School telehealth in Louisiana

February 10, 2014 | by

Hot on the heels of the Texas school telehealth expansion reported earlier (Telehealth counselling program expands in Texas TTA, Jan 27) comes news  of a school telehealth system in neighbouring Louisiana. The Advocate, a Baton Rouge newspaper, reports that from next month students at Ossun Elementary with earaches, sore throats or other common sick-at-school ailments will be seen on the elementary school campus by a doctor in an exam room about five miles away at Carencro Middle School’s school-based health centre.

Louisiana has several school-based health centres (see Louisiana Adolescent School Health Program) and Carencro’s centre opened in 2010. As the School Boards look into cost-effective ways of expanding these services, Lafayette has decided to use the Carencro facility via telehealth technologies at the nearby Elementary.

School based health centres are said to help students  achieve better academically as a majority of students (Lafayette claim 90-95%) with minor ailments  will be able to rejoin their classes following a consultation at the school rather than having to miss school to visit the family physician.  Then there’s the obvious advantage for the parents too!

Nursing home telemedicine reduces hospitalizations: study

February 10, 2014 | by

A controlled two-year study in a chain of eleven Massachusetts for-profit nursing homes significantly reduced readmissions through the use of telemedicine (remote consults) with patients during off-hours and weekends. Those homes which used the (unidentified) telemedicine provider the most frequently–four–had the greatest reductions in rates of hospitalization: 11.3 percent, versus 9.7 percent for the six facilities which adopted the system first. A control group of five which presumably did not use telemedicine had a reduction of 5.3 percent. Calculating the savings to Medicare, the researchers estimated $150,000 per nursing home per year. With a telemedicine cost of $30,000 per nursing home, the net savings would be roughly $120,000 for each home using the services most frequently. The researchers are David C. Grabowski of Harvard Medical School and A. James O’Malley of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine. Abstract (full text in Health Affairs paywalled), Medical News Today. Hat tip to Editor Toni Bunting.

TTA’s Editors are highlighting several of the articles in this month’s Health Affairs ‘Connected Health’ issue: Study shows telehealth increases new healthcare users, State policies, size influence hospital telehealth adoption, Health Affairs review of telehealth/telemedicine studies. Health Affairs provides a helpful overview of this month’s articles ( full text) in Connected Health: Emerging Disruptive Technologies

Study shows telehealth increases new healthcare users

February 8, 2014 | by

Rand Corp has published the results of an analysis of telehealth consultations. “We analyzed claims data for a large California agency serving public employees that recently offered Teladoc as a covered service.” says the summary from Rand. “The 3,701 Teladoc ‘visits’ we studied were for a broad range of diagnostic categories, the most common of which were acute respiratory conditions, urinary tract infections, and skin problems. Compared to patients who visited a physician’s office for a similar condition, adult Teladoc users were younger and less likely to have used health care before the introduction of Teladoc. Patients who used Teladoc were less likely to have a follow-up visit to any setting, compared to those patients who visited a physician’s office or emergency department. Teladoc appears to be expanding access to patients who are not connected to other providers.”

The results have been published in the February issue of Health Affairs.

Rand Press release Analysis of Teladoc Use Seems to Indicate Expanded Access to Care for Patients Without Prior Connection to a Provider. See also Health Affairs article.

State policies, size influence hospital telehealth adoption

February 7, 2014 | by

A study published this month in Health Affairs examines the factors influencing adoption of telehealth (likely telemedicine/remote consults, though it’s difficult to tell from context). While 42 percent of US hospitals have telehealth capabilities, positive influences are inclusion in a hospital system, teaching hospital status, non-profit status and importantly, whether state regulations promote private payer reimbursement. Another apparent positive in adoption is small population and few hospitals: Alaska (71 percent), Arkansas (71 percent), South Dakota (70 percent), and Maine (69 percent). A major negative factor: restrictive licensure of out-of-state providers that prevent multi-state practice.  Authored by the busy Dr. Joseph Kvedar of the Center for Connected Health, Julia Adler-Milstein of the University of Michigan and David W. Bates of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. HA abstract (full text is paywalled), FierceHealthIT  Earlier this week in TTA: Ohio telehealth bill passed in Senate

Health Affairs review of telehealth/telemedicine studies

February 6, 2014 | by

Just published in Health Affairs is Connected Health: A Review Of Technologies And Strategies To Improve Patient Care With Telemedicine And Telehealth, an overview of several studies on telehealth and telemedicine in use for congestive heart failure (Center for Connected Health), care coordination (VA), ‘store and forward’ imaging, remote ICU, medication adherence (CCH with Vitality GlowCaps) and e-referrals. The article closes with a (too-short) discussion of the three criteria that telemedicine must meet to demonstrate effectiveness: assurance of quality (met), aligning financial incentives in using telehealth to provide desired outcomes (in progress) and more research on quality and cost impact (ditto). Authored by Dr. Joseph Kvedar of CCH, Molly Joel Coye of UCLA and Wendy Everett of NEHI. Full text in PDF, HTML. Hat tip to Editor Chrys.

Dr. Topol in the AT&T house: a reboot of ForHealth?

February 5, 2014 | by | 2 Comments

HIMSS14 will tell. The big news that kicked off this snow-bound week in large parts of the US was Dr. Eric Topol joining Dallas, Texas-based AT&T ForHealth as Chief Medical Advisor. Well-known for his personality and evangelism of all things mHealthy, certainly Dr. Topol lends a certain star power to Big Blue’s efforts in this area–a shine that went completely dark in 2013 after a promising start in 2011 and strong partnering moves in 2012 (Alere and WellDoc diabetes management TTA 10 Aug 12; VRI monitoring in May). The quietude of 2013 deserves a closer look. Dr. Geeta Nayyar joined with fanfare in September 2011 as Chief Medical Information Officer and departed exactly two years later to join engagement company PatientPoint with the same title. ForHealth made no waves at International CES save for being an example in the controversial ‘sponsored data’ plan announcement (GeekWire). Even finding ForHealth on the AT&T website is not easy. It is buried under ‘Business>>Enterprise Business‘ and then in a dogpile of footer links as ‘Healthcare Solutions‘–not ForHealth. In marketing, this is a state usually termed ‘dead in the water.’ The fact that Dr. Topol is remaining as Chief Academic Officer at Scripps Health also indicates that he is no direct replacement for Dr. Nayyar, despite being cited by AT&T SVP Chris Hill as a “change agent” who will help “drive our competitive strategy”. We’ll see if HIMSS14 on 23-27 February where AT&T will be exhibiting and their subsequent activity marks a genuine reboot for ForHealth, putting Dr. Topol’s impressive abilities to work beyond a twinkle. AT&T press release, MedCityNews article

Telehealth is independent of broadband rollout – Australian DoH

February 5, 2014 | by

We reported in September last year (Telehealth and Broadband in Australia) that the cost of the National Broadband Network in Australia was being debated with telehealth being proposed as a potential[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Parliament-of-australia-logo.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /] justification. The Australian broadband rollout was very ambitious with fibre to the premises (FTTP), one of the costliest solutions, as the target. The Government has now lowered its sights and does not expect to connect all premises with FTTP.

Recently a series of questions were raised in the Australian Parliament on both the status of telehealth in Australia and the broadband programme and what impact, if any, the latter has on the first.  The written reply from the Australian Department of Health is not unexpected and enlightening. (more…)

“mHealth: smartphones as saviours?” webcast Thurs 6 Feb

February 5, 2014 | by

Taking place at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, this seminar will be livestreamed starting tomorrow at 3:30pm UK time (10:30am Eastern Time US). Watch it below or at this YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoVxgkE02V0  A recorded version will be available on Friday morning. (90 minutes)

This seminar is part of the Oxford Martin School Hilary Term seminar series: Blurring the lines: the changing dynamics between man and machine

Cheap, accessible and easy to use, mobile phones are everywhere. With the advent of the smartphone has come a new kind of healthcare – mHealth – in which mobiles are playing a key role in monitoring and improving the health of communities around the globe. Linking remote communities in developing countries with professional healthcare, mobile phones are helping break down long-standing barriers to accessing treatment. mHealth is also growing in developed countries, helping patients to monitor and manage their own health, and thereby reducing pressure on health services. According to the World Health Organisation the burden of deaths from non-communicable diseases will climb from 28 per cent in 2008 to 46 per cent by 2030. The George Institute for Global Health is investing in research into innovative new strategies for tackling the burden of chronic disease.

Speakers: Dr Fred Hersch, James Martin Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health, Oxford Martin School: Dr Gari Clifford, James Martin Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health, Oxford Martin School

Join in on twitter with #humantech

Hat tip to Sally Stewart, Communications and Media Officer of the Oxford Martin School.

[This video is no longer available on this site but may be findable via an internet search]

Australia’s telehealth incentive programme nears end

February 4, 2014 | by | 1 Comment

A multi-million dollar financial incentive programme to encourage Australian clinicians to start telehealth [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/GovAustelehealth.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]schemes is due to end in June. Launched as a four-year programme in July 2011, the Telehealth On-Board Incentive Programme was funded from a wider AU$620 million telehealth initiative, but the end of the programme was brought forward to June 2014.

The Medicare rebates and financial incentives for specialist video consultations were introduced to address some of the barriers to accessing medical services, particularly specialist services, for Australians in remote, regional and outer metropolitan areas. The Telehealth On-Board incentive was one of five financial incentives in the wider initiative and encouraged and supported the initial and ongoing provision of telehealth services to eligible patients by practitioners. (more…)

Ohio Telehealth bill passed by Senate – goes to Governor

February 1, 2014 | by

HB 123, the Ohio health bill supporting telehealth, was passed unanimously by the Ohio state Senate on the 30th of January. [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Ohio-State-Senate.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]The bill has now made its way to  Governor John Kasich for signature and to become law.

This bill requires the Department of Medicaid to establish Medicaid payment standards for the provision of telehealth services offered by medical facilities.  The rules governing what telehealth services would be covered will be decided by the Medical Director following existing regulations. With the 30-0 vote in the Senate, Ohio now joins 45 other states in modernizing thier healthcare practices.

This bill and the three others in the US House of Representative which were reported earlier (Yet another House Bil on Telehealth, TTA Dec 20, 2013) shows a welcome growing awareness of telehealth by US legislators.

Coffee break articles

January 30, 2014 | by

Here’s a selection of articles  if you have a few idle minutes this coffee break in which to soak up some interesting views.

Emerging Niche: Telehealth from the American Occupational Therapy Association tells the story of what Jana Cason did when she took over an OT caseload which involved a 4-hour round trip.

Telecare handling 100,000 calls every six months from the Times of Malta gives a brief insight into telecare growth in Malta.

Telehealth trend rings in changes to care in The Tennessean debates the pros and cons of telehealth in pediatric care in the US

Do we know enough about telehealth to know it’ll work? from Total Politics is a fascinating debate by two British MPs and a Research Fellow from Nuffield Trust

Free telehealth distance learning sessions in Georgia (US)

January 30, 2014 | by

The Georgia Partnership for Telehealth is holding a series of distance learning sessions given by[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/classroom-of-empty-chairs1.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /] Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta on the first Tuesday of every month and the next one entitiled  “Concussions: the facts and controversy” by David Popoli, M.D. will be on the 4th of February. Unfortunately you still have to attend one of the 5 centers in Georgia (more centers are promised if the demand grows) so this is really limited to Georgians!

To register visit the registration website.

The next two will be:

March 4 – Obesity Prevention/Raising Healthy Eaters, presented by Lisa Giles, M.S., R.D., L.D., C.D.E.

April 1 – Diagnosing Type 2 Diabetes and Pre-diabetes in Children: Pearls and Pitfalls, presented by Nina Ham, M.D.

New diabetes telehealth trial in Mississippi (US)

January 30, 2014 | by

A new telehealth trial for diabetes patients will be recruiting patients in Mississippi this spring. Known [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/ummc_aerial.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]as the Diabetes Telehealth Network, the trial is planned to provide a classic telehealth service for up to 200 patients for a period of 18 months.

This trial is a result of a collaboration between several public and private organizations: the Mississippi Governor’s office, University of Mississippi, North Sunflower Medical Center, GE Healthcare, Intel-GE Care Innovations and C Spire.

The recruited trialists will be provided with a broadband connected tablet PC which will have software to enable daily medical measurements to be transmitted to a specialist team at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. A press release states that the measurements will include weight, blood pressure, and glucose level and these will be monitored by the clinical staff at (more…)

Startup develops online telepsychiatry platform

January 30, 2014 | by

A Chattanooga based startup has launched an online videoconferencing facility for providing remote counselling services.  WeCounsel (wecounsel.com) claim their browser based application is “HIPPA compliant”, a key selling point for their product, although it  is not obvious from their website what specific aspcts of HIPPA they have addressed with their platform. WeCounsel claim to have around 75 clients using the platform to provide direct counselling services to patients.

The Chattanooga Times recently reported that WeCounsel has been signed up by a larger telepsychiatry facility provider InSight to resell the WeCounsel online platform as a lower cost alternative to the traditional videoconferencing facilities which requires relatively expensive equipment.

Database of telehealth and telecare projects in Scotland (UK)

January 29, 2014 | by

A database of telehealth and telecare services and projects in Scotland has been developed and made [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SCTT.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]available as a public resource. For any given project included in the database it gives the organizations behind the project, a brief description, the type of users targetted and the technology used.

Developed by the Scottish Centre for Telehealth and Telecare (SCTT) the database can be searched online, say, to pick up all diabetes related projects in the database. One purpose of the database is to help the SCTT to review the uptake of technology used to deliver care.

SCTT is a part of NHS 24, which was established by the Scottish Government in 2001. NHS 24 is [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/NHS-24.jpg” thumb_width=”100″ /]responsible for the delivery of clinical assessment and triage, health advice and information by telephone and online means in Scotland 24 hours a day all year round.

The database can be accessed here and further information on NHS 24 can be obtained here.

Videolink telehealth continues expanding in Yorkshire (UK)

January 28, 2014 | by

The video-link/ videoconferencing system used by Airedale NHS Foundation Trust in Yorkshire, [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Airedale-digital-healthcare-centre.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]England, to provide remote medical assistance is being rolled out to additoinal care home sites. The service is staffed by a specialist nurse at Airedale General Hospital who uses the system, known as the Telehealth Hub, to assess patients and support staff at the homes.

According to the Keighley News the service was installed in a Bradford nursing home with the first use on New Year’s Eve. Staff at Ashville Care Home are quoted as saying that the service allows their residents to receive medical care without having to call a GP out or take them into hospital. A hospital visit would mean having to get extra cover as a member of staff needs to go as well.

Meanwhile the Telegraph & Argus reports (more…)