ATA Chair Joseph Kvedar, MD, says "strong magnetic forces" are pulling care back into brick-and-mortar, in-person settings.
"We need to be much more blunt and come up with financial reasons for providers to take the risks of going big and telehealth going big in hybrid [care], because right now there's this tendency to pull back." – Joseph Kvedar, chairman, ATA. COVID-19 cases are plummeting and vaccines have made it safer for people to go out and about, including to their doctor's office, which has resulted in fewer telehealth visits. Joseph Kvedar, MD, chair of the American Telemedicine Association, is worried about what the future holds for telehealth. Scott Mace reports. Also this week, risk management expert Peter Reilly with Chicago-based Hub International identifies the three big risks associated with telehealth; misdiagnosis, data security, and privacy protection. Reilly says telehealth providers must be familiar with these perils and have processes in place to protect against them. Chris Cheney reports. | | |
| How Healthcare Providers Can Mitigate 3 Telehealth Risks | | "The biggest malpractice risk is misdiagnosis simply because what the medical professional heard or saw during the interaction was incomplete, resulting in a misdiagnosis," says Peter Reilly, a risk management consultant with Chicago-based Hub International. |
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Virtual Critical Care: A Lifeline for Rural Hospitals and Patients | | How Augusta University Health’s telemedicine program enables 24/7 COVID-19 and chronic care consults for rural hospitals. n the summer of 2020, the program pivoted to provide critical care consults to patients with COVID-19 or other chronic conditions who could not be transferred to higher levels of care. In the first months of the program, participating rural hospitals reduced their transfers by more than 80%, enabling patients to receive care in their communities with minimal disruption to continuity of care. |
| Patient Access to Hospital EHR Data Expands | | A new ONC report finds that more and more hospitals are enabling patients to access their electronic health records via online portals and mobile apps. Seven in 10 hospitals now permit such access, and app-based inpatient access rose more than 50% between 2018 and 2019. |
| MITRE Recommends Bold Steps to Improve National Digital Healthcare | | COVID-19 was our wake-up call." So begins a new 46-page report from nonprofit MITRE, which recommends a national strategy for digital health while assuring equity of new digitally powered services. The report is broken into six broad goals, supported by recommended objectives outlining actions to realize each goal. |
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| That's all for this week's edition of the HealthLeaders Telehealth. We will be back in your mailbox next Tuesday with more news and reporting on telehealth and its effects on the business of healthcare. Check our website frequently throughout the week for updates. And, remember to sign up for our E-newsletters to keep you informed on the top industry trends, challenges, and opportunities. If you've got news tips, thoughts, or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at [email protected]. | | |
| Be sure to check out the HealthLeaders Podcasts! They feature candid conversations with healthcare executives and industry experts. Healthcare is rapidly changing, now more than ever. We talk to the leaders who are shaping the future of healthcare now. | | |
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