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Majority of Digital Health Users Have Chronic Conditions, Few Use mHealth
A HealthMine survey conducted in March revealed that digital health tools may not be doing enough to attract newly insured customers. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association’s HealthMine survey found that of 500 insured customers surveyed, 59 percent of them suffer from chronic conditions. Of those respondents, only seven percent are using a digital health management tool. Bryce Williams, Chief Executive Officer and President of HealthMine said in a statement, "Digital health tools have exploded in growth—but more so in the lifestyle management category than in clinical/disease management."
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Professional Knowledge of HIPAA Compliance Grows
In a newly released update to their 2014 HIPAA Survey, NueMD revealed that healthcare organizations are placing an increased emphasis on remaining Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant. The survey began in 2014 and examined compliance trends among 927 healthcare professionals nationwide. Researchers found that in 2015, 70 percent of respondents stated their organization has a HIPAA compliance plan. Contrast that with 58 percent in 2014, although organizations are struggling to keep pace with required HIPAA training. This is just in time for the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights HIPAA Phase Two audits now being rolled out by HHS.
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Telemedicine Boots Patient Engagement, but ROI Lags Behind
According to a recent study from REACH Health, telemedicine is moving from a specialty offering to a more mainstream service. Two-thirds of respondents to the survey indicated that telemedicine ranks near the top of priorities. This is a ten-point rise from last year. The remaining challenges revolve around reimbursement and return on investment (ROI) to fully fund telehealth investment. As telemedicine continues to advance, providers show a preference for an enterprise approach. All settings and specialties studied show a high degree of activity in terms of planning according, to the executive summary.
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Health Plan Faces Loss over the ACA
Highmark Health of Pennsylvania faces $565 million in losses on the company’s health insurance plans sold on Healthcare.gov, according to the a press release. The company joins other payers in losing money on the exchanges in 2015 that desperately needed and used that care. Many of enrollees from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans suffer from chronic conditions that increase their cost of care. Executives are working to stabilize their ACA plans, exploring increasing premiums for 2017 plans.
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Administrators More Supportive of Population Health Management Than Clinicians
According to a new post in the New England Journal of Medicine’s Catalyst Blog, population health management finds more support from administrators than clinicians. Out of 297 respondents, 42 percent said it is vital to the future of healthcare. Hospitals are far more in favor of population health, with 77 percent indicating that they are enacting programs. Clinicians are much warier and see it more as the latest fad.
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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:AMA Taking Bigger Role in Key IT InitiativesNew Chief Medical Information Officer for the American Medical Association (AMA), Michael Hodgkins is taking charge of AMA’s increased effort in key healthcare IT issues. In this revealing interview discussing the AMA’s work on electronic health records and interoperability.eHI WELCOMES NEW MEMBER, Inovalon!UPCOMING EVENTS:Wednesday, April 13, 3-4 pm ET, Policy Steering Committee
Tuesday, April 19, 2-3 pm ET, Policy Working Group
Wednesday, April 20, 2-3 pm ET, Advisory Board on Business and Clinical Motivators
Thursday, April 28, 2-3 pm ET, Data Analytics Council
October 4-5, 2016, Innovation Challenge at House of Sweden in Washington, D.C.
To be included in any of the upcoming events email claudia.ellison@ehidc.org.
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NIST Announces Million Dollar Healthcare Pilot
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced a pilot for funding the continued implementation of the Administration’s National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. Since 2012, NIST has funded a variety of projects to address barriers. This pilot will distribute up to $1 million for 18 months to focus on smoothing out patient and provider access to health information. For this funding opportunity, we’re looking to solve this problem through deployment of federated identity credentials in healthcare. Using the same credential across multiple healthcare providers can make life easier for users by simplifying and speeding up sign-in processes. For providers, making strides in the efficiency of accessing medical records means time and money saved – and, if done right, better outcomes for security and privacy,” said Mike Garcia, Director of NIST National Program Office. Those interested should apply via grants.gov by June 1.
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Senate HELP Committee Meets on EHR Use and Interoperability Laws
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) met in their final executive session to mark up five bipartisan bills that move interoperability, health information exchange, and electronic health record use forward in the United States. The bills lead off of a section in 21st Century Cures that calls for secure transfer of health information, elimination of data blocking, and open access to patient health data. The following bills were marked up for presentation to the full Senate.
S. 2742, Promoting Biomedical Research and Public Health for Patients Act
S. 2745, Advancing NIH Strategic Planning and Representation in Medical Research Act
S. 2713, Advancing Precision Medicine Act of 2016
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin of West Virginia signed House Bill 4463, establishing telemedicine standards and rules in West Virginia. The bill passed both houses unanimously with strong bipartisan support. This legislation changes some definitions and requirements in the state. It establishes that the patient-provider relationship may be established remotely but not by text or audio-only communications, among other limitations. The new legislation does not prohibit the use of these technologies for use in telemedicine, just cannot be used in establishing the relationship. The new rules go into effect on June 1. A summary of the bill can be found here.
FTC Announces Seminar on Ransomware
In response to the recent rash of ransomware attacks on healthcare institutions nationwide, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced last week an upcoming seminar focused on ransomware. This seminar is the lead in FTC’s Fall Technology Series, hosted at the Constitution Center in Washington, D.C. Presenters will address how ransomware extortionists gain access to networks, what can be learned from law enforcement efforts to combat ransomware, and the implications of paying the ransom, among other concerns. The lecture is scheduled for September 7, from 9am-12 noon.
eHI Privacy and Security Board Discusses Cybersecurity
Forty chief privacy and security executives met in Washington, D.C. to discuss the changes in the healthcare cybersecurity regulatory framework that is currently underway. eHealth Initiative’s Executive Advisory Board The group heard from regulators including the Office of the National Coordinator for Healthcare IT, Office of Civil Rights, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Federal Trade Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration. The group discussed practical strategies that are working in the field. eHI convenes the Board quarterly to further a public-private partnership to address privacy and security concerns.
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