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eHealthBeat: AARP Reveals What Technology Caregivers Want

Vol.17 Issue: 16

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Thursday, May 5, 2016
Caregivers Looking for New Technology

 
According to a recent report from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), caregivers are looking for better and more responsive technology to assist in their duties. The report is the result of a 1,028-person study, conducted via interviews and surveys from October to December 2015. Caregivers are asking for technological assistance regarding medication management, specifically adherence to refill/pickup, also appointment management. There is a gap between use and interest, however. More than 70 percent of respondents indicated they are interested, but only 11.3 percent follow through on use. eHI member UnitedHealthcare contributed to this report. 


Remote Patient Monitoring Under Scrutiny

 
Remote Patient Monitoring is seen as a way to decrease costs and hospital stays by having patients recover at home. A recent study out from Frost & Sullivan, Brigham & Women's Partners, and Physician-Patient Alliance for Health and Safety, found the savings are indeed real. Researchers found that this technology can save on average $19,940 per hospital bed. In addition, the study found that hospitals can increase revenue by $25,737 per bed by freeing beds for other patients. Other advantages include: reducing length of stay, securing additional reimbursement, and helping to identify and properly code conditions.


EHR Prior Authorization Gaining Strength Among Physicians

 
According to a recent survey by SureScripts, 64 percent of healthcare providers want electronic prior authorization functionality in the electronic health records systems. Surescripts Senior Business Management Analyst, Joe Delisle, said in a statement that the functionality is highly desired, but not yet a standard option. Vendors do acknowledge that prior authorization can improve clinician workflow and quality of care. Providers noted three benefits of enabling the prior authorization functionality:
  • Reduced administrative burden
  • Time savings
  • More efficient workflow


Fitbit Wearable Tech Used in Breast Cancer Study

 
Wearable technology firm, Fitbit, is lending its health trackers to a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute study looking at weight loss in breast cancer patients. The study will utilize Fitbit’s health and fitness tracker, smart scale, and digital tracking tools. Dana-Farber wants to monitor 3,200 overweight and obese women with early stage breast cancer. They will locate participants through American and Canadian oncology practices. Researchers plan on launching the study in August of this year.

 
WeCounsel Raises $3.5 Million to Offer Video Visits for Patients

 
Tele-counseling startup WeCounsel, announced they have raised $3.5 million to support providers offering video visits for patients. WeCounsel offers a telehealth platform to behavioral health providers to connect with their patients remotely. It is designed for a range of providers, including group practices, tech-enabled specialty service providers, employee assistance companies, behavioral health clinics, higher-ed institutions, and hospitals. Their platform also includes secure messaging as well as virtual client management tools along the lines of scheduling, document management sharing, notes, and billing.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday, May 9, 2-3 pm ET, Interoperability Meeting. Tiffanie Hickman from the Kansas Health Information Network, and Laura Young from the Behavioral Health Information Network of Arizona will be presenting examples of consent practices for break the glass, patient education, opt-out, opt-in, and 42 CFR Part 2.



Tuesday, May 10, 11:30 am -1 pm ET, Policy Working Group Lunch Meeting: featuring Sarah P. Farrell, PhD, RN, Health Market Executive from Apple Education. Learn about Apple's recent launch of CareKit, a new open source software platform focusing on patient care.



Thursday, May 12, 4:30-5:30 pm ET, Webinar: Hear from CMS on Proposed Payment Regs. Featuring Robert Anthony, Deputy Director, Quality Measurement and Value-Based Incentives Group, Center for Clinical Standards & Quality. Sponsored by United Healthcare.
Wednesday, May 18, 2-3 pm ET, Advisory Board on Business & Clinical Motivators.



Wednesday, May 25, 2-3 pm ET, 2016 Population Health Survey Webinar. Sponsored by Medicity. Register here.



Thursday, May 26, 2-3 pm ET, Council of Data Analytics Experts.



October 4-5, 2016 Innovation Showcase at House of Sweden in Washington, DC.



To be included in any of the upcoming events email claudia.ellison@ehidc.org.




 
Nirmal (Nim) Patel, MD, MPH

Chief Medical Information Officer, Teladoc, Inc.
eHI Launches 2016 Population Health Survey

 
eHealth Initiative is conducting a survey of population health measures. To complete the survey click here.  Results of the survey will be announced at a webinar, in association with Medicity, on May 25. To register for the webinar, click here. For more information or to be included in the survey, email info@ehidc.org.
HHS Announces Health Datapalooza

 
For the seventh year running, the Department of Health and Human Services is hosting Health Datapalooza, May 8-11 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC. The conference is an outgrowth of the Health Data Initiative that explores the power and promise of open healthcare data. Francie Grace, Patient and Consumer Representative on the Health Datapalooza Steering Committee believes that the conference is unique, where “patients can speak truth to power, providing critical insights as ideas leap on and off the drawing boards, and where all stakeholders including clinicians, researchers, government and hospital systems can learn from and be inspired by each other's viewpoints, experience and vision.”

 
Ban on Clinician Text Use Over, with Exceptions - Joint Commission

 
Secure messaging technology is allowing physicians to communicate more effectively. In the May edition of Joint Commission Perspectives, the Joint Commission (JCAHO) revealed they are dropping their ban on the use of new communications means by clinicians. There are caveats however, including very specific security components, increased standards, and quality assurance requirements. The providers must also document the features of the platform they are using, define texting order use, and track how often the text is used over more traditional means of communication.

 
Responses to ONC Proposals Continue to Pour In

 
Responses to ONC’s recent proposal for direct review of electronic health records on potential safety problems have not stopped coming down the pipe. Some, like the Joint Commission (JCAHO) and the American Medical Association (AMA), are positive. JCAHO says that they are pleased with the aims of the rule. The commission had one suggestion: that ONC to notify users quickly if it intends to suspend or decertify a participating EHR. The AMA approves the rule, saying that direct review would provide "a valuable role" in detecting problems caused by the interaction of two certified products. The AMA seeks for ONC to help mitigate collateral damage incurred by physicians from decertification. Others, like Kaiser Permanente, are more concerned. They are concerned with the lack of process underlying the rule. Kaiser writes that the rule needs "reasonable limits on access and review" of EHRs. They also see a possibility for duplicative efforts with CMS's meaningful use reviews and other certification processes, leading to an unreasonable burden.
Member Spotlight:



athenahealth to Discuss Impact of ACA

 
athenahealth is hosting a webinar on May 11 at noon EDT. The webinar features eHI Board Member, Dan Haley, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, from athenahealth, and focuses on “Measuring the Impact of ACA on Providers.” Also presenting is Josh Gray, VP, athenaResearch. They examine the findings of real-time analysis of its provider network. Presenters describe how patient financial obligations have changed, how physician reimbursement is trending, the patterns created by increased ACA coverage, and the effect of the latest ACA trends on physician practices.
Around the World


British and Chinese Researchers Create Dissolvable Electronics with Medical Applications
 
Recently, Chinese and British scientists revealed in the ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces journal that they have created the world’s first functional dissolvable device component. The electronics, made from magnesium, tungsten, and egg, is in early testing. Preliminary results reveal that performance with the new circuits matches traditional technology. The authors, from four universities, two in China and two in Great Britain, said in a statement, "This work demonstrates a new way to fabricate biocompatible and dissolvable electronic devices by using cheap, abundant, and 100% natural materials for the forthcoming bioelectronics era as well as for environmental sensors when the Internet-of-things takes off.”
 
Researchers Create New Biosensor That Detects Glucose Levels in Sweat

 
Researchers at two universities in the People’s Republic of China have developed a sensor that can detect glucose levels in sweat, allowing for easier and earlier diagnosis of diabetes. The device is a fiber-optic glucose sensor in a microfluidic chip that has the potential to be a basis of portable, accurate, and inexpensive devices to measure glucose level in sweat. Current technologies for glucose sensing are usually painful, but this development could be a game changer, allowing for painless, accurate information monitoring. Dr. A. Ping Zhang, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in a statement, "This makes it an extremely appealing technology to develop for early diagnosis of diabetes via monitoring glucose content within sweat. Such a technology will enable a broad range of research and development in biomedical diagnostics, environmental monitoring and even aid drug discovery,” he concludes.
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