Telehealth News and Market Developments
PR Newswire: HealthSnap and Prisma Health Expand Program (7/19) - HealthSnap, a virtual care management platform, and Prisma Health, a health care organization in South Carolina, announced the expansion of their existing Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Chronic Care Management (CCM) program following improved provider and patient experience, and clinical outcomes. Originally announced in July 2022, the program has already shown meaningful results across Prisma Health's chronic populations including hypertension, heart failure, Type 2 Diabetes, and obesity. This success has led to expanding Prisma Health's remote care programs. This expansion will enable wider access, including 81 new primary care physicians to provide RPM and CCM service access to more than 20,000 individuals in high-risk chronic populations.
Dermatology Times: Addressing Disparities in Atopic Dermatitis (AD) with Telehealth (7/19) - A teledermatology clinic that was launched in a church is the model for a program aimed at creating new channels for underserved residents to access health care. The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences is partnering with Pfizer Global Medicine Grants to launch a grant program in Washington DC. The program will offer up to $250,000 to create telehealth programs that expand access to education and resources on inflammatory dermatoses such as Atopic Dermatitis, which affects as many as 30 million people in the US. The project aims to locate clinics in popular community meeting spots like churches, salons, libraries, homeless centers, and health clinics.
PR Newswire: Innovative Telehealth Platform HIPAA LINK is Breaking Down Barriers for Mental Health Practitioners (7/19) - HIPAA LINK, a telehealth platform specializing in streamlining telehealth through digital therapeutics, is now live, providing a compelling alternative for mental health practitioners worldwide. HIPAA LINK was designed from the ground up by mental health practitioners to help reduce or eliminate any friction associated with running a telehealth practice. HIPAA LINK users enjoy better quality and more reliable connections than industry peers, with a 99.98% uptime guaranteed – meaning dropped calls are virtually non-existent.
American Hospital Association (AHA): AHA Supports Legislation to Make Permanent Certain Telehealth Flexibilities (7/18) - AHA voiced support for the Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act (S.1636/H.R. 3440), which would protect access to telehealth services under the Medicare program. The legislation was introduced in May. AHA also urged the legislation’s sponsors to further expand the permissible originating sites to any location in which a patient receives a telehealth service, and permanently expand the provider types eligible to perform telehealth services. Read AHA letters to the lead sponsors of the Senate and House bills.
STAT News: How Telehealth Startups Are Trying to Fill the Menopause Care Vacuum (7/17) - In the last five years, more than a dozen telehealth companies have started up to serve women in and approaching menopause, including with hormone therapy. The most successful startups caught the wave of virtual care adoption set off by the pandemic at the same time menopause has become far more visible as an undertreated health concern. And while these nascent companies haven’t garnered the same beefy investments as broader telehealth offerings, investors are starting to see that menopause is far from a niche market.
Becker's Hospital Review: Cleveland Clinic Bets on Telehealth to Reduce Costs and Reach Younger Patients (7/17) - Cleveland Clinic is still betting on virtual care to lower costs and to reach patients who are more comfortable accessing care online. Cleveland Clinic recently announced that its new $80 million hospital in Mentor, Ohio, will have telehealth technology installed in inpatient and outpatient rooms, which will allow patients to consult remotely with physicians from different locations. The hospital continues expanding its reach with telehealth as it sees its potential to lower costs and decrease how often patients are using health care resources in the future.
Healthcare IT News: Commonwealth Care Alliance Shares Key Lessons From its Robust Telehealth Program (7/17) - Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), a health care services organization, uses telemedicine for its patient population. CCA specializes in managing complex care for individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, as well as those who narrowly miss the threshold for Medicaid. As a health care services organization, it delivers and coordinates whole-person care that integrates primary care, acute care, behavioral health, and long-term services and supports, while addressing the social factors that impact health.
Samaritan Health Service: New Telemedicine Platform to Launch in August (7/17) - Samaritan Health Services will roll out its new telemedicine platform, the Epic Video Client, in August. Work is underway now to ensure the service will be easy to access and use by patients and clinicians alike. Patients will find the new platform easy to manage. The new platform gives health care professionals the ability to securely launch video visits, update clinical documentation and review patient histories within the Epic electronic health records system.
HealthLeaders: Comforcare's CEO on Remote Patient Monitoring Use to Ensure Consistent Care (7/13) - Remote patient monitoring enables providers and agencies to "bridge the gap" of care in between times caregivers or nurses aren't present. ComForCare, a home health provider that also offers caregiving services , initiated their partnership with Connected Home Living, Connected Care, nine months ago, implementing the technology into their in-home care protocol. Connected Home Living is a remote patient monitoring and telehealth services provider. HealthLeaders spoke with J.J. Sorrenti, CEO of Best Life Brands, the parent company of ComForCare/At Your Side Home Care, on how the partnership came to be and the process of introducing the technology into operations.
HCP Live: Revolutionizing Rheumatology: Exploring the Impact of Telemedicine in Transforming Care (7/11) - The benefits of telehealth are clear, such as reducing travel time and increasing flexibility and access to care. Rheumatic disease, particularly pediatric patients, has served as a proving ground for this technology as these patients often reside in areas where the availability of rheumatologists is severely limited. In the United States, for example, 6 states only have 1 pediatric rheumatologist, and 9 states have none. By reducing the need for physical visits and providing convenience to patients who have to travel long distances, telemedicine has the potential to alleviate some of that hassle.
Becker's Hospital Review: Intermountain's Pediatric Telehealth Program Expands (7/10) - Intermountain Health expanded its telehealth program, which would allow the emergency department to connect with the Primary Children's Hospital trauma and pediatric ICU specialists. Intermoutain's emergency room physicians can connect with Primary Children's specialists for patient consultations whenever necessary. Primary Children's Hospital specialists will be available for consultation 24/7.
Intermountain Health: Intermountain Fillmore Community Hospital Uses Telehealth to Help Moms Succeed at Breastfeeding (7/10) - Intermountain Fillmore Community Hospital used telehealth so a certified lactation consultant at Intermountain Orem Community Hospital could consult remotely with a Fillmore Hospital nurse who worked in labor and delivery, and the patient who wanted to breastfeed. Through telehealth, nurses have remote access to lactation consultants that provide them with additional training and tips, so they can help news moms solve common breastfeeding challenges – like how to hold and position the baby – and the more unique breastfeeding challenges.
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