtual visits have had on our carbon footprint across the country,” Sister Mary Ellen Leciejewski, system vice president for environmental sustainability for Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, said in a press release issued on Earth Day last month. “Our virtual visits reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to planting over 250,000 trees and removing more than 3,000 cars from roadways for an entire year. With virtual visits, healthcare is more accessible and convenient, green and sustainable.”

The company charted 1.5 million virtual visits between March 16, 2020 and April 2, 2021 to more than 1,400 locations in 21 states, and found that those visits equate to 37,440,731 miles not travelled and 1,678,956 gallons of gas saved, for a monetary savings of $3.509 million. In terms of time spent in transit and in a waiting room or exam room, the company estimates that patients saved 923,276 hours by going online.

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https://patientengagementhit.com/news/4-trends-forecasting-the-post-covid-future-of-patient-experience

4 Trends Forecasting the Post-COVID Future of Patient Experience

No, telehealth being here to stay is not the only patient experience consideration moving forward, although it’s still important.

By Sara Heath

May 03, 2021 - This time last year, cities were still applauding frontline medical workers as their shifts changed. That spike in deep appreciation for healthcare professionals was palpable nationwide, and according to Tom Lee, MD, the chief medical officer for patient experience firm Press Ganey, it reflected in patient experience scores.

“The data we were getting in March, April, May of 2020, as the pandemic really started to hit at least some parts of the country, was that there was almost like a euphoric exuberant response, in terms of how patients felt about their caregivers,” Lee told PatientEngagementHIT in an interview.

In a usual year, Press Ganey sees upticks in patient experience domains of maybe about 1 percent. But last spring, the company was seeing increases in patient experience scores of 2 percent month over month.

In more particularly hard-hit areas, like Washington state, those improvements reached as high as 3 or 4 percent. Meanwhile, in New York, which Lee noted is notorious for having “tough customers,” patient experience scores were surging 12 or 13 percent in a single month.

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https://patientengagementhit.com/news/clinicians-wary-of-patient-access-to-clinical-notes-start-to-warm

Clinicians Wary of Patient Access to Clinical Notes Start to Warm

After offering patient access to clinical notes, 44 percent of clinicians shifted from having a negative to a positive view of the practice.

By Sara Heath

May 03, 2021 - Clinicians continue to embrace patient access to clinical notes, according to new data, a good shift considering the requirements recently enforced under the 21st Century Cures Act.

The study of about 200 clinicians, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, showed that 44 percent of providers changed their view of patient access to clinical notes from negative to positive after implementing the strategy in their own practice.

These findings come as clinicians become beholden to patient data access under new provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act. Specifically, information blocking rules out of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) state that healthcare professionals must make all patient data, including clinician notes, available to the patient via an application programming interface (API).

That is not an entirely new concept, although the ONC rule does put some teeth on it. Patient data access has been the backbone of patient engagement efforts since health IT’s insurgence in the early 2010s. The logic followed that patients who looked at their own medical records or clinical notes would know more about their health and become more empowered and engaged during encounters and disease self-management.

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https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/allscripts-looks-to-leverage-microsoft-partnership-as-tech-giant-further-its-ambitions

Allscripts looks to leverage Microsoft partnership as tech giant expands healthcare ambitions

by Heather Landi

Apr 30, 2021 6:45am

As Microsoft pushes further into healthcare, Allscripts expects to strategically benefit from its partnership with the tech giant as it looks to strengthen its position in the health IT market.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced plans to buy speech recognition company Nuance Communications for $19.7 billion. Nuance is considered a pioneer in speech recognition and artificial intelligence technology used in healthcare.

"Microsoft is getting into healthcare in a very big way," said Allscripts CEO Paul Black during the company's first-quarter 2021 earnings call Thursday.

"They will continue to be an enterprise software player. They’ll continue to have, if you will, an operating system that resides inside of their cloud. That’s an interesting distinction between them and the other people out there in the marketplace," Black said.

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https://histalk2.com/2021/04/30/weekender-4-30-21/

Weekly News Recap

  • Vocera acquires PatientSafe Solutions.
  • Halma acquires PeriGen.
  • Allscripts Q1 beats on earnings, misses on revenue.
  • Caresyntax raises $100 million.
  • Lyniate acquires Datica’s integration business.
  • VisuWell fires its CEO over a video showing his altercation with a male teen who wore a dress to their prom.
  • J2 Global will split into two publicly traded companies, one being its Consensus EFax business.
  • Accolade will acquire PlushCare for $450 million.

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Enjoy!

David.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Re: Building a Better Discharge Summary, Again

"Many years ago, after a patient who was transferred from our practice to the emergency department suffered a catastrophic outcome due to poor and missed communication, we in the outpatient world, along with our colleagues in the emergency department, worked together to streamline and build a better process for all involved.

We created a dedicated telephone line where outpatient providers sending a patient over for evaluation could speak to the administrative attending covering the emergency department, to let them know what was up."

Is that it? Digital Health is a "dedicated telephone line"?

It's probably far more useful than the poor old My Health Record, but it's hardly transforming healthcare.