Utilizing data housed in EHR systems has become a critical function for public health agencies looking to make an impact on pockets of chronic disease within a community or state. As those agencies explore opportunities to integrate high-quality patient data into outreach efforts, they also have to navigate longstanding privacy requirements outlined under HIPAA.
Fans of remote patient monitoring found a lot to like in new payment rules released last week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, continuing what many hope is a trend toward CMS support for mHealth and telehealth technology. Beginning in 2018, CMS will support clinicians who leverage remote monitoring tools, such as wearables and smart devices at home, and use patient-generated health data in care coordination and...
Data from more than 800 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) primary care clinics revealed that national implementation of a patient-centered medical home model was effective at improving several chronic disease outcomes over time.
Telehealth in the form of video consults is well-suited to value-based payment models, panelists said, because the technology is structured for patient interaction, CPT codes are available and the amount of physician time can be recorded easily.
In the midst of torrential flooding and winds that destroyed homes and displaced thousands of people along Texas’ Gulf Coast and parts of Florida during Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, telehealth was a lifeline for people needing nonemergency care. Telehealth vendors provided free consultations, monitored patients and refilled prescriptions as governors in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South...
Hospitals in Sacramento, California, and around the country are taking steps to help homeless people find housing. Doing so, they say, will limit unnecessary ER visits and reduce wasteful health care spending.
The United States spends 40% more per patient than other developed countries but suffers the worse overall health outcomes. There is general consensus that a major solution lies in better managing and preventing adult chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart failure.
While there have been significant strides in providing frontline clinicians with quality information, these clinicians still lack the tools they need to play an active role in controlling the costs of the care they provide. To date, only small steps have been taken at most health care systems (for example, clarifying the costs of specific tests during the test-ordering process), and new clinical analytics systems that offer...
The Senate has quietly and unanimously passed a bill that would improve some Medicare benefits for people with chronic disease. The measure would do many good things but the most important is that it would take important steps toward breaking down the wall between medical treatment and non-medical supports and services in Medicare, beginning a process that would make it much easier for frail seniors to receive the right care when they need it.
Lawmakers and telehealth advocates were predictably pleased with the Senate’s passage of bipartisan legislation that would extend telehealth benefits to several patient populations battling chronic illnesses. Following another failed attempt to repeal-and-replace the Affordable Care Act, the CHRONIC Care Act of 2017 unanimously passed through the Senate Floor on Wednesday.
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