Category Archives: Telemedicine

It used to be that veterans weren’t able to get the quality care they needed, but that is about to change. The Veterans Affairs Department recently started looking into ways they can improve overall care for those living in rural areas with chronic or severe conditions. In January 2017, a telehealth collaborative study surveyed roughly 800 veterans living in Georgia and Texas with some form of human immunodeficiency virus. They want to make sure that veterans are able to gain access to HIV testing and care, regardless of whether they live in the city or out in the country.

When you compare the treatment veterans received in rural care to that of those in the city, the level of care isn’t even close. In fact, those who live in rural areas don’t receive the best treatments and often have a lower survival rate. All of that needs to change. Because Alaska has a lower population overall, they don’t have a lot of HIV patients there. However, that doesn’t mean that they still don’t need the level of care that other areas provide. With smaller communities, the options available are almost non-existent.

The VA currently has roughly 50 telehealth specialties. During 2016 alone, roughly 700,000 veterans went to a total of 2,000,000 telehealth appointments. That’s a lot of people being served in just one year alone. Based on studies, roughly 18 percent of the 24,000 veterans undergoing treatment for HUV infections live in one of the rural areas in the US. Those individuals have limited access to the level of care they need to treat their disease.

The level of care in each state varies. With the help of telehealth, patients are able to gain access to the level of care needed. This system is going to help patients manage their chronic diseases both in face and via video. The key is getting the provider the information needed to treat the patient in the quickest manner possible.

The future of Medicaid looms in the balance, leaving lawmakers struggling to focus on how they can improve telemedicine access. Telemedicine could help reduce the costs of healthcare by allowing all of the providers in one location the ability to treat those elsewhere in the country.

Since the state Medicaid plan is now able to cover telemedicine to a certain extent, it is paving the way for healthcare. It used to be that only 24 states offered this type of coverage in 2005, but now, all states are participating in the program.

There are also other trends that are on the rise, such as added dental services and even more options for patients needing care. In short, the situation looks rather promising when you look at everything being done right now. Providers and employers alike are able to use telemedicine to get patients the treatment needed.

Insurance companies, Medicaid agencies and the state lawmakers are all looking at telemedicine as one of the more affordable solutions out there to help reduce the gap in coverage and deliver quality healthcare to patients.

Still, there are challenges that need to be addressed. That’s where the government needs to step in and help. Each state has their own specific set of regulations and standards that cause problems with being able to use telemedicine. Remote healthcare services in various states have shown to be not only cost-effective but effective in being able to deliver the level of services needed. These services aren’t often available to Medicaid beneficiaries, so this is taking things to a new level.

Even though practices and health systems are starting to offer better and more efficient services for patients, there is still a lot of confusion in the state variations. It is preventing consumer access and causing more problems. Because of these conflicts out there, it is causing problems for patients, health systems and providers and preventing them from being able to take advantage of telemedicine.

Virta Health is on a mission to reverse Type 2 Diabetes. The group was formed by leading scientists, technologists and doctors coming from Harvard, Stanford and MIT and backed by big name investors donating $37M to fund the project. Their approach to the project is using personalized nutrition, remote monitoring and one-on-one coaching aimed at being able to reverse the disease, instead of having to turn to surgery or medication.

It used to be that the only way to reverse diabetes was through bariatric surgery. This is the first time that people have an alternative available to them that isn’t costly, risky and not covered by insurance. The goal is to be able to completely reverse diabetes in 100M individuals by the time 2025 hits. While this might seem like a rather ambitious goal, they are dedicated to making it happen. Their motivation stems from the countless lives they have been able to change already.

The group consists of Inkinen, the co-founder and former president of Trulia, UC Davis Professor Dr. Stephen Phinney, bringing 40-years of nutritional biochemistry experience to the table and Dr. Jeff Volek, an Ohio State professor with 20-years of research on the effects physical activity and nutrition have on your health.

Their efforts have been focused on nutritional ketosis and carbohydrate intake where your body burns fat instead of glucose as its primary source of fuel. This eliminates the need for surgery or a bunch of harmful medications. This individualized approach could help lower hemoglobin levels as well.

While there is a lot that needs to be done, there is a lot of progress being made. During the clinical trial run, 87 percent of participants were able to reduce or eliminate their insulin dependence. Out of those individuals, 71 percent also lost 5 percent of their body weight, which is quite significant. If the findings continue down this path, it will only be a matter of time before they have a cure for all Type 2 Diabetes patients.

We are in the digital era, and the health sector is experiencing rapid technological progress. Modern technology is influencing the ease of accessing medical services. In the case of emergencies or accidents, technology has played a major role in determining how fast and effectively medical practitioners can respond. For instance, LiveHealth Online is virtue video diagnostic and treatment telehealth tool that allows patients to access the services of US-based board- certified doctors via a computers or Smartphone. Launched in 2013 LiveHealth Online provides treatments for patients suffering from minor ailments such as coughs, dermatitis, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, and urinary tract infections among others.

By using LiveHealth Online, you can get your illness diagnosed treated and even be issued with a prescription. Most importantly, patients treated through the LiveHealth online platform are issued with a strict follow-up program to reduce chances of misdiagnosis or treatment failures.

According to a research done by Healthcore Inc, a company that uses real world data to provide clinical scientific expertise and research services to pharmaceutical and biotechnologists to determine comparative effectiveness of the healthcare systems and health economic outcomes, patients who had video visits with doctors via LiveHealth online had fewer hospitalizations and emergency departments’ visits within a 3 weeks period after their LiveHealth online telehealth visits. This was less than those who saw health care providers in urgent care clinics, emergency departments or doctor’s offices.

While Questions have been raised concerning the effectiveness of these services and whether doctors practicing virtually can appropriately treat illness in the absence of physical interaction with their patients, research has calmed the fears. Contrary to many people’s belief, Andrea DeVries, senior author of the study and vice-president of research at Healthcore, observes that telehealth treatments are effective in treating minor ailments especially among people who do not have chronic conditions.

LiveHealth online is the fastest growing telehealth service provider which embraces technology in treatment and evaluation of patients. LiveHealth online gives a chance for treatment and recovery for those patients unable to visit local healthcare providers with ease and urgency they deserve.

Texas became an even better place to live in March, 2017. The Texas Senate has finally approved Bill 1107. This means that the industry of telehealth will be available on a large scale throughout the state. Telemedicine has been disputed in courts and regulatory hearings for several years. The approval of bill 1107 marks the arrival of a comprise among legislators, providers, doctors and the insurance industry. Bill 1107 is the last in a long line of measures presented to the Texas senate, but the first to be approved by the senate and on its way to becoming state law.

Texas Senator Charles Schwertner, the chairman of health and human services drafted the legislation making it easier for people in Texas, particularly those in far-flung and rural areas to receive medical treatment.

Telemedical appointments were utilized almost two decades ago in the Texas prison system, saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars. Telemedicine has been practiced in several other states for many years.

The new law will provide medical services to 35 counties without practicing health providers of any sort. While 80 Texas counties only have a handful of available doctors. Consequently, placing Texas among the least medically state served in the United States.

Bill 1107’s approval will improve personal health and lower the costs of medical care in Texas. All rural Texans need now are access to a telephone or the internet, and the skills to search for a physician. Accessing prescriptions, treatment of common ailments and medical advice won’t mean expensive trips to urban areas. The measure is sure to save local and state level budgets money as telemedicine reduces overhead costs for many physcians, insurers and providers.

The Texas senate will continue to define the rules and regulations around the evolving industry of telemedicine. Licensing boards have an enormous task ahead in specifying what medical services are available through the growing industry of digital medicine.

When you go to the doctor’s office, you expect them to keep your information safe at all times. Medical professionals have a duty to protect your privacy, but that commitment to you isn’t as easy as it once was. With more and more providers converting to digital files, it isn’t always as easy to protect information. That’s where a healthcare kiosk can help keep that information safe.

Federal Laws Are Pushing Providers to Go Digital

HIPAA regulations are just one of the things pushing providers to digitize medical records and make them more secure and confidential. Once the provider takes medical records and digitizes them, it helps to modernize some of the other tools in the workplace, such as patient forms, payment transactions and insurance claims.

Because of this, many providers are now implementing healthcare kiosks to help handle all of that sensitive information, improve patient care and cut expenses. As patients arrive at the clinic or hospital, they can use one of these kiosks to check themselves in for an appointment, make a co-payment on their bill, register for services and much more. In turn, this helps to reduce the amount of time a patient has to wait and improve overall satisfaction. In fact, one of the hospitals using one of these kiosks was able to reduce the amount of time it took to check first-time patients in by 25% and 75% for a returning patient.

The physicians are able to use these kiosks to pull up electronic records and view the patient’s medical history, thus maximizing valuable face-to-face time. Because of how easily the provider can access the patient’s complete history, they can filter through the information and get the history they need without spending valuable time and man hours digging through paper files.

Because of the invention of these new health kiosks, it is making things simpler and less stressful for physicians everywhere. Patient information remains confidential and wait time is reduced all around.

Earlier this month the Ohio Medical Board passed two rules that enable physicians to issue prescriptions for both controlled and uncontrolled substances to their patients via telemedicine, rather than in-person at the doctor’s office, given they adhere to an extensive list of rules.

Ohio is another of several states to loosen laws regarding telemedicine to allow for further growth of virtual doctor visit platforms. Most states currently allowing the use of telemedicine for both doctors visits and prescribing medication require the patient to first meet the doctor in person, along with other several guidelines. However, in Ohio the physician must only meet the following criteria to prescribe non-controlled medications:

• Authenticate the patient’s location and identity;
• Obtain consent for remote exam treatments;
• With consent, forward medical records to the patient’s providers or refer the patient to a new provider or facility;
• Meet the minimal standard of care needed for the patient’s condition(s);
• Develop a treatment plan that includes documenting the need for the prescription drug and any contraindications to the treatment plan;
• Document in the patient’s record with all medical information, provided care, patient’s consent, and any referrals made to other providers;
• Recommend or provide any necessary follow-up care for the patient;
• Make the medical record of the visit available to the patient; and
• Use “appropriate technology sufficient for the physician to conduct the above as if the medical evaluation occurred during an in-person visit.”

While most states exclude physicians from prescribing controlled substances via telemedicine, Ohio’s new regulation permits prescribing of controlled substances to a patient located remotely from the provider in the following instances:

• The person is an “active patient” of one of the physician’s colleagues, and the substance is being prescribed through an on-call or cross-coverage arrangement;
• At the time of prescribing the patient is at a DEA-registered hospital or clinic;
• The patient is in the physical presence of and being treated by, an Ohio-licensed physician registered with the DEA;
• The practitioner has obtained a DEA special registration for telemedicine;
• The physician is the medical director, hospice physician, or attending physician for a “hospice program” or “institutional facility” licensed in Ohio and in either instance: the patient is enrolled in that hospice program or institutional facility and the prescription is transmitted to the pharmacy consistent with Ohio board of pharmacy rules.

Advocates for telemedicine note regulations from the federal Ryan Haight Act, which severely restrict when and where physicians can prescribe controlled medications. However, encouraged by the American Telemedicine Association, the DEA is expected to amend the Ryan Haight Act to create a special telemedicine registration for healthcare providers.

Just when you thought technology couldn’t get any better, along comes a healthcare tablet that takes your vital signs and reports them to your doctor. A New Jersey Health Tech firm designed and developed Bluetooth-enabled devices that patients can use remotely to telecommute and teleconference with their doctors. The devices also take your pulse, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, digital weight (no, you do not stand on the tablet!) and a “stethoscope” feature that can read lung and heart functions.

There’s just one catch- the tablets are currently only available to seniors living in their own homes who live too far away from immediate mediical care to get to a doctor on time. The tablets are part of a home health care group that takes care of these patients and monitors their health regularly. Then the elderly and senior patients can remain in their homes for much longer than previously expected.

The tablets do provide the patients with a sense of security, given their distant locations from doctors, hospitals, clinics and family members. Family members are also comforted by the fact that these tablets can send them alerts to their connected phones anytime there is a serious health concern with their elderly relatives.

Of course, the patients do have to “opt in” to notify certain family members of their immediate health concerns, but it is something that definitely could cut rescue help time way down because the patients data would warn everyone before a major health risk occurs. Patients are also able to call for help from the tablets simply by activating the conferencing call feature.

The devices are still in production, so it may be a year or more yet before patients begin receiving their devices in conjunction with this home health care group. As for the rest of the nation, teleconferencing your doctor your vital signs may take a few more years. Until then, a phone call or an office visit may still be the only ways you can talk to your doctor or your doctor’s nurse.

Telemedicine is one of the fastest growing methods of healthcare in America today. Many people use telemedicine for the ease and convenience of not having to make an appointment at a physical doctor’s office. However, as with all types of medical care, there are often some drawbacks. Telemedicine is no exception. Patients are finding out that there are some drawbacks to using the features of telemedicine that they did not realize existed. However, there are some big perks that come along with it, as well. In fact, some that may benefit not just consumers, but also providers.

In a recent article on MedPage today, a payer cannot legally discriminate against clinicians who provide care via telemedicine. This is probably one of the best-kept secrets about Telemedicine that is not widely known about to many people. Not that the clinician themselves is discriminated against, but more the service. Especially, in instances where the consumer pays for the service up front and is later reimbursed the fee that they paid to the telemedicine provider.

It does not matter whether the type of telemedicine is provider to provider, remote monitoring, or provider to consumer. The laws are regulated in the state where the patient is located. A prime example would be with provider to consumer. Let’s say that the medical provider is in a remote area far away from where the patient lives. They are treating the patient via telemedicine rather than a traditional brick and mortar medical office. Neither the patient nor the insurance company can dispute the treatment just because it is given to the patient via telemedicine.

In other words, the patient cannot refuse to pay for services. Nor, can the insurance provider refuse to either pay for the service to the telemedicine provider. They also cannot refuse to reimburse the patient the fee they may have paid upfront just because the care was provided via telemedicine. This is a profound law that makes the insurance providers responsible for covering more services.

One of the biggest problems for people with serious medical conditions is being unable to leave the hospital, which can make their pain, their depression, and their feelings of anxiousness all the worse. As a result, doctors and other medical professionals have been using a wide range of tools and methods to combat the problem, with the latest example being virtual reality.

In brief, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA has been helping their patients cope with chronic pain by delivering content to them via virtual reality. Some of the content is exotic in nature whereas the rest is much more familiar in nature thanks to the 360 degree cameras brought to the patients’ homes by their families.

Unfortunately, there is no systematic data comparing the effectiveness of virtual reality to the effectiveness of its 2D counterparts at the moment because the randomized trials are still ongoing, but some interesting insights have been revealed so far.

For example, a smaller study under controlled circumstances has revealed that virtual reality devices seem to be better at alleviating pain than their 2D counterparts, as shown by a reduction of the self-reported pain score from an average 5.4 to 4.1 and 4.8. However, it is important to note that the virtual reality devices were not effective for all of the patients.

Sometimes, this was because the patients had some kind of medical condition that make it difficult for them to use the virtual reality devices, with examples including but not limited to delirium, epilepsy, and nausea. Other times, this was because the patients were uninterested in the virtual reality devices, with older people being likelier to do so than younger people.

Furthermore, the people at Cedars-Sinai have learned to be careful with the content when working with people with PTSD because even what can seem like a harmless choice has the potential to bring up traumatic memories.

Summed up, virtual reality is another excellent example of how digital health can improve outcomes for a wide range of patients. However, it is still in the early stages of adoption, meaning that it will take time to see whether its costs are worth its benefits from an economic perspective as well as work out the best ways to use its potential.