Senate Veterans Affairs Committee takes evidence on VETS Act (US)

November 21, 2015 | by

Further to our report in October on the introduction of the Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Dept-of-VA-logo.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Support Act (“Veterans eHealth & Telemedicine”, 10 October 2015), Sen. Joni Ernst’s website reports that Sen. Ernst was the first witness to testify in front of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday (19 November 2015) about the proposed legislation.

“The VA has been practicing telemedicine since 2001, and they are largely cited as leaders and innovators in the field. Their efforts in telemedicine have saved money and veterans’ time by eliminating often an hour or more long drives to the VA, and reducing bed days at the VA” Ernst is reported to have said.

“For example: According to the VA, in Fiscal Year 2014, telehealth reduced bed days of care by 54%, reduced hospital admissions by 32%, and saved $34 in travel savings per  consultation. (more…)

Scientific survey of telehealth/telemedicine in the US

November 14, 2015 | by | 2 Comments

The Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care sent [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Robert-Graham-Center-logo.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]surveys to more than 5,000 randomly selected phyicians, intentionally oversampling rural ones, and received a high 31% response (1,557 respondents). Fifteen percent of the respondents indicated that they used telehealth  according to the report  on the analysis the data (the terms telehealth and telemedicine are used interchangeably in this report), “Family Physicians and Telehealth: Findings from a National Survey”, co-written by six authors, which is available now.

Compared with non-users, family physicians who use telehealth  are more likely to practice in a rural location, be younger, have practiced for 10 or fewer years, and employ an electronic health record (EHR), says the report. Almost half (49 percent) of telehealth users practice as part of an organization that is not physician owned (e.g., an integrated health or hospital system). More than half of telehealth users reported using telehealth one to five times in the past year, while more than 23 percent reported using telehealth on more than 20 occasions during the same period. Almost half of telehealth users stated they had used real-time video consultations in the past 12 months. In addition, 55 percent of surveyed telehealth users had used telehealth services for diagnosis or treatment in the past 12 months, and one-fourth of surveyed telehealth users reported using telehealth services for chronic disease management. (more…)

GE Healthcare acquires health consultancy

November 12, 2015 | by

GE Healthcare announced on Monday that it has acquired a US healthcare consultancy firm, The Camden Group. [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/GE-Healthcare-logo.png” thumb_width=”150″ /]Founded in 1970, The Camden Group advices US healthcare organisations such hospitals, health plan providers, medical groups and ACOs and will become the US business unit of GE Healthcare’s international consultancy GE Healthcare Partners.

The Camden Group has been expanding for some time and acquired Health Directions LLC in January of this year for an undisclosed price. By acquiring The Camden Group GE Healthcare will get access to a range of ongoing customers. The $18bn GE Healthcare business announced a $300M commitment two months ago to create a Sustainable Healthcare Solutions unit covering emerging health markets in Asia and Africa.

The price paid for the acquisition of The Camden Group has not been disclosed.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock withdraws from Pioneer ACO

October 23, 2015 | by

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has announced it will withdraw [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Dartmouth-Hitchcock-MC.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]from the Pioneer ACO program after losing more that $3M over the past two years.

The Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model was designed by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Innovation Center to encourage the development of ACOs which are groups of healthcare organizations and providers (e.g. doctors) that work together to provide care for their patients at a lower cost to Medicare while maintaining (more…)

Veterans eHealth & Telemedicine

October 10, 2015 | by

Currently in the US, the Department of Veteran Affairs may waive [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Dept-of-VA-logo.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]the state license requirements for telemedicine services if both the healthcare professional and the patient are located at facilities owned by the Federal Government, according to Sen Joni Ernst from Iowa (see Ernst pushes for expansion of telehealth care for veterans). She is introducing the Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support Act in the Senate which, if enacted, would permit VA to allow the use of any location, such as a patient’s home. This, it is argued, will give better access to elderly, disabled and rural veterans. Ernst says that with 21 million veterans nationwide and 12% of veterans receiving some form of telehealth care in 2014 this could reduce costs for the VA. It is. however, not clear how many of the veterans receiving telemedicine care necessarily need out-of-state healthcare professionals to provide that care.

A similar Act is being introduced (or rather, re-introduced) in the House of Representatives by Rep Charles Rangel, a Democrat from New York with 18 co-sponsors (see E-Health Legislative Summary: The Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support Act of 2015). That act has previously been introduced in the House in 2012 and 2013 according Govtrack and its chances of being enacted this time round are considered very low (1%).

Big Data at work in the Emergency Room

September 15, 2015 | by

Did you watch the Panorama programme yesterday on BBC (only available in the UK, I understand)? [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Beth-Israel.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Subtitled “Could a Robot do my Job?” reporter Rohan Silva was looking at the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the workplace and jobs, primarily in the UK.

The last section of the programme was on a data analysis system at a Boston hospital (Beth Israel Deaconess Memorial Center). The reporter mentioned they use an “artifical intelligence supercomputer” (!) in their emergency department that can “forecast if you’ll die in the next 30 days”. Well, not quite, but, “forecast the probability of a patient dying with almost 96% confidence” according to the very enthusiastic doctor (and the only one featured in the programme) at the hospital. Not sure if that is all PR or verified independently.

I was very impressed when it was mentioned that the computer had 30 years of data from over 250,000 patients,so it could recognise rare deceases quicker than a doctor. After all my navigator can find me a route a 100 times faster than I can, so why not.
But then I got thinking. 30 years ago they didn’t collect patient’s blood oxygen level and blood pressure every 3 minutes like they are doing now. This was an emergency department, not the obvious place for lots of people with a rare diseases to turn up. How many rare diseases had this system diagnosed so far? So there was a fair bit of mirrors and smoke to make it look far better than it really is I think. In fact, I think the Boston system is actually just good example of what is called Big Data at work.

This tendency to exaggerate was true of the rest of the programme too which can be fairly described as sensational rather than educational.

No doubt the publicity will help the hospital. I see that the story about the dying prediction appears on many newspaper websites right now with headlines like “the supercomputer that can predict when you’ll die”!

Thanks Donna for telling me about the programme.

Michigan school telehealth programme wins award

June 27, 2015 | by

At the start of last year we reported the opening of a student telehealth programme in Michigan. [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/15_ludwig_comm_ben_award.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]At the time two clinics were opened in Branch County with the aid of funding from the Michigan Department of Community Health. A school based nurse funded by the programme provides the initial assessment and where necessary a consultation takes place with a physician or nurse practitioner at the Community Health Centre. The school has special assessment equipment that links via Bluetooth to equipment in the paediatric clinic so that the provider can see and hear what the nurse sees and hears.

Eighteen months on, the programme is covering two thousand and seven hundred students in three school districts and has been awarded one of four annual Ludwig Community Benefit Awards from the Michigan Health and Hospital Association according to a WTVB report. The award is presented to healthcare organizations that demonstrate community benefit by improving the health and well-being of their communities through healthcare, economic or social initiatives.

Georgia school telemedicine clinics to access EHRs

June 11, 2015 | by

Georgia Partnership for Telehealth which has telemedicine programs at about 60 schools in Georgia, [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Georgia-Partnership-for-Telehealth.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]has joined the Georgia Health Information Network, the state-wide Health Information Exchange, according to a recent press release. This will enable participating schools to securely exchange healthcare information with more than 3600 Georgia healthcare providers and have access to an immunisation register.
“Our Rural School-Based Telehealth Center Initiative offers a number of benefits to students and families,” Sherrie Williams, Executive Director of GPT is quoted as saying.  “Students receive quality care without having to miss class.  Parents don’t have to leave work and lose wages to take their child to see the doctor. If a specialist visit is needed, it doesn’t require hours in the car to reach a large healthcare center; the child can be examined right from the school clinic.”

Teladoc sued by American Well

June 9, 2015 | by | 1 Comment

American Well has launched a patent infringement case against Teladoc according to a news release yesterday.
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Teladoc-logo.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]The 10-page submission to the courts by American Well claims the infringements to be
– accessing a data repository that stores information pertaining to medical service providers including present availability of the medical service providers for participating in a consultation
– receiving in a computer, indications that members of a pool of  medical service providers have become presently available
– receiving in the computer, a request from a consumer of services to consult with a medical service provider
– identifying in the computer, an available member of the pool
– and establishing a real-time communication channel between the consumer of services and the identified member of the pool

This author is wondering who thought this was such a novel technology as to warrant a patent? What were they thinking? Having worked on developing unified messaging systems for a mobile phone operator at the turn of the century (now that’s a scary 15 years ago) I am just picking myself off the floor after reading this.
Surely all these functions are no more than what is in every instant messaging program, dating back to 1990s? Replace the words “medical service provider” by “friends” or “contacts” and “consultation” by “chat” or “call” it seems to me you get … Skype and Face Time and more! If I am missing something I’ll be happy to be put right.

It turns out that Teladoc also noticed something along these lines and told the patent office as much in March, according to Med City News. Not surprisingly American Well hasn’t taken too kindly to that and hence the law suit.

Let’s watch the outcome

Regulatory action may strengthen telehealth take-off: PWC

April 2, 2015 | by

PWC Health Research Institute has released a Spotlight Brief on the US telehealth (read telemedicine for telehealth) regulation which states that recent regulatory action may be the catalyst to spur the fledgeling telehealth market.

Expansions in Medicare reimbursements, Government telehealth grants amounting to several million dollars and legislative action in many States are all seen as supporting new entrants as well as traditional players and growing the US telehealth market that PWC says is estimated as high as $10 billion.

Benefit to consumers is of course lower costs and easier access. Challenges mentioned are licensing, reimbursement, privacy and security. Read the full report here.

Can State medical boards legally prevent telehealth activity?

April 1, 2015 | by

This is the question that arises out of a recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court, not on anything related to telehealth but on teeth whitening!

The case was between the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners and the Federal Trade Commission. The Board had requested non-dentist teeth whitening practitioners to desist from carrying out these activities and was challenged on the grounds that the Board did not have authority to do so and was acting in an anti-competitive way. The challenge went all the way to the Supreme Court which upheld the lower court decision on the grounds that even though the Board is, in fact, an agency of the State its action must still be supervised by the State in order to enjoy anti-trust immunity. This is analysed by Eric M Fraser in the SCOTUS blog.

It is thought that the State Medical Boards in the United States also have similar rules of governance and therefore do not qualify for immunity from anti-trust law that some State agencies have. This has led to speculation that any restrictions imposed by a State Medical Board on a licensed medical practitioner with regard to the use of telehealth could be considered an anti-competitive action. (more…)

University of Mississippi telehealth center to expand (US)

March 16, 2015 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/ummc_aerial.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]A Baton Rouge, La.-based data company set its sights on Jackson, Mississippi, and announced on Tuesday (10 March 2015) it will build a technology center that, in part, will house one of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s fastest growing services – telehealth, according to a news release from UMMC. UMMC entered into a lease agreement with Venyu Solutions, LLC, which will construct a stand-alone, 16,000-square-foot facility to accommodate the increase in the services UMMC’s Center for Telehealth provides to hospitals, clinics, corporations and patients across the state.

Venyu CEO Scott Thompson is quoted to have said construction would start in April or May and take a little less than a year. The hospital’s lease will begin on or around July 1, 2016. (more…)

State telemedicine legislation update (US)

March 12, 2015 | by

Here’s some brief updates on US telemedicine legislation scene to hit the news recently.

Florida

Florida is progressing the telehealth bill we reported on 12 Feb 2015. The Florida Senate [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Florida-House-of-Representattives.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Telehealth Policy Committee revised the draft bill on 18 Feb 2015 so the need for Medicaid reimbursements to be the same for telemedicine and face-to-face consultations is removed.

Mississippi

We have reported many telehealth initiatives from Mississippi and the state is now considered to be “a leader in telemedicine” according to a recent report in Politico. “Mississippi’s telemedicine program, ranked among the seven best in the country, has inspired neighboring Arkansas to take bigger steps in some areas of the field, and the impact of its success is making waves in Washington as well” continues Politico.

Mississippi is also helping to move telehealth at a federal level. Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) introduced a bipartisan bill in July last year to expand telehealth services under Medicare. The bill called Medicare [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/mississippi-logo1.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]Telehealth Parity Act 2014 starts to move face to face and telehealth consultations to be on an equal footing.

(more…)

AstraZeneca awards over $200k for heart failure telehealth

February 19, 2015 | by

AstraZeneca Healthcare Foundation, the charitable arm of the UK based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, has awarded $205,564 to HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Illinois to support their Tele-Heart Pathway programme. [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/HSHS.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]The programme provides interventions to heart failure patients in their homes to support health management. With telemedicine and telehealth technology doctors monitor symptoms and help avoid complications at home after surgery, according to the hospital.

 “We have seen a rapid evolution in the last few years of new devices and new ways of communicating with our patients,” said Mark Stampehl, MD and Medical Director of the heart failure programme at Prairie Heart Institute (PHI) at St. John’s Hospital, in an article entitled Telemedicine elevates care for heart patients published in the fall 2014 issue of the hospital’s quarterly magazine Healthy You. “Today, we are using tools to remotely monitor a patient’s condition and increase communication with other physicians to give patients access to specialty care from home.” (more…)

Florida to try telehealth legislation – again

February 12, 2015 | by

After repeatedly failing to pass a law to formalise payments for telehealth, Florida State [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Florida-House-of-Representattives.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]legislature is to try again this year, according to Florida state senator Aaron Bean. Moderating the Telemedicine and Telehealth session at the Florida Health Care Affordability Summit on Monday, 8 February, Sen. Bean has suggested that the latest bill, highly focused on telehealth, will be only 3 pages long. Attempts to legislate in in the previous session of the Florida House of Representatives resulted in failed bills in both chambers due to the inclusion of many controversial items.

(more…)

House Bill introduced to improve Accountable Care Orgs (US)

October 1, 2014 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/file0001205588090-doctor.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]A bill has been introduced in the US Congress with the aim of improving Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). The cross-party bill HR 5558, to be known as the ACO improvement act of 2014, if passed, will amend the Medicare ACO Programs to permit the use of remote patient monitoring, deliver images to remote providers and improve the data sharing between ACOs and Medicare administration.

ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who come together voluntarily to give care to Medicare patients. The goal of the three ACO programs is to ensure patients, specially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time avoiding duplication and waste. When an ACO succeeds in achieving savings for Medicare, that saving is shared with the (more…)