Telehealth expert: Limited internet access affects healthcare in rural communities

Millions of Americans are likely to lose internet access due to funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program ending in April. Limited internet access will impact rural communities that depend on telehealth options, according to Ann Fronczek, telehealth expert and associate…

Wake Forest University School of Medicine Approved for $4.4 Million PCORI Funding Award to Study Telehealth

A team of researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine has been approved for a $4.4 million funding award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to assess the benefits of expanding telehealth by primary care physicians to children with complex chronic conditions and their caregivers. The project is a collaboration with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Brenner Children’s in Winston-Salem and Atrium Health Levine Children’s in Charlotte.

Baylor Scott & White Health and NextCare Urgent Care Form Partnership to Jointly Own All NextCare Sites in Texas

Baylor Scott & White Health — the largest not-for-profit health system in Texas, and NextCare Urgent Care — one of the nation’s leading privately held providers of urgent care announce the creation of a new partnership to expand high-quality, convenient care options for patients in Texas.

People with disabilities who have alcohol problems need more treatment and recovery options

One in four Americans live with a disability, which is associated with stigma and disparities in health care. New research examined differences in alcohol use by disability status and types of disability, and found a need for a range of accommodations in alcohol treatment and recovery services – including technology-based options. These results and others will be shared at the 46th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) in Bellevue, Washington.

Mount Sinai Patients Receive Greater and Faster Access to Care With New Expanded Digital Tools

Mount Sinai Health System patients will experience greater access to care, fast identification of symptoms, efficient online search and connection to specialists, and easy appointment scheduling thanks to newly launched Digital Experience tools accessible on their smartphones or computers.

UC Irvine-led study finds Medicaid telemedicine coverage boosted use, healthcare access

Medicaid telemedicine coverage between 2013 and 2019 was associated with significant growth in telemedicine use and improved healthcare access, while private policies did not have such an association, according to a study led by the University of California, Irvine. An analysis of 20,000 records of U.

Logging on for health: More older adults use patient portals, but access and attitudes vary widely

Far more older adults these days log on to secure websites or apps to connect with their health information or have a virtual health care appointment, compared with five years ago, a new poll shows. But it also reveals major disparities, with some groups of older adults less likely to use patient portals, or more likely to have concerns about them.

11 things to know now that COVID-19 isn’t an “emergency” anymore

Life has changed forever because of COVID-19. And the virus is still spreading, and still causing serious illness or significant disruption of ‘normal’ life. But when the clock strikes 11:59 p.m. on May 11, some of the special rules and programs put in place during the past three years will end. Here’s a guide.

Mount Sinai Collaborates with The New York Public Library to Support Telehealth Access and Digital Literacy Skills

In an effort to expand equitable health care throughout New York City, the Digital and Technology Partners (DTP) department at Mount Sinai Health System is collaborating with The New York Public Library (NYPL) to support access to health services through electronic information or technologies—better known as telehealth—and digital literacy skills.

Pandemic shift to telemedicine helped maintain quality of care for depression

The rapid transition from in-person to care to telemedicine visits at the start of the COVID 19 pandemic did not adversely affect the quality of care – and even improved some aspects of care – for patients with major depression in a major integrated health system, according to a new report. The study appears as part of a special “Virtual Visits” supplement to Medical Care, published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Cedars-Sinai Launches Customized, Convenient Virtual Second Opinion Throughout California and Several Additional States

Cedars-Sinai is taking telehealth and the patient experience to the next level, now offering Cedars-Sinai Virtual Second Opinion—an online platform connecting individuals in need of complex cardiac, spine or gynecologic care with top-ranked experts who provide customized treatment options and virtual education sessions.

Telehealth cuts health care’s carbon footprint and patient’s costs during pandemic

UC Davis Health researchers assessed the carbon footprint and potential savings in lives, costs and time of telehealth visits during the pandemic’s first two years. They found that video visits in five UC health systems resulted in substantial savings in patient costs and carbon emissions.

Transition to Telehealth during the COVID-19 Pandemic Accompanied by Increased Utilization of Alcohol Treatment

The transition to telehealth-based care at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was followed by an increase in initiation of and engagement with specialty alcohol treatment, according to a study of health records at one large U.S. health system. The study, published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, found the greatest increases in odds of initiating treatment were among 18- to 34-year-olds, a group that has historically been less likely to seek treatment for alcohol problems. Notably, the transition to telehealth did not appear to worsen racial and ethnic disparities in treatment for alcohol problems and may have facilitated treatment for specific populations. The findings provide timely considerations for structuring post-pandemic models of health care for alcohol use problems.

Mount Sinai First in Region Offering Telehealth Visits for Low-Acuity 911 Ambulance Calls

Unique program keeps patients with less severe conditions out of the Emergency Department, saving them time and money

Ochsner Ranks for Being “Most Wired” for Digital Healthcare

Among the more than 38,000 organizations surveyed by CHIME, Ochsner ranked above peers in categories like analytics and data management, population health, infrastructure, and patient engagement. The survey assessed the adoption, integration and impact of technologies in health care organizations at all stages of development, from early development to industry leading.

Endocrine Society experts recommend individualized approach to use of telehealth

Following rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth visits are expected to remain an important part of endocrine care, according to a new Endocrine Society policy perspective published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Telehealth Makes Hearing Health Care More Equitable

In The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, scientists explore how digital health solutions can expand audiology services in clinical and research settings. Audiology assessment via telehealth would allow patients to access care while a specialist is located hundreds of miles away and, as a research tool, telehealth would allow for more representative and decentralized data on hearing, without compromising results. The team is currently scaling up several studies they conducted in rural areas of Alaska; their mission is to close the gap on hearing health disparities.

Online Chair Yoga Viable Exercise for Isolated Older Adults with Dementia

Researchers evaluated a remotely supervised online chair yoga intervention targeted at older adults with dementia and measured clinical outcomes virtually via Zoom under the remote guidance. Results showed that remotely supervised online chair yoga is a feasible approach for managing physical and psychological symptoms in socially isolated older adults with dementia based on retention (70 percent) and adherence (87.5 percent), with no injury or other adverse events.

UCSF Dermatologist Inaugurated as AMA President

Jack S. Resneck Jr., MD, was inaugurated today as the 177th president of the American Medical Association (AMA). Resneck is a dermatologist, professor and vice-chair of the Department of Dermatology at UC San Francisco. Following a year-long term as president-elect of the nation’s premier physician organization, Resneck today assumed the office of AMA president.

New Clinical Advances in Gastroenterology Presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 86th Annual Scientific Meeting

Featured science includes increased incidence of pancreatic cancer among young women, quality of life improvements in IBD, colorectal cancer risk from weight loss surgery and medications, and more

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY AND 19 KIDNEY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS CALL ON CONGRESS TO PROTECT LIVING DONORS, FUND RESEARCH AND INNOVATION, AND REMOVE BARRIERS TO TELEHEALTH

Today, advocates of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and 19 other kidney health professional and patient organizations are meeting with their congressional delegations, calling on them to enact policies to improve kidney health

UC San Diego Health Launches New Center to Spur Patient-Centered Technologies

From tele-monitoring patients with diabetes to using artificial intelligence to prevent sepsis, the newly launched Center for Health Innovation will seek to develop, test and commercialize technologies that make a real, measurable difference in the lives and wellbeing of patients.

Counseling Profession Urged to Adopt Unified Standards of Care for Teletherapy

The COVID-19 crisis spurred a rapid migration of mental health providers from in-person to online services. However, mental health providers conducting teletherapy are not currently required to be trained in telehealth and are operating without consistent uniform standards of practice. A proposed comprehensive list of practice standards co-authored by Donna Sheperis, PhD, and Arielle Smith and published in the Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision call for the counseling profession to adopt a proposed Standards of Practice for Telehealth.