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/understanding-ehr-documentation-assistants-voice-assistants
Understanding EHR Documentation Assistants, Voice Assistants
Health systems across the country are integrating EHR documentation assistants to boost EHR documentation and mitigate clinician burnout.
May 14, 2021 - EHR documentation was originally devised to record clinical information as provider notes in real-time during a consultation, evaluation, imaging, or treatment, ultimately to share patient data between providers.
Although the shift from paper to digital EHR documentation produced useful and legible notes, it is a primary cause of clinician burden, due to information overload and more extensive amounts of text that are not always relevant to patient care.
Extensive EHR use and documentation pressure can lead clinicians to carve out a strict weekly routine.
“Certain times during the evenings or on the weekends, I make sure I spend a couple of hours prepping for the week to make sure my inbox is cleared out, all my refills are done, all my results are reviewed, patient charts are completed prior to their office visit, and ensuring I get my notes done within 24 to 48 hours,” Neesha Patel, MD, Cooper University Healthcare, said in an interview with EHRIntelligence.
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Phishing, ransomware, web app attacks dominate data breaches in 2021, says Verizon Business DBIR
The report highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic move to the cloud and remote work opened up a few avenues for cybercrime.
By Larry Dignan for Between the Lines | May 13, 2021 -- 04:01 GMT (14:01 AEST) | Topic: Security
Web applications represented 39% of all data breaches in the last year with phishing attacks jumping 11% and ransomware up 6% from a year ago, according to the Verizon Business Data Breach Investigations Report.
The report, based on 5,358 breaches from 83 contributors around the world, highlights how the COVID-19 pandemic move to the cloud and remote work opened up a few avenues for cybercrime.
Verizon Business found that 61% of all breaches involved credential data. Consistent with previous years, human negligence was the biggest threat to security.
Each industry in the DBIR had its own security nuances. For instance, 83% of data compromised in the financial and insurance industry was personal data, said Verizon Business. Healthcare was plagued by the misdelivery of electronic or paper documents. In the public sector, social engineering was the technique of choice.
By region, Asia Pacific breaches typically were caused by financial motivations and phishing. In EMEA, web application attacks, system intrusion, and social engineering were the norm.
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https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01253-y
TECHNOLOGY FEATURE
10 May 2021
Smartphone science: apps test and track infectious diseases
The prevalence, power and portability of smartphones make them valuable tools for pathogen monitoring and citizen science.
Debojyoti Chakraborty took just a few months to develop a COVID-19 diagnostic test that worked in his lab; the challenge was to optimize it for the field.
Based on the gene-editing technology CRISPR, the test produces a band on a paper strip if viral RNA is present. But Chakraborty, who heads an RNA biology group at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in New Delhi, says he and his colleagues couldn’t always agree on whether a faint band counted as a positive signal. What they needed was an objective — and, ideally, portable — quantification tool. Then Chakraborty realized he already had one: his smartphone.
The researchers developed an app to photograph the paper strip, identify and quantify bands using machine learning, and export the results to the cloud. Called TOPSE1, their app laid the foundation for a test that has now been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India. “You can actually do this test in local pathology labs in places that are resource-limited,” Chakraborty says. “Perhaps one day it can be done even at home.”
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Ireland’s health service hit by “significant ransomware attack”
Healthcare IT systems have been shut down as precaution.
By Tammy Lovell
May 14, 2021 10:00 AM
Ireland’s health service IT system has been shut down as a precautionary measure, following a cyber attack today.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) believes the attack is by international criminals attempting to extort money, although no demand has yet been received.
HSE confirmed there had been “a significant ransomware attack on the HSE IT systems” and it had closed down systems “to protect them from this attack and to allow us fully assess the situation with our own security partners.”
Irish health minister Stephen Donnelly said the attack was having “a severe impact” on health and social care services, but emergency services and the National Ambulance Service were still in operation.
WHY IT MATTERS
Ransomware is a malicious software that encrypts files on a computer system.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/hies-information-blocking-common-for-ehr-vendors-not-health-orgs
HIEs: Information Blocking Common for EHR Vendors, Not Health Orgs
EHR vendors were 25 percent more likely to participate in practices that entail information blocking compared to health systems, a survey found.
May 13, 2021 - To give insight into how policy makers can drive adherence to the ONC’s new information blocking rule, the agency released a statement highlighting January survey data that reveals information blocking practices are more common among EHR vendors than health systems.
The survey, published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, was based on responses from 89 health information exchanges (HIE).
More than half of the respondents (55 percent) reported that EHR vendors engage in practices that may involve information blocking. In contrast, 30 percent of HIEs reported that health systems engage in practices that may include information blocking.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/best-practices-to-mitigate-ehr-clinical-decision-alert-fatigue
Best Practices to Mitigate EHR Clinical Decision Alert Fatigue
Healthcare organizations across the country are finding creative ways to reduce EHR clinical decision alert fatigue through optimization and teamwork.
May 13, 2021 - EHR alerts serve a significant purpose, but they can also result in EHR clinical decision alert fatigue, clinician burnout, or even frustration.
EHR alerts permit clinicians to access real-time patient data, ideally resulting in enhanced patient safety and medication accuracy. Alerts can also notify clinicians about potential adverse drug interactions.
According to Stanford University health IT professionals, EHR alerts are a vital part of EHRs that are “not merely the use of technology; it is using technology to find meaningful information to make clinical decisions and provide the best possible patient care.”
Although a clinician’s first instinct might be to close the alert to limit frustration, healthcare organizations attempt to limit alert quantity and improve alert quality to boost clinician satisfaction.
Optimizing or Eradicating Low-Value Alerts
Clinician burnout and EHR fatigue caused by alerts have been an issue for clinicians struggling with EHR usability overload.
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Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic to Expand Home-Based Connected Health Program
The two health systems are investing $100 million to scale up a connected health program that uses telehealth, mHealth and home health services to manage care for acute care patients at home.
May 13, 2021 - Kaiser Permanente and the Mayo Clinic are planning to expand a relatively new care model that combines telehealth, mHealth and in-person visits to treat acute care patients in their own homes rather than the hospital.
The two health systems have announced a $100 million investment in Medically Home, a Boston-based company that has been working with, among others, the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Adventist Health and UNC Health on acute care at home programs The investment will help the Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente scale up the connected health platform in their regions.
“Patients expect and deserve high-quality care and excellent outcomes in a convenient and comfortable setting, even when faced with complex medical challenges,” Mayo Clinic President and CEO Gianrico Farrugia, MD, said in a press release that accompanied an hour-long virtual press briefing this week. “Our partnership with Kaiser Permanente and Medically Home will create the next generation of patient-centric, compassionate health care that seamlessly integrates advanced technology with clinical expertise. By bringing best-in-class clinicians and services to patients in their homes, we’ll be able to provide more people with individualized care that’s tailored to meet their specific needs.”
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Vendor Survey IDs Challenges for Remote Patient Monitoring Programs
A survey of cardiac remote patient monitoring programs by Vector Remote Care finds that many aren't optimizing their platforms to get all the clinical and financial benefits they should be getting.
May 12, 2021 - A vendor-initiated study on remote patient monitoring programs that address patients with cardiac disease finds that many are missing out on important clinical and financial benefits.
Conducted by RPM vendor Vector Remote Care, the survey of more than 110 healthcare providers specializing in cardiology found that roughly 43 percent of physicians are only using RPM platforms for 20 percent or less of their patients. The findings suggest that providers don’t yet have the resources to expand their platforms or they aren’t yet sure how to run the program properly.
“These numbers are not surprising, as RCM is still relatively new,” Kristin Stitt, DNP, APRN, the company’s chief clinical officer, said in a press release. “Strong satisfaction with a program that has low connection rates indicates that many practices focus on getting the devices up and running, but are not fully aware of what is possible when you design your program around patient care.”
The study offers an early look at the potential and challenges of a fast-growing connected health service, due in part to the coronavirus pandemic. Faced with reducing in-person care and isolating both patients and providers to reduce the chance of infection, health systems are launching RPM programs to push as much care as they can into the home.
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External Threat Actors Outpace Insiders in Healthcare Data Breaches
For the second consecutive year, the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) found external threat actors were behind more healthcare data breaches than insider errors.
May 13, 2021 - For the second consecutive year, external threat actors caused the majority of healthcare data breaches in 2020, compared to just 39 percent caused by insiders, either inadvertently or intentionally, according to the latest Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR).
In total, data show 61 percent of global security incidents in 2020 were caused by outside actors, such as hacking and other nefarious activities.
“When you read the contents of the report, it is tempting to think that a vast array of threats demands a sweeping and revolutionary solution,” Alex Pinto, the report’s lead author said in a statement. “However, the reality is far more straightforward.”
“The truth is that, whilst organizations should prepare to deal with exceptional circumstances, the foundation of their defences should be built on strong fundamentals - addressing and mitigating the threats most pertinent to them,” he continued.
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ONC announces launch of Health Interoperability Outcomes 2030 initiative
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is soliciting public feedback about longer-term health interoperability outcomes.
By Kat Jercich
May 13, 2021 11:16 AM
The U.S. Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT announced the launch of its Health Interoperability Outcomes 2030 effort, aimed at building on current interoperability efforts and working toward longer-term strategies.
"Throughout my tenure at ONC, different policy, technology, and legislative moments along with ample public feedback have shaped our actions," wrote Deputy National Coordinator Steve Posnack in a blog post accompanying the announcement.
"Yet, there always comes a time to ask, 'What’s next? What are we driving toward? How do we turn actions into outcomes?' Now's that time," Posnack continued.
WHY IT MATTERS
As Posnack pointed out, a number of policies have shaped the ONC's actions over the past decade – most recently the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016, which shaped regulations around information blocking and interoperability that took effect this April.
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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2021/05/13/report-on-covid-19s-impact-on-medical-practices/
Report on COVID-19’s Impact on Medical Practices
May 13, 2021
If you know anything about the MGMA organization, they’re probably most well known for all the data they have around medical practices. Whether you’re looking for Provider Compensation Data, Medical Practice Claims and A/R data, or basically any data needed about medical practices, MGMA is the place to go. Given this, it was no surprise that MGMA would come out with their “Quantifying COVID-19: Measuring the Pandemic’s Impact on Medical Practices” report. The report is available as part of their MGMA DataDrive for those interested in purchasing the full report.
We got a look at the report and wanted to share some of the highlights. In fact, MGMA did a recent webinar sharing insights from the report and here were 6 key takeaways from the presentation:
1. Patients came back for care in summer 2020 after safety worries, deferred visits
2. The recovery was short-lived due to the fall 2020 COVID-19 surge
3. Telehealth surged, then ebbed, then grew again with new waves of COVID-19
4. Slow periods for productivity were opportunities to catch up on collections
5. Supply costs were up dramatically, but cuts elsewhere lowered overall spending
6. Staffing struggles persist due to quarantine, childcare and a tight labor market
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/precision-medicine-therapy-restores-immune-function-in-children
Precision Medicine Therapy Restores Immune Function in Children
Researchers used a precision medicine approach to cure children of a disease that leaves them without immune function.
By Jessica Kent
May 11, 2021 - A precision medicine therapy developed by researchers at UCLA and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London restored immune function in more than 95 percent of pediatric patients.
Using the experimental approach, the team successfully treated 48 of 50 children born with a deadly and inherited disorder that keeps them from having a functioning immune system.
Severe combined immunodeficiency due to adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA-SCID) is caused by mutations in the ADA gene that creates the enzyme adenosine deaminase. This enzyme is essential for a functioning immune system.
Children with the condition can develop serious, life-threatening infections from doing day-to-day activities, like going to school or seeing friends. If left untreated, the condition can be fatal within the first two years of life.
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Queen's speech promises Government will 'lay foundations' for a more integrated health and care system
Health think tanks have criticised the plans for failing to address social care reform.
By Tammy Lovell
May 12, 2021 10:41 AM
The Queen's Speech to officially reopen Parliament promised legislation to empower the NHS to innovate and embrace technology.
In the speech to the House of Lords yesterday, she delivered the government’s plans for a pandemic recovery that would beat COVID-19 and back the NHS.
“My ministers will bring forward legislation to empower the NHS to innovate and embrace technology. Patients will receive more tailored and preventative care, closer to home,” Her Majesty said.
A background briefing on the speech to Parliament the Queen said the Health and Care Bill will “lay new foundations for a more integrated and efficient health and care system”, enabling staff to focus on delivering the best possible treatment and care for their patients and giving the NHS and local authorities tools to “level up health and care across England”.
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Nursing execs dish on the digital health tools they've found most useful during the pandemic
On International Nurses Day, RNs from around the country say telehealth, mobile apps and, yes, electronic health records have been integral to providing seamless patient care at their organizations.
May 12, 2021
In a recent study, researchers associated more favorable electronic health record usability scores with lower odds of burnout among nurses.
Unfortunately, that study also found that nurses scored their EHR usability at an F – which seems to bode ill for workplace satisfaction in an already stressful environment.
Still, it's not all bad news: Nursing executives from hospitals around the country told Healthcare IT News that they've come to rely on a large range of digital health tools during the COVID-19 pandemic. And, they say, they'll continue to use some of that software in a post-pandemic world.
Multiple execs pointed to telehealth as a major game-changer for patient care.
"Having the ability to safely connect and communicate enabled clinic visits to continue despite the pandemic," said Ellen Hansen, chief nursing and clinical services officer at Children’s of Mississippi, part of the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
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Telehealth Good Fit for Many Oncology Services, Says Cancer Institute CMO
Analysis | By Christopher Cheney | May 12, 2021
Karmanos Cancer Institute CMO George Yoo is bullish on the future of telehealth in oncology care.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
· For newly diagnosed oncology patients, telehealth is an excellent tool for second opinions.
· For return oncology patients, telehealth is appropriate to review test results.
· Telehealth is appropriate for oncology surgery consults, radiation consults, and genetic consultation.
Telehealth is well-suited to providing a range of services for oncology patients, the chief medical officer of the Karmanos Cancer Institute says.
Telehealth has expanded exponentially during the coronavirus pandemic. However, in the long term, there is uncertainty about the future of telehealth, including whether government and commercial payers will continue to reimburse telehealth visits at rates comparable to in-person visits and which specialties will remain committed to utilizing telehealth.
Karmanos, which is part of Grand Blanc, Michigan–based McLaren Health Care, has 15 locations across Michigan. Karmanos CMO George Yoo, MD, is bullish on the future of telehealth in oncology care.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/technology/improving-communication-technology
Improving Communication With Technology
Analysis | By PSQH | May 12, 2021
Can the right tools solve tech-enabled communication challenges?
This article was originally published March 12, 2021 on PSQH by Megan Headley
Clear communication—with patients and colleagues—is a critical component of effective healthcare. Yet the sheer amount of information to communicate, not to mention distractions that derail effective discussions, can make achieving this clarity challenging.
Eliminating the technology that has complicated patient care is not an option, so health systems are searching for strategic technology deployments to address some of the challenges that have emerged. The results aim to bring physicians, nursing staff, and patients back into the realm of more meaningful interaction.
Less note-taking drives stronger patient interactions
Too much screen time has made it more difficult for providers to connect with patients. According to a 2005 evaluation of the impact of exam room computers on communication between clinicians and patients, these computers can monopolize the clinician’s attention, to the detriment of their conversation with the patient.
Rather than removing the exam room computers, Rush University Medical Center invested in a technology solution to combat this problem.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/directtrust-promotes-over-170m-direct-secure-messages-in-2021-q1
DirectTrust Promotes Over 170M Direct Secure Messages in 2021 Q1
The health data exchange has streamlined over 2.3 billion direct secure messages since it started tracking the statistic in 2014.
May 11, 2021 - DirectTrust has announced it facilitated over 170 million direct secure messages within its network during the 2021 first quarter.
The 172.5 million direct secure messages are a 21 percent increase compared to the same time in 2020. The nonprofit network reached nearly 2.3 billion total direct exchange transactions since it began tracking the statistic in 2014.
“We’re delighted to see the continued steady growth in Direct Secure Messaging following a hit to use during the early days of the pandemic,” Scott Stuewe, President and CEO of DirectTrust, said in a statement.
“Direct continues to be a reliable means for ensuring safe and secure transport of health information, and its consistent use—now averaging 57+ million per month—confirms our position that interoperability of electronic health information is here and will continue to gain traction as a cost-effective means of improving the coordination of patient care.”
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New Study Shows mHealth Games Help Children With Autism - And Their Parents
The program coordinated by Magellan Health and Mightier, a spinoff from Boston Children's and Harvard medical School, finds that mHealth games boost behavioral health outcomes in kids and reduce stress in their parents.
May 11, 2021 - A recent pilot program has found that an mHealth game platform tailored for children with Autism not only improves behavioral health outcomes – it also reduces stress in parents.
The long-awaited results are from a program launched in 2020 by Mightier, a Boston-based connected health company spun out of Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and Arizona-based managed care company Magellan Healthcare. They point to a potentially promising future for mHealth games in helping healthcare providers and families improve care management and outcomes in the home.
“It is important to understand families as a whole, and to not only look at children’s symptoms when deploying an intervention,” Matthew Miller, senior vice president of behavioral health for Magellan Healthcare, said in a press release issued today. “Families using Mightier reported decreased stress, an increase in confidence, and an increase in access to resources relative to control – gains that point to improvements for the child as well as higher functionality for parents and families.”
According to the study, which involved 36 families divided into two groups, more than 80 percent of the children who played the games in conjunction with applied behavioral analysis (ABA) treatment saw an improvement in their behavioral health, according to their parents, while 55 percent of children who used only ABA treatment saw an improvement.
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May 10, 2021
While empowering patients, oncology open notes may add to physician workload
Beyond its principal mission of saving lives and avoiding harm, a major priority of modern medicine is to promote patient autonomy and engagement.
In recent years, a focus on patient empowerment has led to a push for greater transparency between patients and their providers.
To that end, a provision added to the 21st Century Cures Act, passed by Congress in 2016, allows patients access to all information in their electronic health records without delay. The information available to patients under the Interoperability and Information Blocking Rule includes physician notes about the patient encounter, providing so-called “open notes.”
Although many institutions have offered open notes for years, the federal rule did not take effect until April.
“Even before open notes, patients could go through the medical records department and access their records, but this makes the access open,” Narek Shaverdian, MD, radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told HemOnc Today. “So, now the patient doesn’t need to make a request; they don’t have to wait. It facilitates the transfer of information so that there’s no longer a wall between the patient and their records.”
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/the-interoperability-infrastructure-passed-the-covid-19-test
The Interoperability Infrastructure Passed the COVID-19 Test
A digitized healthcare and interoperability infrastructure was put to the test during the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 10, 2021 - When a healthcare crisis hits, scientists try to figure out the what, why, and who of the crisis, and during COVID-19, that search coincided with significant disruption, according to Tom Skelton, chief executive officer of Surescripts.
“During the pandemic, we saw disruption to the roles that clinicians were playing,” Skelton said in an interview with EHRIntelligence. “We saw disruptions to the nature of the patient makeup that health systems were responsible for. We saw changes in care venues; offices were no longer able to see patients, so everything became telehealth. All of that together created a significant demand for information.”
Interoperability has always been a significant focus for the healthcare sector, and COVID-19 found a way to accelerate patient data exchange and interoperability. Whether it was at a major health system, a clinic, a field hospital, or in a special suite where clinicians provided telehealth, clinicians could access patient information.
“Interoperability took pressure off of patients to deliver some of that information,” Skelton added. “Overall, we saw some great stuff and it shows in some of the numbers that Surescripts reported. We saw an increase in the number of clinicians looking for patients records and we found 400 million links to clinical documents that were very important to the care cycle.”
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/how-to-integrate-a-patient-decision-aid-into-an-ehr-system
How to Integrate a Patient Decision Aid into an EHR System
A patient decision aid EHR integration took a team of researchers 18 months to complete.
May 10, 2021 - Integrating a patient decision aid (PDA) into the EHR is a six-step, 18-month process that requires support from a clinical champion, guidance from an experienced health IT professional, and a willing EHR vendor team, according to a study published in JMIR Publications.
A PDA provides evidence-based information in simple, digestible language to enable shared decision-making between patients and clinicians.
Although PDAs can enhance patient care, EHR integration remains a significant hurdle. Integrating outside tools into the EHR is complex and security concerns are a significant challenge, the study authors noted.
This latest study detailed the process for implementing a patient decision aid into the EHR. The research team said the EHR integration was a six-step process.
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/machine-learning-gauges-unconsciousness-under-anesthesia
Machine Learning Gauges Unconsciousness Under Anesthesia
A machine learning tool can accurately assess unconsciousness in patients under anesthesia.
By Jessica Kent
May 10, 2021 - Machine learning can measure unconsciousness in patients under anesthesia, allowing anesthesiologists to optimize drug doses, according to a study published in PLOS One.
Anesthetic drugs act on the brain but most anesthesiologists rely on heart rate, respiratory rate, and movement to infer whether surgery patients remain unconscious to the desired degree.
A team from MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) showed that a machine learning approach, attuned to the kind of anesthetic being used, can yield algorithms that evaluate unconsciousness in patients based on brain activity with high accuracy and reliability.
“One of the things that is foremost in the minds of anesthesiologists is 'Do I have somebody who is lying in front of me who may be conscious and I don't realize it?'” said senior author Emery N. Brown, Edward Hood Taplin Professor in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science at MIT, and an anesthesiologist at MGH.
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Social Determinants of Health Hampered COVID-19 Prevention Habits
Patients who face social determinants of health are less likely to take part in COVID-19 mitigation strategies, heightening health disparities.
May 07, 2021 - Social determinants of health were strongly associated with whether or not an individual with heart disease adopted measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to a study that draws attention to health disparities.
The study, presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session, is based on a survey that examined COVID-19 preventive habits among more than 25,000 adults through the lens of sociodemographic factors. Researchers analyzed survey responses from just over 2,000 individuals who reported a history of heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.
“Unless we look at COVID-19 through the lens of social determinants of health, we may not optimize our yield from interventions, and we might not be reaching the group of individuals who need these interventions the most,” Kobina Hagan, MD, a postdoctoral fellow at Houston Methodist Research Institute and the study's lead author, said in a press release.
The researchers grouped the survey respondents who had heart disease into risk quartiles based on social determinants of health such as income, financial security, employment, education, health insurance status, food insecurity, and neighborhood quality.
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COVID-19 has only made loneliness worse among seniors. Here's how Anthem is tackling this issue
May 10, 2021 3:20pm
COVID-19 has only worsened social isolation, but Anthem is addressing senior's loneliness through a "wrap-around" program that encourages them to reach out.
Through Member Connect, seniors are assigned a social care partner, who assists with connecting them to community services to address their social needs. They also have a phone pal, a volunteer Anthem associate who reaches out to them weekly.
Many members (78%) said they either agreed or strongly agreed that participating in the program led to more meaningful connections with people. In addition, 66% said they are happy or very happy when taking into account all facets of their life in the past seven days.
Robin Caruso, chief togetherness officer at Anthem's CareMore Health, told Fierce Healthcare that the phone pals become a critical bridge to necessary services, such as exercise or behavioral health, that the member might otherwise avoid.
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Here's how Consensus plans to 'attack' the interoperability opportunity as a new public company
May 6, 2021 3:55pm
A company primarily known in the healthcare industry for its cloud fax business is aiming to tackle the broader interoperability market.
J2 Global, a conglomerate of media and information services, recently announced plans to split into two businesses, spinning off its internet fax business as a new company called Consensus. The bulk of the company, in media and e-commerce, will remain J2.
The spinoff is expected to take effect by the third quarter of this year.
As a new publicly traded company, Consensus will consist of J2's cloud fax business, including the eFax business, and related brands, with a focus on healthcare, which is expected to have $333 million to $342 million in revenue in 2021.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/reported-ransomware-attack-leads-weeks-aprima-ehr-outages
Reported ransomware attack leads to weeks of Aprima EHR outages
Some customers describe being unable to access their clinic schedules, chart notes, refill requests or incoming test results, among other issues.
By Kat Jercich
May 07, 2021 02:47 PM
A reported ransomware attack on the CompuGroup Medical data center partner, MedNetwoRX, has impeded some customers' access to their Aprima electronic health record systems for more than two weeks.
According to emails forwarded to Healthcare IT News, the disruption began on April 22 – and some hosted Aprima clients are still waiting for service to be restored as of Friday.
"The outage has been tremendously disruptful to our ability to properly care for our patients," said Dr. Christopher Fox, a Colorado-based endocrinologist.
Fox's clinic, the Alpine Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, is an Aprima EHR client.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/telehealth-2050-future-design-virtual-care-technology
Telehealth 2050: The future design of virtual care technology
In the future, your doctor will shower with you! Well, not exactly. But here's what one telemedicine expert has to say about the coming evolution of remote care.
By Bill Siwicki
May 10, 2021 11:56 AM
Miles Romney, cofounder and chief technology officer at telehealth company eVisit, paints a vivid, sci-fi-seeming picture of what virtual care will look like in the year 2050.
He starts by describing a hypothetical person's morning shower.
The shower stall will be outfitted with a high-tech system, says Romney. Aided by an ocular or neurological implant interface, the system takes a full-body CT scan, while myriad instruments gently check various personal health metrics and vitals, cataloging and sending those details to a care team.
The person's daily data is analyzed in real time by artificial intelligence and validated by providers. A transdermal infuser then delivers a personalized cocktail of exactly what's needed – vitamins, relaxants, pain relievers, beta blockers, anxiolytics, TNF inhibitors. The shower begins and as hot water hits, one already feels the positive effects.
Romney spoke with Healthcare IT News about what he sees as the future of telehealth – when virtual care will no longer be virtual care, it will just be care.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/mass-general-brigham-and-future-ai-radiology
Mass General Brigham and the future of AI in radiology
The health system's chief data science officer explains how artificial intelligence will assist radiologists – and how it will lead to better patient outcomes.
By Bill Siwicki
May 10, 2021 11:41 AM
Artificial intelligence is making fast progress in the field of radiology. Clinical adoption of AI by radiologists has gone from none to 30% from 2015 to 2020, according to a study by the American College of Radiology.
At the high-profile health system Mass General Brigham, clinicians and IT professionals are working together to advance the use of AI and machine learning in radiology. They're making great strides in making the practice of radiology better for radiologists and health outcomes better for patients.
Dr. Keith Dreyer is chief data science officer and vice chairman of radiology at the Mass General Brigham health system. He also is associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School and a member of the American College of Radiology Board of Directors.
Healthcare IT News interviewed Dreyer to learn about all the progress being made with AI in radiology at Mass General Brigham and to see how AI will change the practice of radiology in the U.S. in the years to come.
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Study Projects Telemedicine to Save Healthcare Industry $21B Globally by 2025
Analysis | By John Commins | May 10, 2021
However, the savings would be limited to developed nations where access to required devices and Internet connectivity is prevalent.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
· The Juniper report, Telemedicine: Emerging Technologies, Regional Readiness & Market Forecasts 2021‑2025, says that teleconsultations will be a key driver of savings for the healthcare sector.
· The report notes that there were more than 280 million teleconsultations performed in 2019. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, that number shot up to 348 million in 2020.
· Juniper projects that third party healthcare service developers will play a critical crucial in accelerating the use of emerging telemedicine services.
· A potential damper on the boom, at least in the United States, could be the hefty investment needed to integrate telemedicine services and mandates for data protection under HIPAA.
A new study by Juniper Research projects that telemedicine will save the healthcare industry $21 billion in costs by 2025, up from $11 billion in 2021, and a growth rate of more than 80% in the next four years.
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https://histalk2.com/2021/05/07/weekender-5-7-21/
Weekly News Recap
- Walmart announces that it will acquire telehealth provider MeMD.
- Cerner begins an external search to replace Chairman and CEO Brent Shafer, who will leave the company.
- Systems at Scripps Health remain down from a ransomware attack.
- R1 RCM will acquire VisitPay for $300 million in casb.
- Connecticut launches a statewide HIE.
- CareCloud agrees to pay $3.8 million to settle federal charges that it paid kickbacks to customers who recommended its EHR to prospects.
- Ascension Technologies files paperwork indicating that it will lay off 651 IT employees in the fall as it outsources their jobs.
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Enjoy!
David.
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