The Mount Sinai Hospital Recognized as No. 4 on Newsweek’s World’s Best Smart Hospital 2021 List

The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in the New York City metropolitan area and No. 4 globally among the most technologically advanced health care institutions on Newsweek’s list of “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals 2021.”

Virtual “urgent care” may lead to higher rates of downstream follow-up care, study suggests

Even before the pandemic made telehealth a hot topic, people with minor urgent health needs had started to turn to companies that offer on-demand video chats. Some insurers and employers support this, hoping it might reduce in-person care, including emergency department visits. But a new study casts some doubt on whether that will actually happen.

Many endocrine patients, providers want to continue telehealth after pandemic

Two-thirds of patients with chronic endocrine health problems who need close monitoring say they would like to continue with telemedicine follow-up visits after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, according to a survey that will be presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting. Three-quarters of providers also said they want to continue with telehealth after the pandemic.

COVID, CAMERAS and AI: the story of a pandemic drone

As the COVID-19 death toll mounts and the world hangs its hopes on effective vaccines, what else can we do to save lives in this pandemic? In UniSA’s case, design world-first technology that combines engineering, drones, cameras, and artificial intelligence to monitor people’s vital health signs remotely.

In 2020 the University of South Australia joined forces with the world’s oldest commercial drone manufacturer, Draganfly Inc, to develop technology which remotely detects the key symptoms of COVID-19 – breathing and heart rates, temperature, and blood oxygen levels.

Within months, the technology had moved from drones to security cameras and kiosks, scanning vital health signs in 15 seconds and adding social distancing software to the mix.

In September 2020, Alabama State University became the first higher education institution in the world to use the technology to spot COVID-19 symptoms in its staff and students and enforce social distancing, ensuring they had one of the l

Most Patients Find Teledermatology Appointments Suitable Alternative to Office Visits

The majority of dermatology patients surveyed find telehealth appointments to be a suitable alternative to in-person office visits, according to a survey study published in Journal of Drugs in Dermatology from researchers at the George Washington University.

New Platform to Mobilize Volunteer Health Care Professionals During COVID-19 Launches

A new online platform to help mobilize volunteer health care professionals to treat patients during COVID-19 has officially launched, just as the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are increasing across the country. Provider Bridge (ProviderBridge.org), supports license portability by making it easier to connect volunteer health care professionals with state agencies and health care entities in order to quickly increase access to care for patients in rural and underserved communities.

FAU Launches New Telehealth Certification Course

A new, 20-hour telehealth certification course provides the essential knowledge to deliver skilled telehealth services. The fully online course addresses telehealth platforms and models for practice; evidence-based telehealth technology; quality improvement measures; regulation, policy and reimbursement; telehealth inter-professional practice and specialized populations; and telehealth and the future.

45% of adults over 65 lack online medical accounts that could help them sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations

As the vaccination of older adults against COVID-19 begins across the country, new poll data suggests that many of them don’t yet have access to the “patient portal” online systems that could make it much easier for them to schedule a vaccination appointment. In all, 45% of adults aged 65 to 80 had not set up an account with their health provider’s portal system.

COVID forced psychiatric care online. Many patients want it to stay there, study finds

A new study suggests that more than half of outpatient psychiatry patients whose appointments were suddenly converted to video or phone interactions by the pandemic will want to keep going with virtual mental health care even after the pandemic subsides. The convenience of seeing a provider without leaving home, and avoiding potential exposure to the coronavirus, factor heavily into this preference. So does a patient’s initial experience with seeing a provider virtually.

Study reports drop in lung cancer screening, rise in malignancy rates during spring COVID-19 surge

Reporting on how deferred care worsened outcomes for lung cancer patients when the COVID-19 pandemic first surged in the spring of 2020, researchers from the University of Cincinnati explained that they have identified a framework that could help people with serious health conditions keep up their appointments during the current surge. The study has been selected for the 2020 Southern Surgical Association Program and published as an “article in press” on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print.

Telemedicine Reduces Cancellations and No-Shows for Rheumatology Care During COVID in Large Ohio Health System

New research presented at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, shows that expanded use of telemedicine during COVID-19 improved cancellation rates, no-shows and completed medical visits for rheumatology ambulatory clinics in one large Ohio health system.

Making telemedicine more accessible to vulnerable, underserved populations

UCLA’s Dr. Alejandra Casillas has had a longtime interest in health disparities, with a particular focus on health communications among underserved and limited English proficient communities. This is what she’s doing about it.

Mount Sinai Health System, Healthcare Association of New York State and Hospital Innovation and Lean Network of New York to Host Conference: “Lean and Innovation in a COVID-19 World”

Virtual conference will highlight Lean innovations that have helped healthcare organizations plan for, manage and mitigate many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Just in time for children returning to school this fall, Baylor Scott & White Health has launched an at-home monitoring service for children diagnosed with COVID-19.

Just in time for children returning to school this fall, Baylor Scott & White Health has launched an at-home monitoring service for children diagnosed with COVID-19. The service has been offered for adults since April. If you are interested in…

NAU nursing program wins federal grant aimed at increasing access to telehealth care on Navajo Nation, other rural areas

Nursing professor Anna Schwartz is the PI on the two-year grant, which will fund increased simulation-based education for health care providers. The education will be focused on improving treatment for obesity, diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and behavioral and mental health care.

Poll: Telehealth visits have skyrocketed for older adults, but some concerns & barriers remain

One in four older Americans had a virtual medical visit in the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of them by video, a new telehealth poll finds. That’s much higher than the 4% of people over 50 who said they had ever had a virtual visit with a doctor in a similar poll taken in 2019.

Support for telehealth and mobile health monitoring rises since COVID, study says

Support for telehealth and mobile health monitoring has risen among healthcare workers and consumers since the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study. Dr. Emil Jovanov, a pioneer in the wearable health monitoring field from The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), participated and was a coauthor.

Parents Trust Colleges More than Students for COVID-19 Safety, New Survey by TimelyMD Finds

Parents of college students indicate many concerns about their students’ return to the classroom (on campus or online), including their health, the quality of their education, and the likelihood of their following public health guidance when administrators aren’t looking. Fielded last week, this survey by TimelyMD has the latest data available as campus reopening plans change daily.

New Hampshire Anesthesiologists Lead Tele-Intensive Care Unit Innovation for COVID-19 Patients in Rural Areas during Public Health Crisis

Physician anesthesiologists have been on the frontlines caring for COVID-19 patients throughout the country, but in New Hampshire physicians have innovated with a Tele-Intensive Care Unit (TeleICU) hub to collaborate with physicians in rural hospitals to ensure infected patients from across the state get critical care expertise at no expense while receiving care close to home.

Barriers to addiction care fell because of COVID-19, experts say; now the challenge is keeping them down

The opioid epidemic didn’t go away when the coronavirus pandemic began. But rapid changes in regulations and guidance could also help many more people get care for addiction, experts say. They caution that it will take more changes to truly lower barriers that stand in the way of delivering evidence-based addiction care to more people via telemedicine.

Research Shows Telehealth is an Important Tool For Rural Hospitals in Treating COVID-19 Patients

A study of 3,268 hospitals in the U.S. shows that rural hospitals are more likely than urban facilities to have access to telehealth, a once-underused service that now is playing a key role in treating coronavirus patients. The research can help U.S. hospitals understand the extent to which they are prepared for another wave of the pandemic.

COVID-19 Collaboration Reducing Infections in Long-Term Care Facilities

A collaborative program developed at UVA Health to work with local long-term care facilities to control COVID-19 is saving lives and offers a model for communities across the country, a new scientific paper reports.

During Virtual Hill Visits, Rheumatology Leaders Urge Lawmakers to Provide Targeted COVID-19 Relief for Healthcare Practices

In virtual meetings with lawmakers and on Twitter tomorrow, physician and health professional leaders from the American College of Rheumatology are sounding the alarm about the economic impact of COVID-19 on rheumatology practices and the urgent need for targeted relief to help specialty practices remain solvent and continue to serve patients.

Artificial Intelligence Algorithm Can Rapidly Detect Severity of Common Blinding Eye Disease

A new artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm developed by researchers at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) can rapidly and accurately detect age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss in the United States.

Cancer Doesn’t Wait: Seek Care for Symptoms

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most people aren’t hesitating to call their physicians when they experience coronavirus symptoms, but cancer symptoms are not creating the same sense of urgency for medical help. Cedars-Sinai experts encourage anyone who suspects they might have cancer to get in touch with their physician, as the use of telemedicine or other physical-distancing tools will allow them to get medical help immediately.