Perspectives: Implementing technology in rural communities to support access to mental and behavioral healthcare

May 1, 2023 | by

TTA has an open invitation to industry leaders to contribute to our Perspectives non-promotional opinion area. Today’s Perspectives is from Brian Kenah, Azalea Health’s chief technology officer responsible for engineering, software development initiatives, M&A integrations, and related areas. Azalea Health is a leading US-based provider of cloud-based healthcare solutions and services, including a complete solution of electronic health records (EHR), practice management (PM), revenue cycle management (RCM) billing services, as well as a patient health records portal, and a mobile mHealth application. This article discusses how technology can bridge care gaps that continue to be present in rural areas and enable greater access for individuals.

The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the health needs facing many communities and nowhere was that more apparent than in rural communities.

Rural areas in the U.S. often have higher rates of mortality and morbidity from the leading causes of death compared to urban areas. A report by the CDC in 2017 found that people living in rural areas had a higher risk of death from heart disease, cancer, stroke, and respiratory disease combined than those living in urban areas. One factor contributing to these disparities is limited access to healthcare services – including behavioral and mental health.

Based on data from the American Psychological Association (APA), there is a shortage of mental health professionals in rural areas of the U.S. According to the APA, about 20% of Americans live in rural areas, but only about 10% of psychologists practice in these areas. Additionally, the APA reports that up to 80% of rural communities do not have a psychologist.

Rural communities may not have the same access to psychologists and other resources such as technology as urban areas, which can limit their ability to support mental and behavioral health. And, while many providers in rural communities cannot hire psychologists and other experts who specialize in mental and behavioral health, residents in these communities still need — and deserve — this type of care. There are efforts underway to address this issue and expand access, specifically with technology tools that can be used in rural communities to support mental and behavioral health issues. Some of these technology tools include the following:

  1. Access to Broadband: One challenge in rural areas is limited broadband internet access, which can make it difficult to access online mental health resources, telemedicine services, and other technology tools. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), nearly one in four rural Americans lack access to broadband internet. Despite these challenges, there are initiatives to expand access to technology tools for mental and behavioral health in rural communities. For example, the FCC has established the Rural Health Care Program, which provides funding to help rural healthcare providers expand their telemedicine services and broadband access.
  2. Telehealth: Telehealth is a service that saw widespread adoption during the pandemic. Telemedicine allows patients in rural areas to access mental health services remotely via videoconferencing. This is especially important where there is a shortage of mental health providers. Investing in telehealth services provides healthcare organizations with an opportunity to revolutionize healthcare delivery. Investing in and expanding the use of telehealth provides an immediate way for providers in smaller communities to tap into larger health systems and their experts. It also strengthens the provider/patient relations by removing proximity as a potential barrier to connecting. Longer term, telehealth allows providers to offer new services and expand existing offerings they wouldn’t otherwise be able to. Telehealth can also help reduce patient wait times and allow providers to serve more patients without necessarily needing to hire additional personnel.
  3. Remote Patient Monitoring/Care: The challenges faced by rural communities in accessing behavioral health services are well documented – long travel times to clinics, limited availability of mental health professionals, and stigma associated with seeking help. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) tools can address many of these barriers and improve the overall quality of care. The use of technology to remotely collect and transmit health data from patients to healthcare providers, such as information on mood, anxiety, sleep patterns, and medication adherence, can help providers identify potential issues before they become acute and intervene accordingly. This can all be done remotely without travel, particularly important in rural communities where access to transportation can be limited. Additionally, remote patient care can increase the frequency of patient-provider interactions, leading to more timely interventions and better outcomes. Remote patient care also has the potential to address the shortage of mental health professionals in rural areas, helping those that are providing services to make better use of their time and resources, ultimately improving access to patient care .
  4. Predictive Analytics: Coupling solutions like telehealth with predictive analytics can enable providers to focus on those with the biggest needs, moving from triage mode to true holistic healthcare management. Rural areas already struggle with a shortage of psychologists, doctors, and nurses, and that shortage won’t stop the flow of patients needing support for mental health issues. Predictive analytics can often help provide support for those individuals with existing and ongoing conditions such as PTSD, phobias, and anxiety disorders.

Overall, technology can help bridge the gap in mental and behavioral health services in rural communities and provide access to virtual care that might not be otherwise available.

Healthcare outcomes shouldn’t be based on a patient’s zip code, but for too long, that’s been the case. Patients in smaller communities deserve the same level of care as their counterparts living in larger communities, and technology enables providers to deliver on that promise.

Congress calls to extend PHE telehealth flexibilities; FCC’s $48M telehealth funding boost, telehealth’s shortcomings in pediatric asthma treatment

February 2, 2022 | by

Permanent telehealth flexibility and expanded use still being debated, and still stuck in Congress. The expansion of telehealth that came with the US public health emergency (PHE) isn’t permanent, despite some expansion plugged into the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. That can only come with legislation passed by Congress and signed into law–and it is still being debated. A fresh group of 45 Congresscritters (this Editor can’t restrain a certain sarcasm) is now plumping for a more permanent extension for a set–but undefined– time, as part of February funding legislation. This effort is being led in the Senate by Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi. Oh yes, the power of a letter to the House and Senate majority and minority leaders (sigh!) Meanwhile, the CONNECT for Health Act and the Telehealth Modernization Act have languished for months in the Senate Finance committee and in House Ways and Means. Healthcare IT News

Over at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), they’re doling out the sixth and final tranche of $47.89 million to 100 provider and community health organizations that applied to the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The total FCC funding in this round 2 was $249.95 million that built on funding that was part of the CARES Act. The full list is in the FCC release (PDF). MHealthIntelligence

A combination of in-person care with telehealth as an adjunct may be the best protocol for treating pediatric asthma, a UC Davis Health study found. The first part of the study analyzed EHR records for asthma patients aged 2-24 treated at UC Davis Health in 2020. Of 502 patients, telemedicine usage was significantly lower among:

  • Patients with a primary language other than English (OR = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.025–0.54, p = 0.006)
  • School-aged children (OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.24–0.77, p = 0.005),
  • Those who received asthma care from a primary care provider instead of a specialist (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.34–0.91, p = 0.020).

Focus groups are qualitative and should be used for direction and to surface issues, and they did with telehealth. The 12 parents and five young adult patients who were randomly selected and participated stated that:

  • The parents felt that in-person care built better rapport, was more effective in counseling the child and young adult patients on their medication and condition, and more actively engaged their children
  • Parents did not feel confident in correctly using diagnostic tools like peak flow meters and home spirometers on a telehealth visit
  • Scheduling follow-up telehealth appointments was more difficult than in-person 
  • Where telehealth stepped up was convenience–to see their specialist without travel time. The visit also ‘cut to the chase’ by seeing one physician only, not an entire care team. And it was protective of their children during the pandemic. 

Most of the focus group participants agreed that a combination of telemedicine and in-person visits would be preferred when asthma is well-controlled. Published in the Journal of Asthma. Also MHealthIntelligence, which read the study conclusions a bit different than this Editor.

US FCC releases Round 2 of the Connected Care Pilot Program with 36 projects

June 18, 2021 | by

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has awarded another round of the Connected Care Pilot Program. Funds are awarded to 36 projects in underserved geographies, such as rural and Indian Tribal areas, plus to groups such as veterans, the disabled, children, and older adults. A brief sample of the awardees includes Yale New Haven Health System (four projects), Catholic Health Initiative (36 sites in the Midwest), Heritage Clinic (CA), Hudson Headwaters Health Network (upstate NY), Johns Hopkins (Baltimore), and the Universities of Kentucky, Florida, and Hawaii. 

The original Connected Care Pilot Program started in 2019 [TTA 20 June 2019]. It was established to provide up to $100 million in Universal Service Funds (USF) to help eligible health care providers defray the costs of providing connected care services to their patients. On an ongoing basis, the USF can be used to provide continuing support for connected care services. FCC Public Release, WTVQ (Lexington KY)

While telehealth virtual office visits flatten, overall up 300-fold; FCC finalizes COVID-19 telehealth funding program (US)

July 22, 2020 | by

As expected, the trend of telehealth visits versus in-person is flattening as primary care offices and urgent care clinics reopen. Yet the overall trend is up through May–a dizzying 300-fold, as tracked by the new Epic Health Research Network (EHRN–yes, that Epic). Their analysis compares 15 March-8 May 2020 to the same dates in 2019 using data from 22 health systems in 17 states which cover seven million patients. It also constructs a visit diagnosis profile comparison, which leads with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, pain, and diabetes–with the 2020 addition of — unsurprisingly — anxiety.

POLITICO Future Pulse analyzed EHRN data into July (which was not located in a cross-check by this Editor) and came up with its usual ‘the cup has a hole in it’ observation: “TELEHEALTH BOOM BUST”. But that is absolutely in line with the Commonwealth Fund/Phreesia/Harvard study which as we noted tailed off as a percentage of total visits by 46 percent [TTA 1 July]. But even POLITICO’s gloomy headline can’t conceal that telehealth in the 37 healthcare systems surveyed was a flatline up to March and leveled off to slightly below the 2 million visit peak around 15 April. 

Where POLITICO’s gloom ‘n’ doom is useful is in the caution of why telehealth has fallen off, other than the obvious of offices reopening. There’s the post-mortem experience of smaller practices which paints an unflattering picture of unreadiness, rocky starts, and unaffordability:

  • Skype and FaceTime are not permanent solutions, as not HIPAA-compliant
  • New telehealth software can cost money. However, this Editor also knows from her business experience that population health software often has a HIPAA-compliant telehealth module which is relatively simple to use and is usually free.
  • It’s the training that costs, more in time than money. If the practice is in a value-based care model, that is done by market staff either from the management services organization (MSO) or the software provider.
  • Reimbursement. Even with CMS loosening requirements and coding, it moved so quickly that providers haven’t been reimbursed properly.
  • Equipment and broadband access. Patients, especially older patients, don’t all have smartphones or tablets. Not everyone has Wi-Fi or enough data–or that patient lives in a 2-bar area. Some practices aren’t on EHRs either.
  • Without RPM, accurate device integration, and an integrated tracking platform, F2F telehealth can only be a virtual visit without monitoring data.

Perhaps not wanting to paint a totally doomy picture (advertising sponsorship, perhaps?), the interview with Ed Lee, the head of Kaiser Permanente’s telehealth program, confirmed that the past few months were extraordinary for them, even with a decent telehealth base. “We were seeing somewhere around 18 percent of telehealth [visits] pre-covid. Around the height of it, we’re seeing 80 percent.” They also have pilots in place to put technology in the homes of those who need it, and realize its limitations.

Speaking of limitations, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) COVID-19 Telehealth Program, authorized by the CARES Act, is over and out. The final tranche consisted of 25 applications for the remaining $10.73 million, with a final total of 539 funding applications up to the authorized $200 million. Applicants came from 47 states, Washington, DC, and Guam. FCC release. To no one’s surprise, 40 Congresscritters want to extend it as a ‘bold step’ but are first demanding that Chair Ajit Pai do handsprings and provide all sorts of information on the reimbursement program which does not provide upfront money but reimburses eligible expenditures. That will take a few months. You’d think they’d read a few things on the FCC website first. mHealth Intelligence

Do Huawei and ZTE present security threats to the US and global communications networks? The FCC says yes.

July 1, 2020 | by

In two little-noted decisions formally announced yesterday (30 June), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned the funding by the FCC Universal Service Fund (USF) of the purchase or use of equipment or services provided by China’s Huawei and ZTE. The USF funds rural internet, Lifeline for low-income consumers, Indian Tribal initiatives, schools and libraries, and the Rural Health Care program–a substantial part of the national network which will also discourage private companies from use of their equipment as Verizon, Sprint, et al participate in these programs.

Both Huawei and ZTE have been found by the US government–and many others–to be extensively tied to the Chinese government and military, obligating these two companies to permit their systems to be used for espionage, plus numerous known cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities in their equipment. Other national governments have felt likewise including the UK, which is reevaluating its former permission for their participation in the 5G rollout. FCC release, Huawei order, ZTE order, ZDNet (UK)

FCC approves 70 more COVID-19 telehealth funding applications for an additional $32 million

July 1, 2020 | by

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today (1 July) approved 70 additional applications for funding telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding covers both urban and rural providers, from large health systems to local community health centers. The funds for this thirteenth group totals $31.63 million of the $189.27 million in total funds awarded. To date, the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program, authorized by the CARES Act, has approved 514 funding applications in 46 states plus Washington, D.C. Equipment covered includes telehealth, computers, smartphones, tablets, remote patient monitoring equipment, and software.

A small sample of this group of healthcare organizations:

  •  Avera Health, South Dakota
  • Barnabas Health in NJ for remote patient monitoring equipment
  • Boston Children’s Hospital
  • Greater Philadelphia Health Action
  • Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown PA
  • Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY
  • Ryan Health in Manhattan
  • University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital
  • UPMC in Harrisburg PA

FCC release. Full list of Telehealth Program recipients here.

FCC opens application window for $200 million telehealth cost reimbursement program

April 15, 2020 | by

In more COVID related news, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be administering the $200 million allocated by the CARES Act to fund telehealth related expenses for providers to furnish connected care for patients. The program will fully fund practices and health systems in telecommunications services, information services, and devices necessary to provide critical connected care services. Funding will continue through the national health emergency or until the program funds have been fully spent out.

The application period opened on Monday 13 April. Applicants can download a fillable PDF form linked to the FCC’s program web page, but before they do that, there’s several pre-requirements typical of any Federal program:

  • Obtain an FCC Registration Number (FRN) from the Commission Registration System (CORES), as well as a CORES username and password at that link. An FRN is a 10-digit number that is assigned to a business or individual registering with the FCC and is used to identify the registrant’s business dealings with the FCC.
  • Obtain an eligibility determination from the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) by filing FCC Form 460 through My Portal on USAC’s webpage. (Filers do not need to be rural health care providers in order to file Form 460 for this program.)
  • Register with the federal System for Award Management (SAM)

When approved, the program operates as a reimbursement program where approved providers will have to submit invoices and supporting documentation which are also subject to audit.

FAQs are linked here. Also HISTalk.

FCC reforming Rural Health Care Program to improve telehealth funding in addition to Connected Care Pilot (US)

August 7, 2019 | by

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted last week to adopt a 151 page “report and order” which will reform how the agency distributes money for rural telehealth support and broadband services through the Rural Health Care Program. Rural telehealth has been one of the FCC’s most popular programs with demand exceeding funding.

The new policy will, according to the order:

  • Reduce fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA)
  • Streamline and simplify the calculation behind the discounted communication rates that healthcare providers pay
  • Move to create a database of rates (transparency)
  • Simplify the application process
  • In the likely event that demand for the RHCP exceeds its funding cap (currently $571 million), the program will target funding to the most rural areas (based on rurality tiers) and those facing shortages of health care providers
  • Directs the Program Administrator to take additional actions to increase transparency in the program and applicants receiving timely, complete information

According to Modern Healthcare, subsidies on the telecom rates will be based on the median rates telecommunications providers charge for similar services in the state and the rurality tier (how rural the location is) for the healthcare provider. There is some bi-partisan debate on delaying the change due to local concerns, the level of funding (generally seen as too limited) and the relative experience of the Universal Service Administrative Company to determine those rates. Some urban areas do receive funding in the program, which is a puzzle to this Editor, but was probably baked in from its start in 1997 when certain neighborhoods had little connectivity. The FCC is also proposing a cap on Universal Service Fund programs, one of which is the RHCP. Sen. Marsha Blackburn also entered a bill which would direct the FCC to develop guidance on cross-state telehealth in the Telehealth Across State Lines Act of 2019. POLITICO 2 Aug.

The RHCP is separate from the Connected Care Pilot, which moved ahead in July and will bring telehealth services directly to rural low-income patients and veterans. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was issued on 10 July. One wishes that this bickering Congress would understand the importance of both programs. FCC release, TTA 20 June

News roundup: docs dim on AI without purpose, ‘medtail’ a mall trend, CVS goes SDH, Kvedar to ATA, Biden ‘moonshot’ shorts out, and Short Takes

July 27, 2019 | by

Docs not crazy about AI. And Dog Bites Man. In Medscape‘s survey of 1,500 doctors in the US, Europe, and Latin America, they are skeptical (49 percent-US) and uncomfortable (35 percent-Europe, 30 percent-Latin America). Only 20 percent fess up to actually using an AI application, and aren’t crazy about voice tech even at home. Two-thirds are willing to take a look at AI-powered tech if it proves to be better than humans at diagnosis, but only 44 percent actually believe that will happen. FierceHealthcare

This dim view, in the estimation of a chief analytics and information officer in healthcare, Vikas Chowdhry, is not the fault of AI nor of the doctors. There’s a disconnect between the tech and the larger purpose. “Without a national urgency to focus on health instead of medical care, and without scalable patient person-centered reforms, no technology will make a meaningful impact, especially in a hybrid public goods area like health.” The analogy is to power of computing–that somehow when we focused behind a goal, we were able to have multiple moon missions with computing equivalent to a really old smartphone, but now we send out funny cat videos instead of being on Mars. (And this Editor growing up in NJ thought the space program was there to market Tang orange drink.) HIStalk.

Those vacant stores at malls? Fill ’em with healthcare clinics! And go out for Jamba Juice after! CNN finally caught up with the trend, apparent on suburbia’s Boulevards and Main Streets, that clinics can fill those mall spots which have been vacated by retail. No longer confined to ‘medical buildings’, outpatient care is popping up everywhere. In your Editor’s metro area, you see CityMDs next to Walmarts, Northwell Health next to a burger spot, a Kessler Health rehab clinic replacing a dance studio, and so on. The clever name for it is ‘medtail’, and landlords love them because they sign long leases and pay for premium spots, brighten up dim concourses, and perhaps stimulate food court and other shopping traffic. Of course, CVS and Aetna spotted this about years ago in their merger but are working expansion in the other direction with expanding CVS locations and on the healthcare side, testing the addition of social determinants of health (SDH) services via a pilot partnership, Destination: Health with non-profit Unite Us to connect better with community services. This is in addition to previous affordable housing investments and a five-year community health initiative. Forbes, Mobihealthnews

ATA announces Joseph Kvedar, MD, as President-Elect. Dr. Kvedar was previously president in 2004-5 and replaces John Glaser, PhD, Executive Senior Advisor, Cerner. He will remain as Vice President of Connected Health at Partners HealthCare and Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School. A question mark for those of us in the industry is his extensive engagement with October’s Connected Health Conference in Boston, one of the earliest and now a HIMSS event. ATA’s next event is ATA2020 3-5 May 2020 in Phoenix–apparently no Fall Forum this year.

The Biden Cancer Initiative has shut down after two years in operation. This spinoff of the White House-sponsored ‘moonshot’ initiative was founded after the death of Beau Biden, son of Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden. Both Mr. Biden and wife Jill Biden withdrew due to ethics concerns in April. According to Fortune, the nonprofit had trouble maintaining momentum without their presence. However, the setup invited conflict of interest concerns. The Initiative engaged and was funded by pharmas and other health tech companies, directly for Initiative support but mainly for indirect pledges to fund research. Most of these organizations do business with Federal, state and local governments. Shortly after the formal announcement, Mr. Biden the Candidate announced a rural health plan to expand a federal grant program to include rural telehealth for mental health and specialized services. Politico   But isn’t that already underway with the FCC’s Connected Care Pilot Program, coming to a vote soon? [TTA 20 June]

And…Short Takes

  • Philips Healthcare bought Boston-based patient engagement/management start-up Medumo. Terms not disclosed. CNBC
  • London’s Medopad launched with Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) in a three-year RPM deal. DigitalHealthNews
  • Parks Associates’ Connected Health Summit will be again in San Diego 27-29 August with an outstanding lineup of speakers. More information and registration here.

And in other news, Matt Hancock holds tight to his portfolio as UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the newly formed Government under new PM Boris Johnson. Luckier than the other 50 percent!

 

 

FCC’s $100M Connected Care Pilot Program for rural areas up for July vote

June 20, 2019 | by

Finally, a big boost for rural telehealth comes to the ‘yea or nay’ stage. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Connected Care Pilot Program, which was approved to proceed last August [TTA 9 Aug 18] with comments on the creation of the program, now moves to the next stage with a formal FCC vote on 10 July on the program itself. The FCC vote was announced by FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, the co-proposer of the program with Mississippi’s Senator Roger Wicker, during a visit on Tuesday to a rural health clinic in Laurel Fork, Virginia.

The three-year program increases support for telehealth efforts aimed at low-income Americans in underserved regions and who are veterans, to increase their access to health technologies. Providers would be assisted in securing both technology and broadband resources needed to launch remote patient monitoring and telehealth programs. 

Commissioner Carr quoted, in his rural health clinic visit, stats from multiple studies including the VA‘s long experience (since the early 2000s) with remote patient monitoring:

  • A study of 20 remote patient monitoring trials found reductions of 20 percent in all-cause mortality and 15 percent in heart failure-related hospitalizations.
  • A remote patient monitoring initiative (not attributed) reduced ER visits by 46 percent, hospital admissions by 53 percent, and in-patient stay length by 25 percent.
  • The Veterans Health Administration’s remote patient monitoring program had reductions of 25 percent in days of inpatient care and a 19 percent in hospital admissions.
  • In savings, a diabetes trial run by the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) saved nearly $700,000 annually in hospital readmissions. This extrapolated, based on 20 percent of Mississippi’s diabetic population, that Medicaid would save $189 million per year.

HealthLeaders Media also noted that at the July meeting, the FCC will vote on a notice of proposed rulemaking to seek comment on funding to defray the cost of healthcare providers joining the telehealth initiative and innovative pilot programs aimed at responding to critical health crises including diabetes management and opioids. Also mHealth Intelligence

Connected Health Conference highlights (so far): FCC’s $100 million telehealth pilot, NIH’s ‘All of Us’, MIT’s social robots integrating AI

October 19, 2018 | by

Expanding FCC connected health programs. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in his keynote reinforced the agency’s interest and support of connected health initiatives, from rural to opioids. Most of the programs have a rural focus to bring broadband and telehealth/RPM to the ‘end of the line’ in underserved communities, something close to Mr. Pai’s heart as his parents were both rural physicians in Kansas..

  • This summer, the Connected Care Pilot Program was proposed and approved unanimously in August [TTA 9 Aug]. Funding for this is proposed at $100 million.
  • The spending cap for the rural healthcare program, which has been around since 1997’s dial-up days and now includes telemedicine and remote monitoring, was increased for 2017-2018 from  $400 million to $571 million, a 43 percent increase. The FCC has pledged to fully fund 2018 programs.
  • New initiatives were announced covering new uses for telehealth and remote patient monitoring:
    • Connected care at home via RPM as part of the Connected Care Pilot Program
    • Cancer care in partnership with the National Cancer Institute. The Launch program for rural and underserved communities aims to bring high-quality cancer care to where patients work and live through bringing together government, academia and community health providers.
    • For opioids, there are two programs. One is expanding the mapping broadband health platform to include critical drug use data. This will allow users to rapidly visualize, overlay, and analyze broadband and opioid data together at the national, state, and county level. The second is to launch a chronic pain management and opioid use challenge as part of the pilot program.  Mobihealthnews

A status report on NIH’s All of Us. Back in January as part of setting the stage for 2018, this Editor briefly mentioned the National Institute of Health’s massive All of Us program, part of the Federal Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI). All of Us needs almost all of us–their goal is to collect data on at least one million Americans for a major leap forward on data supporting population health. Dr. Dara Richardson-Heron, All of Us’ chief engagement officer, confirmed that over 100,000 participants have registered since the launch in May, with over 65,000 completing the full protocol. She mentioned that 75 percent of signups are from groups often underrepresented in modern medical research, with 50 percent from racial and ethnic minorities. The Mobihealthnews article ends on a ‘Debbie Downer’ note of doubting whether the program will reach enrollment goals, the cost will be justified, and whether the data will be kept private as promised.

MIT’s social robots may be the future of emotional support for wellbeing. MIT associate professor Cynthia Breazeal heads up the Personal Robots Group and is working on how to integrate AI into emotional robots for pediatric patients at Boston Children’s Hospital. The robots serve as a go-between child life specialists and the patient. The initial results were positive, with higher verbal scores (as a measure of engagement) than with stuffed bears or digital avatars. Professor Breazeal wants to extend the technology to older adults for wellbeing and engagement. Running against the conventional wisdom, their research found that older adults were more open to technology than the children. Following MIT’s work are companies like Hasbro and Embodied. Mobihealthnews.

More good news for telehealth, RPM in FCC approval of $100M Connected Care Pilot Program

August 9, 2018 | by

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moved relatively quickly to approve the Connected Care Pilot Program, approving broadband-enabled telehealth and remote patient monitoring services in underserved rural and remote areas. Funding for the program has been pegged at $100 million. The approval was unanimous on the program proposed by FCC commissioner Brendan Carr and Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker.

CCPP will provide $100 million for subsidies to hospitals or wireless providers running post-discharge remote monitoring programs for low-income and rural Americans. An example is those run by the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The goal is to lower same-cause readmissions and improve patient outcomes. [TTA 13 July] Hearings late last month also were structured to support the program and start to fill out the details for a 2019 start [TTA 1 Aug].

Public comments are now open for a 2019 start to the program (see FCC website–look under Connect2Health which is the umbrella site for this and similar programs). Commissioner Carr had to look no further than the VA to see how Home Telehealth and other remote monitoring programs worked to drive down cost and improve patient outcomes. VA Health’s remote monitoring program cost $1,600 per patient compared to $13,000 for traditional care in one study. The trick is now translating this into an open system.

This is a nice boost to both real-time video and asynchronous remote patient monitoring in market development (and getting paid) in areas of great need. It’s also another Federal signal (so to speak) for 2019, following the proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule’s increased payments and broader applicability for both.  mHealthIntelligence, Mobihealthnews, FCC Release Hat tip to reader Paul Costello of Medopad.

News roundup: FCC RPM/telehealth push, NHS EHR coding breach, unstructured data in geriatric diagnosis, Cerner-Lumeris, NHS funds social care, hospital RFID uses

July 13, 2018 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Lasso.jpg” thumb_width=”125″ /]FCC backs post-discharge RPM plan. The “Connected Care Pilot Program” proposed by FCC commissioner Brendan Carr would provide $100 million for subsidies to hospitals or wireless providers running post-discharge remote monitoring programs for low-income and rural Americans such as those run by the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The goal is to lower readmissions and improve patient outcomes. The proposal still needs to be formalized so it would be 2019 at earliest. POLITICO Morning eHealth, Clarion-Ledger, Mobihealthnews

NHS Digital’s 150,000 patient data breach originated in a coding error in the SystmOne EHR used by GPs. Through the error by TPP, SystmOne did not recognize the “type 2 opt-out” for use of individual data in clinical research and planning purposes. This affected records after 31 March 2015. This breach also affects vendors which received the data, albeit unknowingly, but the duration of the breach makes it hard to put the genie back in the bottle, which NHS Digital would like to do. Inforisktoday, NHS Digital release

Unstructured data in EHRs more valuable than structured data in older adult patient health. A new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society compared the number of geriatric syndrome cases identified using structured claims and structured and unstructured EHR data, finding that the unstructured data was needed to properly identify geriatric syndrome. Over 18,000 patients’ unstructured EHR notes were analyzed using a natural language processing (NLP) algorithm.

Cerner buying a share in population health/value-based care management company Lumeris through purchasing $266 million in stock in Lumeris parent Essence Group Holdings. The angle is data crunching to improve outcomes for patients in Medicare Advantage and other value-based plans. Lumeris also operates Essence Healthcare, a Medicare Advantage plan with 65,000 beneficiaries in Missouri. Fierce Healthcare

NHS Digital awarding £240,000 for investigating social care transformation through technology. The Social Care Digital Innovation Programme in 12 councils will be managed by both NHS and the Local Government Association (LGA). Projects to be funded span from assistive technologies to predictive analytics. Six winners from the original group of 12 after three months will be awarded up to a further £80,000 each to design and implement their solutions. New Statesman

Curious about RFID in use in healthcare, other than in asset management, access, and log in? Contactless payments is one area. As this is the first of four articles, you’ll have to follow up in Healthcare IT News

FCC’s actions on Rural Health Care and Connect2Health for cancer–relief from ‘net neut’ neurosis

December 19, 2017 | by

Hot Air Relief Here. There’s been much of it expended on the so-called ‘net neutrality’ issue which can be summarized as follows: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is getting out of treating internet service providers (ISPs) like broadcast carriers, returning ISP speed/access enforcement to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as it was in 2015. Developments around 5G data and faster ISP speeds made the FCC’s involvement resemble a relic of the 1960s ‘vast wasteland’ FCC which imposed ‘equal time’ and content restrictions on broadcasters which were in effect through the 1980s and even into the 1990s. It’s taken our attention in healthcare away from FCC’s pertinent work in expanding the Rural Health Care program which covers some of the costs of broadband service for rural health care providers.

On the 15th, the FCC adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) which triggers comment on the Rural Health Care program rule changes, importantly an increase in the present $400 million cap. It also gives a one-time funding boost by carrying forward previously unused funds. Telecompetitor is succinct on the rule changes and commissioners’ comments, some of which point to certain providers overbuilding capacity, the number of providers in the program has actually decreased, and that the point of it is to make service more affordable. FCC Release, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Full listing of documents  This may also stimulate private-public efforts such as Microsoft’s which attempt to close the rural digital connectivity gap through innovations such as the Rural Airband Initiative and utilization of TV white spaces [TTA 22 Aug].

Here’s some more FCC Good News. The Connect2Health Task Force and the National Cancer Institute announced a few days earlier that they are jointly working in the Appalachia region of Kentucky to study the relationship between better broadband and improved cancer care for patients in critical need counties. Appalachia is one of the poorest rural areas in the US with soaring cancer mortality. Only about half the state of Kentucky has internet and about 20 percent cannot access at all. The FCC is also inviting fixed or mobile broadband providers, health technology companies, device manufacturers, and healthcare facilities―to contact the Task Force. The project is Linking & Amplifying User-Centered Networks through Connect Health (LAUNCH): A Demonstration of Broadband-Enabled Health for Rural Populations in Appalachia. mHealth Intelligence, FCC Release

Can unused “TV white spaces” close the rural and urban broadband–and telehealth–gap?

August 22, 2017 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Radio-tower.jpg” thumb_width=”100″ /]The digital divide comes one step closer to closing. Microsoft’s release of its white paper proposing an alternative to the expensive build-out of the US broadband network deserved more attention than it received in July. The Rural Broadband Strategy combines TV white spaces spectrum (the unused UHV television band spectrum in the 600 MHz frequency range which can penetrate through walls, hilly topography, and other obstacles) with fixed wireless and satellite coverage to economically deliver coverage to un/under-served areas versus fiber cable (80 percent savings) and LTE fixed wireless (50 percent).

34 million Americans lack broadband connection to the internet. Some of these are voluntary opt-outs, but 23.4 million live in rural areas without access, with huge economic consequences estimated in the hundreds of billions. TV white spaces can also expand coverage in small cities and more densely populated areas, including usages such as within buildings. This effort also presses the FCC, which in turn has pressed for broadband for two decades, to ensure that at least three channels below 700 MHz are kept unlicensed in all markets in the US, with more TV white spaces for rural areas.

The first part, the Rural Airband Initiative, builds on Microsoft’s present 20 programs worldwide, and is planned to connect 2 million people in by July 4, 2022, with 12 projects across the US running in the next 12 months. Much of the connectivity is dedicated to nonprofit efforts like 4-H’s digital literacy program and ‘precision agriculture’ in New York State and Washington. Microsoft is also granting royalty-free access to 39 patents and sample source code related to white spaces spectrum use in rural areas.

A positive move for telehealth’s spread. Rural healthcare providers pay up to three times as much for broadband as their urban counterparts. Telemedicine increasingly connects for consults between hospitals in rural areas and city-based health systems for specialty coverage and to provide assistance in specialized medical procedures. Telemedicine and telehealth remote monitoring has difficulty spreading with poor internet coverage; this has already been a barrier to patients in rural ACOs who can be 1-2 hours from the doctor’s office and notably for the VA in providing rural veterans with home telehealth support. Paramedics increasingly rely on internet connections and dropped connections lead ambulances to go to hospitals at a greater distance. If the FCC cooperates and Microsoft’s partners can find a way to profitably execute, broadband can finally achieve that promise about closing the ‘digital divide’ made back in the Clinton Administration. A Rural Broadband Strategy: Connecting Rural America to New Opportunities  The Verge, mHealth Intelligence, Becker’s Hospital Review

Telemedicine reduced hospital readmissions by 40% in rural Virginia: UVA study

June 28, 2017 | by

In last week’s Senate subcommittee hearings on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Universal Broadband Fund and Rural Healthcare (RHC) program, the University of Virginia’s Center for Telehealth chalked up some substantial results confirming the effectiveness of telemedicine in rural areas. In advocating further funding for an expansion of the program, they presented the following:

  • A 40 percent reduction in 30-day same cause hospital readmissions for patients with heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, stroke, and joint replacement
  • It enabled over 65,000 live interactive patient consultations and follow-up visits with high definition video within 60 different clinical subspecialties
  • Their home remote monitoring program included over 3,000 patients and screened more than 2,500 patients with diabetes for retinopathy
  • UVA delivered 100,000 teleradiology consults and provider-to-provider consults supported by the Epic EHR.

The UVA analysis also quantified travel savings in areas where medical and hospital care can be hours away–17 million miles of rural travel including 200,000 miles by high-risk pregnant mothers. For these mothers, NICU hospital days for the infants born to these patients were reduced by 39 percent compared to control patients and patient no-shows by 62 percent.

Karen Rheuban, MD, director and co-founder of the UVA Telehealth Center, recommended that the FCC continue to fund the RHC’s $400 million budget, with the caveat of exploring additional federal revenues should that budget be reduced. She also recommended that Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services be increased, the addition of wireless technologies, and including emergency providers and community paramedics in RHC funding. mHealth Intelligence, Subcommittee information and hearing video (archived webcast)