Amazon, the world’s ubiquitous online store, revealed today it is collaborating with Warren Buffet, who heads Berkshire Hathaway, and the bank JPMorgan Chase to build an independent, nonprofit healthcare company with the goal of increasing user satisfaction and reducing costs.
Ga. Payer Pushes Telehealth to Replace Unnecessary ER Visits
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia will soon end reimbursements for non-urgent ER visits, and is asking members to instead use the insurer’s telehealth platform or visit the nearest urgent care or retail clinic.
New local study will determine if MS patients can benefit from telemedicine
About 7,000 people in Alabama and Mississippi have multiple sclerosis. And doctors say there could be thousands more who are undiagnosed. Now a new study being done here in Central Alabama aims to make treatment easier.
People with multiple sclerosis can have difficulty walking and weakness in their muscles. “A condition where sometimes people have a sense of hopelessness,” says Dr. Jim Rimmer, “and one of the major side effects of MS is balance and a big risk in people with MS is the risk of fall so we know exercise helps with fall prevention, it helps with balance.”
Telemedicine cuts costs, increases potential liabilities
Increased use of technology to treat injured workers remotely potentially could speed treatment, give injured workers access to more specialists and reduce workers compensation claims costs, but telemedicine also introduces new risks that must be addressed, a panel of experts said.
Telemedicine Market is expected to reach USD 113.1 billion by 2025
The global telemedicine market is expected to reach USD 113.1 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Virtual medicine is benefiting in reducing the emergency room visits and hospitalization rate, thereby augmenting the market growth.
Health Affairs: Telemedicine for mental health is fast growing, but inconsistent
A new report on telemental health in Health Affairs shows that, among rural Medicare beneficiaries, use of telemedicine for mental health is growing quickly but inconsistently across the population. The piece is meant to provide perspectives for legislatures as they consider increasing Medicare coverage of telemedicine.
Bipartisan bill seeks to remove roadblocks to telemedicine under Medicare
A group of US Senators introduced a new version of a bipartisan bill today seeking Medicare-covered expansion of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services nationwide. The bill was previously introduced by the six-Senator group, which is headed by Brian Schatz (D-HI), in February.
The business case for investing in virtual care
What if someone told you that if your health system leveraged the right type of virtual care platform you could add 2,000 new patients by offering a virtual care service line?
What if you could ultimately convert a quarter of them into primary and specialty care services patients? What if, over time, this could turn into a revenue bump of $1.5 million annually? This may sound too good to be true, but depending on the size of your healthcare system, it isn’t. It could be a realistic return by adding the right virtual care platform to your health system’s care continuum.
ATA Accredits New Teleheath Training Program
The American Telemedicine Association Training Program Accreditation Committee voted to award accreditation for a Certificate in Telehealth offered by Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. The Telehealth Facilitator program is offered through the Institute of Emerging Health Professions at the University. The program consists of five learning modules (each designed to be completed in five weeks following the start of each program cohort), and successful completion of all program requirements will earn graduates a certificate and continuing medical education credits for some health professionals.
MDLive faces class action suit over alleged data privacy breach
An Illinois-based law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against telemedicine company MDLive, alleging that the company takes screenshots of sensitive patient health information and sends them to TestFairy, an Israeli company that does quality control on apps, and that this is a violation of patient privacy. MDLive, for its part, denies that there’s anything improper about its procedures.