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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Lack of mHealth Technologies Disrupts Workflows for Hospitalists
Tasks like rounding, chart reviews, and order submissions could be made easier for hospitalists with the addition of mHealth technologies that are portable and task-specific, a study found.
January 07, 2022 - User-centered mHealth technology and applications could help reduce burden and increase the efficiency of workflows for hospitalists, according to a study published in JMIR Human Factors.
Hospitalists are physicians who work in hospitals and provide general medical care to patients during their stay. EHR systems play a big role in hospitalists’ workflows by aiding in documentation, information retrieval, and order creation, but their lack of mobility can lead to redundancy and inefficiencies for hospitalists.
“Healthcare systems across the country have invested heavily in health information technology [HIT], but when it comes to the mobile technology provided to hospitalists, HIT hasn’t incorporated many user-centered designs,” April Savoy, PhD, a researcher from the Regenstrief Institute and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and a corresponding author of the study, said in a press release.
“Cell phones work well for ordering a ride from a car service or posting social media because their apps are designed for the consumers these companies wish to reach. But we found a lack of user-focused mobile technology apps designed to decrease difficulty and increase efficiency of hospitalists’ workflows and improve patient care.”
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https://www.digitalhealth.net/2022/01/2022-predictions-digital-health-leaders/
2022 predictions: Digital health leaders look ahead
After another momentous year for digital health, we gave a number of digital health leaders the opportunity to predict what 2022 will bring.
Jordon Sollof – January 4 2022
Here’s what they anticipate:
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers
“We predict that 2022 will be the year NHS trusts truly begin to align their digital and broader improvement strategies. Through our Digital Boards programme, delivered in partnership with Public Digital, commissioned by HEE and supported by NHSX, we have heard how trust leaders are identifying the close relationships needed between digital transformation and quality improvement initiatives.
“We also know that incoming ICS leaders will be looking to place the digital and data agenda at the heart of system working, with new and exciting opportunities to collaborate and share data.”
Nilesh Bharakhada, clinical director for health and care at PRSB
“Delivering integrated care through joined up health and care systems will be the key focus in 2022 across England, Scotland and Wales. In England, ICSs will aim to deliver services that are organised around individuals rather than leaving people to navigate organisational boundaries between care settings. Although further ahead, integration will continue to be a focus for Scotland and Wales, ensuring that their integration is effective and delivered at pace.
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https://www.digitalhealth.net/2021/12/digital-healths-2021-review-top-10-most-read-news-stories/
Digital Health’s 2021 Review: Top 10 most read news stories
Much like its predecessor, 2021 was certainly a one-of-a-kind year. With 2022 just around the corner, let’s take a look back at Digital Health’s most popular stories from the past year.
Hanna Crouch – 31 December 2021
While Covid-19 still dominates the majority of our top 10 – interest appears to have moved towards the buzz-term of 2021 ‘Covid passports’. Join us now as we look at the 10 most-read stories by you, our readers.
10. Dr Timothy Ferris appointed NHS director of transformation
The last year has seen some pretty big news stories that have been completely un-related to Covid and this is a prime example. Back in March, it was revealed Dr Timothy Ferris had been selected to lead NHS England and Improvement’s Transformation Directorate.
Dr Ferris’ previous experience included serving as a non-executive director of NHS Improvement for almost three years and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He joined the NHS from the not-for-profit Massachusetts General Physicians Organisation, where he was chief executive. He also founded the Centre for Population Health, which champions the use of prevention and data to improve health, reduce inequalities, and save lives.
The Transformation Directorate was established in order to bring together the NHS England and Improvement operational improvement teams with NHSX and has the aim of maintaining the pace of innovation seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/stryker-acquire-vocera-communications-3b
Stryker to acquire Vocera Communications for $3B
"Vocera will help Stryker significantly accelerate our digital aspirations to improve the lives of caregivers and patients," says Kevin Lobo, CEO of medical and surgical manufacturer Stryker.
By Mike Miliard
January 07, 2022 10:07 AM
Stryker on Thursday announced its plans for a merger with Vocera Communications, developer of clinical communication and workflow technologies, for approximately $3 billion.WHY IT MATTERS
The maker of medical and surgical products will spend $79.25 per share for Vocera, for a total equity value of $2.97 billion and a total enterprise value of approximately $3.09 billion, including convertible notes, company officials say.
Stryker officials say they're interested in Vocera's "highly complementary and innovative portfolio" of tools to help connect caregivers and "disparate data-generating medical devices," with an eye toward boosting patient safety and outcomes and improving provider workflows.
Specifically, Vocera's software and hardware for remote communication complements Stryker's Advanced Digital Healthcare tools, the company said, and will improve its efforts to help its customers reduce and prevent adverse events across the care continuum.
The boards of directors of both Stryker and Vocera have unanimously approved the acquisition, which is expected to close, pending regulatory approval, in the first quarter of 2022.
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Mayo Clinic Researchers Anticipate Seizures With a Wearable Device
Analysis | By Eric Wicklund | January 06, 2022
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic report early-stage success with a wearable wristband that can anticipate epileptic seizures up to 30 minutes before they occur.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have reportedly developed a wearable device that can detect the onset of epileptic seizures 30 minutes before they occur.
As documented in Nature, the preliminary study focused on just six patients living with drug-resistant epilepsy and being treated at the Mayo Clinic, so more research is needed. But the apparent success of a wristband and telehealth platform designed by Boston-based Empatica “provides the first clear evidence that direct seizure forecasts are possible using wearable devices in the ambulatory setting for many patients with epilepsy.”
The research could eventually greatly benefit the estimated 3.4 million Americans living with epilepsy, including close to 500,000 children. They live with the threat of a sudden seizure at any time, especially those living with recurrent seizures. Treatment is focused on neurostimulation and/or medications, even (but rarely) surgery.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/what-is-the-role-of-the-ehr-in-pragmatic-clinical-trials
What is the Role of the EHR in Pragmatic Clinical Trials?
Pragmatic clinical trials leverage EHR data in an effort to cut costs and human effort associated with traditional randomized clinical trials (RCTs).
January 06, 2022 - While using EHR data to fuel clinical research may help cut costs and human effort, additional analysis is needed to understand how pragmatic clinical trials can be optimized while maintaining scientific integrity of results, according to commentary published in JAMA Network Open.
The healthcare industry has long acknowledged randomized clinical trials (RCTs) as the reference standard for testing the efficacy of an intervention for evidence-based medicine.
RCTs are performed in a rigorous controlled setting to reduce the effect of biases and maximize the effect of a treatment. The commentary authors noted that while RCTs have strong internal validity, that validity may be hindered in real-world applications, as clinical care dynamics are much different compared to the controlled setting of an RCT.
Pragmatic trials, which are conducted in everyday clinical settings, aim to enhance the external validity of clinical research and cut costs associated with conducting traditional RCTs. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has promoted pragmatic trials as a viable path forward given the availability of EHRs that permit the adoption of such trials.
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NCQA program aims to validate data streams for quality programs
The initiative looks to facilitate the exchange of information from healthcare entities to improve reliability of data used for HEDIS.
Jan 06 2022
A national non-profit organization continues to roll out a national program that aims to ensure the trustworthiness of aggregated clinical data used to support quality programs.
Most recently, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has validated the trustworthiness of information flowing through the Kansas Health Information Network. Also known as KNOZA, the Topeka-based HIE operates exchanges in eight other states in addition to Kansas.
The designation comes as part of NCQA’s Data Aggregator Validation program. KNOZA reported that it is part of the first NCQA cohort to voluntarily seek and earn the new validation. In late December, Manifest MedEx, a California non-profit health data network, announced it earned the Validated Data Stream designation from the Data Aggregator Validation program.
The initiative is an important step in finding ways to facilitate the effort to exchange data that is intended to improve care quality. NCQA’s program aims to assess both the process, system and data standards used that govern the ingesting, managing and aggregation of data, as well as measure the standards used to ensure output data integrity.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/forget-film-or-cds-ramapo-radiology-sharing-images-qr-codes
Forget film or CDs – Ramapo Radiology is sharing images via QR codes
The new workflow saves up to 500 hours each month that staff now can dedicate to more mission-critical activities. And CD costs have been drastically reduced.
By Bill Siwicki
January 06, 2022 12:19 PM
Ramapo Radiology Associates, based in Suffern, New York, has been a part of the Hudson Valley community for nearly 70 years, but the need to easily share medical images has never been as important as it is now.
THE PROBLEM
Years ago, people expected to wait hours or days to get their images and reports. Everyone expected the hassle of having to physically carry radiology films or CDs from location to location. But today, those expectations have completely changed.
"We live in a digital society accustomed to easy access to seemingly everything, so it's really no surprise that people want the same kind of experience when it comes to their healthcare," said Steven Ryerson, IT director at Ramapo Radiology Associates.
"Convenience and speed mean everything – especially when you're a referring physician or a patient who's anxiously waiting on imaging results to determine a diagnosis or treatment."
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/ehnac-updates-interoperability-criteria-health-it-standards
EHNAC Updates Interoperability Criteria, Health IT Standards
EHNAC, a health IT data standards accreditation organization, has released updated criteria for its programs to support new interoperability regulations.
January 05, 2022 - The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit health IT data standards development organization, has announced the release of new criteria versions for its 20 accreditation programs to support compliance with the CMS interoperability rule.
Major updates to the 2022 criteria include new interoperability and information blocking criteria across related EHNAC accreditation programs.
The health IT data standards development organization has also updated its Trusted Dynamic Registration and Authentication Accreditation Programs (TDRAAP) to include recommended best practices for CMS interoperability rule compliance.
In an effort to provide the industry with the ability to understand the most important measurement points, EHNAC has added KPI requirements to almost all programs.
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FDA Provides Guidance on Remote Data Collection for Clinical Investigations
The FDA provided stakeholders with guidance surrounding the use of digital health technologies and remote data collection during clinical investigations.
By Jill McKeon
January 05, 2022 - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released draft guidance offering recommendations for stakeholders surrounding the use of digital health technologies (DHTs) for remote data collection in clinical investigations of medical products.
The FDA is requesting feedback and comments on the draft by March 22, 2022. The latest guidance falls in line with a collection of recent drafts and best practices from the FDA concerning medical devices.
Using DHTs for remote data collection enables researchers to reduce access barriers for populations who may have transportation or geographic obstacles. In addition, these technologies allow researchers to record data about daily life, such as sleeping patterns, from a remote location.
“Advances in sensor technology, general-purpose computing platforms, and methods for data 63 transmission and storage have revolutionized the ability to remotely obtain and analyze clinically 64 relevant information from individuals,” the draft stated.
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https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/04/emergency-medics-electronic-health-records/
‘A black box’: Emergency medics remain locked out of electronic health records
By Jan. 4, 2022
A few years back, Travis Ogden’s ambulance crew raced to revive a 4-year-old who’d drowned, the color starting to return to her lips as they rushed to the hospital. Normally, their arrival would mark the end of the run: What happens beyond the emergency room doors by and large remains a mystery.
But that day, Ogden’s crew couldn’t accept that reality. They cleaned the rig and restocked its medical supplies in slow motion, trying to stick around and find out whether she survived. When a doctor walked over to her family and knelt, they quietly realized she hadn’t.
“Unless there’s something super dramatic like that, we don’t get to know,” said Ogden, an EMT in Homer, Alaska. “It’s like going up to a concrete wall and chucking a note over and walking away. It’s brutal.”
That’s typical for emergency medics, an umbrella term for paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and emergency medical responders, who are regularly the first people to provide care in emergencies from strokes and overdoses to heat waves and hurricanes. However, as experts told STAT, emergency medics, which often operate separately from the health care systems they deliver to, are largely locked out of medicine’s vast information architecture.
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Lack of transparency in FDA-regulated AI and ML imaging software has doctors concerned
Hannah Murphy | January 03, 2022 | AI & Emerging Technologies
Publicly available data from the Food and Drug Administration pertaining to regulated artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) algorithms are in short supply, creating challenges for radiologists and other doctors to utilize these technologies clinically.
“Although FDA maintains a searchable platform for its regulated devices including the regulated AI/ML algorithms, it does not offer an accessible list of regulated software,” corresponding author, Shadi Ebrahimian, MD, with the Department of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and co-authors explained. “Therefore, there is confusion regarding the type and nature of the regulated algorithms.”
In 2010, there were around 600 publications that referenced AI/ML. That number has since climbed to more than 12,000. In recent years, the number of AI/ML applications regulated by the FDA has also increased rapidly, though very few of these specific applications have been referenced in peer-reviewed research.
To develop a better understanding of the strengths and trends of the software that is regulated by the FDA, doctors analyzed the FDA database of 510(k) clearance documents and corresponding product websites. They then recorded the details of the application type, body area of application, algorithm performance and validation studies.
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https://www.hcplive.com/view/clinical-decision-support-tool-stable-sleep-patients
Clinical Decision Support Tool Aids in Identifying Stable Sleep Patients
January 5, 2022
Investigators believe these methods could be used in other areas of hospital care such as cardiac monitoring.
The result of a recent trial on clinical decision support tools concluded that augmenting physician judgement with a real-time prediction algorithm could provide patients with greater sleep opportunity without risk of clinical decompensation.
In their investigation, Nader Najafi, MD, Department of Medicine, University of California, and fellow investigators cited the importance of sleep, stated it had “major consequences” on the physical and emotional well-being of patients.
Furthermore, hospitalized patients will often experience iatrogenic sleep interruptions. So far, there is little evidence in how these interruptions could be safely reduced.
Najafi and colleagues set out to determine whether a clinical decision support tool could aid physicians in identifying clinically stable patients and safely discontinue their overnight vital sign checks.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/emea/several-eu-nations-set-mandate-vaccination-covid-passes
Several EU nations set to mandate vaccination for COVID passes
Protests flair across Europe as governments crack down on the unvaccinated.
By Tammy Lovell
January 05, 2022 05:28 AM
As the omicron variant spreads across Europe, leaders are tightening COVID restrictions and bringing in new rules to increase vaccination uptake.
In December the European Commission reduced the validity period of the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC) to nine months to encourage people to have boosters, based on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s recommendation that the third jab should be given within six months.
Next month Austria will become the first European country to mandate vaccination, with new rules meaning unvaccinated citizens face fines of up to €3,600 and bans from accessing public places.
Germany and the Czech Republic have both announced plans to make vaccination status the only means to qualify for a COVID health pass - no longer allowing negative test results or proof of having recovered from the virus.
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2022 Predictions for Telehealth and the Digital Front Door
January 5, 2022
As we head into 2022, we asked the Healthcare IT Today community to share some predictions for the new year. I always find it interesting to learn what people think is coming down the road.
One of the hottest topics out there right now it telehealth and the new digital front door. These terms have a lot of different meanings to a lot of different people, but there’s consensus that understanding this topic is going to be important for every healthcare organization. The embrace of virtual care is real, but knowing how to do it effectively is still a major topic of discussion. Hopefully these predictions help you plan effectively.
Here’s a look at some of the 2022 telehealth and digital front door predictions we received:
Julian
Flannery, CEO & Founder at Summus Global
Virtual Care 2.0: virtual care is evolving rapidly and will encompass more than
just primary care in 2022 as patients need more tailored healthcare journeys.
Emphasis on Restoring the Human Element in Healthcare: matching virtual care with human needs will bring a new care model: personalized, customized and easy to make progress and to take steps toward better health.
Prioritizing User Access: With the U.S. physician shortage growing, access will play a big role in 2022 as patients struggle to make appointments with their doctors. The new frontier of virtual care is all about access and technology that empowers, in days, a direct connection to world-class specialists. A McKinsey & Company report indicates telehealth use has increased 38X from the pre-COVID-19 baseline.
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Federal Government Asks for Examples of Digital Health Use During the Pandemic
Analysis | By Eric Wicklund | January 05, 2022
The White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) has issued a Request for Information on how technology and innovation have been used - successfully and unsuccessfully - to address barriers to care and health equity.
The federal government is looking for input on how to use digital health to address community-based health and wellness and health equity.
In a Request for Information posted this week in the Federal Register, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) seeks input from “community health stakeholders, technology developers, and other interested parties about how digital health technologies are used, or could be used in the future, to transform community health, individual wellness, and health equity.” Comments are due back to the OSTP by March 5.
The announcement continues a federal effort to evaluate the experiences of healthcare organizations and others in using technology during the pandemic to improve access to care, particularly for regions and communities that have traditionally faced barriers to access. This includes digital health tools such as wearables and mHealth app, telehealth platforms and remote patient monitoring programs that have extended care from the hospital, clinic and doctor’s office to the community health center or even the home.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/fragmented-clinical-communication-hampers-care-coordination
Fragmented Clinical Communication Hampers Care Coordination
Clinical communication workflows across community-based settings and PCPs are disjointed, which delays care delivery and hinders care coordination.
January 04, 2022 - Clinical communication across community-based healthcare settings and primary care providers (PCPs) is fragmented, which limits care coordination to support the complex needs of persons living with dementia (PLWD), according to a study published in JAMIA.
The researchers conducted six focus groups with 33 adult day care center (ADC) staff and individual semistructured interviews with 22 PCPs in California.
The study found complex communication workflows across community-based settings, like ADCs, that limit direct communication between providers and require informal caregivers to serve as intermediaries.
Additionally, the researchers found that clinical communication between ADC and PCPs relies heavily on antiquated methods of communication, such as fax and phone, which contributes to delayed and fragmented care for PLWD.
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Rady Children’s fast genomic sequencing initiative gains steam
Rapid whole genome sequencing will become more useful, augmented by EHR data, the use of the cloud and comparisons with large databases, says Stephen Kingsmore, MD.
Jan 04 2022
Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego continues to advance the use of whole genome sequencing, developing a network that makes the services available to more pediatric hospitals and working toward a future that sees it more widely used as a common form of care for children.
The organization has been leading an initiative to use rapid whole genome sequencing (WGS) technology and other advanced computing technologies to improve the speed of the process, enable use of it for more constituencies and advance medical research. Rady is also forming collaborative partnerships across the industry to expand use of sequencing in treatment.
The need is huge – there are an estimated 6,000 rare diseases that have their basis in patients’ genetic makeup. Beyond that, it’s estimated that as many as 25 million Americans are affected by rare and often undiagnosed conditions. Diagnosing rare genetic conditions quickly is particularly crucial in treating young critically ill patients, where shortening the diagnosis to window is crucial to survival, treatment and long-term prognosis.
As such, the initiative at Rady also demonstrates the current and future use of technology – particularly the cloud, electronic health records, standards and more – to cost-effectively solve medical mysteries.
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How real-world evidence, AI will enable better care
Advances in analytics conducted on data in EHRs, linked to insurance claims databases, will help improve therapies.
Jan 04 2022
During the prescribing process, a physician’s ability to accurately and reliably match the most appropriate therapy option with the patient at hand is limited by the amount and quality of clinical information that is available.
While randomized clinical trials are considered the gold standard for establishing the safety and efficacy of prescription medications, and the clinical findings verified from the trial inform the label on the approved therapy, the overall utility of such trials is limited by a variety of factors.
One particular limitation is the use of strict inclusion and exclusion criteria during trial enrollment. While the resulting homogeneous patient population provides some benefits for researchers during the initial trial, the clinical findings are not broadly applicable to patient subgroups who were not represented in the trial, or to patients who are managing one or more chronic conditions or comorbidities. Thus, additional studies are needed to further refine the medication’s full prescribing information — and broaden physicians’ understanding of the therapy — over time after it has become commercialized.
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January 3, 2022
Telemedicine as Good as In-Person for Many Health Conditions: Review
MONDAY, Jan. 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Chatting with your doctor via video about your health issues works just as well as an in-person office visit, at least when it comes to managing chronic illnesses, a new review suggests.
Replacing office visits with video checkups delivered results that were just as effective for patients being treated for conditions like diabetes, respiratory illnesses, chronic pain, heart problems and neurological disorders, researchers reported recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
"In general, the evidence shows that using video teleconferencing in health care results in outcomes that are just as good as and in some cases better than in-person care," said lead researcher Jordan Albritton, a public health analyst with RTI International, a nonprofit research institute in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Despite these findings, experts maintain that in-person physical exams remain essential to quality health care, particularly for new patients who have just fallen ill.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/one-expert-travels-country-see-how-telehealth-holding
One expert travels the country to see how telehealth is holding up
Justin Miller of eVisit visits the company's provider clients to see where they are excelling, the challenges they face, and what 2022 may hold in store.
By Bill Siwicki
January 04, 2022 11:49 AM
Telemedicine is on an all-time high. The requirements of the contagious COVID-19 and the subsequent loosening of governmental regulations and commercial payer rules have finally propelled telehealth into the mainstream.
Travel to virtually any U.S. healthcare provider organization today and its teams are conducting some kind of telehealth. Justin Miller, vice president of customer success at eVisit, a telemedicine technology and services company, did just that. He recently returned from visiting a selection of his company's provider clients from across the country to see how they were holding up, and how they were innovating.
Healthcare IT News sat down with Justin to learn what he learned on his travels. He talks about where providers are excelling with virtual care, where they are facing challenges, the experiences of Global Medical Response, and what he thinks 2022 will bring in the world of telemedicine.
Q. You recently returned from a tour of some of your healthcare provider organization clients to see how telehealth is functioning in the real world. Where were providers excelling?
A. Providers are getting more and more creative with how they leverage virtual care solutions. Before the COVID-19 pandemic there was not a lot of back and forth between virtual and in-person modalities. Now we're seeing a cultural shift where organizations see telehealth as an enabling tool that complements in-person care, with many adopting a hybrid care system that uses the best of both worlds. It no longer makes sense to draw a line between the two.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/it-execs-talk-priorities-and-predictions-2022
IT execs talk priorities and predictions for 2022
Patient and provider experiences have to be top-of-mind in the year ahead, with special attention to stressed hospital workers and underserved populations, healthcare vendor leaders say.
By Mike Miliard
January 04, 2022 09:57 AM
The beginning of a new year is usually a time for optimism. But for a U.S. health system stretched thin by wave after wave of COVID-19 variants, that hope may be hard to come by.
The healthcare workforce is depleted, exhausted and demoralized. Care quality is often degraded, and patient accessibility is still lacking. Data is everywhere, but not always available or decipherable to help manage myriad challenges. Financial and revenue cycle disruptions are significant. Progress toward accountable care is halting. Relentless cyberattacks are an ongoing threat.
But still there are reasons to be cheerful. Technology is never a panacea, but tools and strategies are emerging and evolving to meet some of these challenges, and to help build a brighter future – one of more robust interoperability, renewed attention to social determinants of health, and carefully deployed telehealth and remote monitoring programs, to name just a few imperatives.
We heard recently from an array of technology leaders, who offered some insights into their expectations for the year ahead. Here's what they had to say.
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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2022/01/04/clinicians-need-time-to-catch-up-on-ai-tools/
Clinicians Need Time To Catch Up On AI Tools
January 4, 2022
While this trend hasn’t gotten as much attention as one might expect, US healthcare organizations are reaching a new level of AI acceptance. In fact, if a recent Optum survey is any indication, the vast majority of healthcare players have AI strategies in place.
According to the study, 85% of respondents reported having an AI strategy in place and 48% have implemented their strategies. Healthcare AI is hard at work within provider organizations, serving purposes such as automating medical image analyses, tracking patient health status, and guiding remote monitoring.
Vendors like Nuance are putting together technologies needed for ambient clinical intelligence, an AI-based application that creates medical documentation on the fly by “listening” to physician conversations with patients.
These tools are likely to have a powerful effect on the process of patient care going forward. However, it’s not clear that the clinicians who must use these tools are completely prepared to do so.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/innovation/digital-health-takes-center-stage-ces-2022-opens
Digital Health Takes Center Stage as CES 2022 Opens
Analysis | By Eric Wicklund | January 04, 2022
The pandemic may be taking its toll on the massive consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, but it can't dampen the enthusiasm for digital health innovation.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
· Once a haven for health and wellness fanatics, CES 2022 has expanded its digital health footprint to attract not only payers, but more and more healthcare organizations.
· Healthcare providers were once wary of consumer-facing technology but are now realizing the value in tools and platforms that allow patients to manage their own health.
· This year's trends to watch include telemental health, digital therapeutics, women's health, and the use of digital health to address health equity.
As CES 2022 kicks off in Las Vegas this week, the effects of a two-year-old pandemic are quite evident— not only on the diminished size of the once-massive event, but also on the surge of interest in digital health innovation.
"We're much more substantive this year," says Rene Quashie, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which hosts the annual event. "The continuing digital transformation of healthcare has certainly been influenced by COVID … and we're seeing a lot of interest in" new technologies and processes.
No more than a decade ago, digital health was limited to a portion of one conference hall, dominated by fitness bands, early-edition smartwatches, and exercise equipment tailored to the worried well. Some payers showed an interest in the space, but the healthcare community steered clear. Health systems and healthcare providers didn't trust consumer-facing technology (though some did envy the popularity), and they felt the data wasn't useful for clinical outcomes.
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https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/wearable-sensor-may-help-curb-opioid-relapses-overdoses
Wearable Sensor May Help Curb Opioid Relapses, Overdoses
The wrist sensor is designed to identify psychophysiological signs and determine whether they are consistent with opioid cravings, researchers said.
By Anuja Vaidya
January 03, 2022 - Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Syracuse University and SUNY Upstate Medical University have collaborated to create a wireless senor designed to prevent opioid relapses and overdoses.
The opioid epidemic has steadily worsened across the country since the late 1990s. In 2019, nearly 50,000 people in the U.S. died from opioid-related overdoses, according to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Further, around 21 to 29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them, the federal data shows.
To combat this issue, the research team — headed by Tauhidur Rahman, PhD, an assistant professor in the College of Information and Computer Sciences at UMass Amherst and co-director of the MOSAIC Lab — is developing a sensor, which will use machine learning to pinpoint psychophysiological signs in real time and determine whether they are consistent with opioid cravings. Cravings are one of the main drivers behind relapses and overdoses.
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Consumers’ Data At Risk
By Mariam Baksh
December 29, 2021
Telehealth services have expanded exponentially over the course of the pandemic due in part to the Trump administration’s decision to relax enforcement of the industry’s privacy regulations.
A significant majority—73%—of frontline healthcare workers use equipment with legacy operating systems containing potential security vulnerabilities and about a third of them say patient data was compromised during telehealth sessions in 2021, according to a report from Kaspersky.
“The more complex and critical technology is, the more awareness it requires from people who work with it,” said Denis Barinov, head of Kaspersky Academy, in a Dec. 20 press release of the report. “This is particularly important for the healthcare industry entering the new digital stage and increasingly facing issues connected to privacy and security.”
The cybersecurity firm interviewed hundreds of practitioners from healthcare organizations across the globe to investigate the data security of telehealth services, the availability of which has ballooned in the U.S., aided by government efforts to adapt to the pandemic.
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Telehealth Ensured Access to Perinatal Mental Healthcare, But Care Gaps Remain
Virtual perinatal mental health services proved to be just as effective as in-person care for mothers and infants during the COVID-19 pandemic, a study shows.
December 30, 2021 - The transition to using telehealth for perinatal mental health services for mothers and infants helped improve access to care during the pandemic and led to similar outcomes as in-person services, a study published in the Infant Mental Health Journal found. But inequities persisted among racial minority groups.
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, which can occur during or after pregnancy, have been linked to poorer birth outcomes and problems with infants’ social and emotional development.
Psychosocial stress and low social support are two risk factors for these disorders. The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased social isolation and disrupted social interaction, which raised particular concerns for pregnant patients and their mental health.
When the pandemic called for limited in-person interaction, the Healthy Expectations Perinatal Mental Health Program at a tertiary care children’s hospital in the Rocky Mountain Region transitioned its services to a fully virtual model to ensure continuation of care.
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High-level interoperability report reveals priorities, lessons for APAC
Health IT authorities across nine Asia-Pacific countries have shared their thoughts around interoperability and its role in the digital transformation of health systems.
By Adam Ang
January 03, 2022 02:01 AM
HIMSS has published a new report that features highlights from a recent government roundtable on healthcare interoperability.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
The Asia-Pacific Government Roundtable on Interoperability Report provides five key takeaways from a discussion on30 September last year among health IT authorities and digital health representatives from nine Asia-Pacific countries, including Bhutan, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Pakistan and the Philippines.
WHY IT MATTERS
Hospital IT departments still face interoperability challenges in enabling their clinicians to utilise volumes of data generated from devices and systems each day. Data quality and inconsistency issues persist despite efforts by standards organisations and the regulatory incentives being offered to push for the enhancement of system interoperability. It has been suggested that a close collaboration is crucial between vendors and healthcare providers to make this happen.
Both HIMSS members and non-members can access the full report here.
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FDA releases guidance for remotely acquiring data in clinical investigations
The draft report offers recommendations for stakeholders about using digital health hardware and software to gather information from remote trial participants.
By Kat Jercich
January 03, 2022 11:57 AM
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released a draft guidance focused on using digital health technologies to acquire data remotely from participants in clinical investigations of medical products.
"Compared to intermittent trial visits, the use of DHTs to remotely collect data from trial participants may allow for continuous or more frequent data collection," said FDA officials. "This may provide a broader picture of how participants feel or function in their daily lives."
At the same time, it said, sponsors and stakeholders should ensure their technology of choice is fit for its intended purpose.
"Sponsors are encouraged to engage with the DHT manufacturer or other parties in order to leverage any existing information, as appropriate, to support the DHT’s suitability for use in the specific clinical investigation," according to the draft guidance.
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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2022/01/03/api-access-to-ehrs-is-required/
API Access to EHRs is Required
January 3, 2022
If you can’t tell, Information Blocking is top of mind for those at ONC. We can expect more and more details coming out about what they expect from healthcare organizations and health IT companies when it comes to Information Blocking. Jonathan Bush’s vision of not competing based on access to data seems like the main goal of ONC in this regard. Although, they’ll likely say that the real focus is on doing what’s best for the patient. I’d just argue that those are the same goal.
A great example of ONC’s efforts to stop information blocking and give patients access to their data was exemplified in this tweet from the National Coordinate at ONC, Micky Tripathi.
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Just feeling the need to say this: The ONC Cures Act Final Rule says that certified health IT developers have to let their customers use certified APIs (individual or bulk) however the customer wants with whomever the customer wants. Details here: https://ecfr.gov/current/title-
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If you’re a company that’s tried to work with a certified health IT developers API, you know that it’s not quite as turn key as you would think or would hope. There are a lot of hurdles to get access to the data. From how I read Tripathi’s tweet, this seems like it could constitute information blocking.
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Sci-fi types of medical implants will soon become reality, researchers say
By Kenneth R. Rosen
January 1, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. EST
For decades, doctors have embedded pacemakers, cochlear implants and cardiac defibrillators into their patients’ bodies. More recently, consumers have started tracking their own heart rates and number of steps taken with watches, bracelets, cellphones and other wearable devices.
Researchers and doctors are now dreaming up more ways to merge those technologies, to move consumer-driven monitors inside bodies.
“We started to see this line blur with Fitbit,” said Amal Graafstra, who produces magnet implants and other technology through a company called Dangerous Things, which he founded in 2013. “When you start looking into medical applications, there’s going to be a convergence, and I think that’s going to be inevitable.”
In some ways, this is already happening: The medical field has fast taken to microchip implants, ultra-slim and flexible digital tags that can, for example, control a prosthetic limb. Such technology can also monitor the movements of Parkinson’s patients using accelerometers to detect tremors, which offers neurologists a detailed assessment of a patient’s physical behavior before they visit for their next appointment, aiding in the selection of appropriate doses of medicine. Researchers at the University of Illinois developed electronic sensors that can be embedded into temporary skin tattoos to track and stimulate brain waves to prevent seizures.
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Enjoy!
David.
