VA Forges Ahead With Expanded Telehealth Access for Veterans
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Veterans Day that it aims to amend the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Healthcare Improvement Act of 2019 to end all copayment obligations for veterans, greatly expanding a decision earlier this year to waive copayments for a veteran’s first three outpatient mental healthcare visits per year through 2027.
Leveraging Everyday Wearables for Heart Health Monitoring
A new report from B-Secur looks at new industry findings about the state of wearable heart health technology and the impact it could have on quality of care.
How To Ensure that Medical Teams Can Access Interpreters in Rare Languages
Failing to provide interpreters to patients who speak rare or indigenous languages can worsen health disparities, particularly for populations such as refugees and asylum-seekers. This only compounds the barriers many already face when accessing healthcare.
Will Congress Save Telehealth?
Pandemic-era telehealth waivers that allowed providers to expand their virtual care footprint will end this year unless Congress takes action.
Raising the Bar: New Progress and Potential in Treating Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a potentially serious mood disorder that affects approximately one in seven women within the first year after giving birth. As with general depression, the combination of symptoms can be debilitating and even fatal.
Redefining Patient Safety: 6 Ways to Address Harm in Healthcare
Despite my education and medical training, I know how helpless it can feel when you’re handed a life-altering diagnosis or comforting a loved one in pain. And it’s through the lens of these experiences that I urge our industry to accelerate progress in safety, as we relentlessly pursue zero harm.
The Exec: Inova Health System Launches Ambitious Patient Care Initiative
Inova Health System has launched an ambitious initiative to transform how patients connect with the organization as well as establish care pathways for clinical conditions, according to John Moynihan, MD, president and chief of clinical enterprise at the health system.
Becoming Better Listeners to Improve Remote Patient Monitoring
Patients and providers are more and more comfortable with devices for monitoring as well. We see patients using devices to track their blood glucose levels, blood pressure cuffs are getting smaller and smaller, and many people wear a watch that will tell you if you’re experiencing atrial fibrillation.
Why Your AI Should Be Talking to Patients You Don’t See
WellSpan Health launched an AI platform roughly one month ago that calls selected at-risk patients to schedule colorectal cancer screenings. The AI agent, called Ana and developed by digital health startup Hippocratic AI, asks patients if they would agree to take the test and, if they agree, arranges to mail a testing kit to their homes.
Bad Medicine: Healthcare Struggles With Poor Technology
The study, the third in Black Book’s “What’s Hot and What’s Not in Healthcare IT Investments” series, finds that bad IT investments have jumped significantly since 2017, when those costs were estimated at $1.7 billion, and budget limitations are keeping healthcare leaders from correcting those problems.