September 28, 2012
news
Sixteen California-based physicians have announced the formation of a new company, Performance ICU, which will perform tele-ICU medicine to hospitals and health systems throughout the nation. The doctors say they are bringing extensive tele-ICU experience to the table, observing from a remote location while continuously monitoring patient vital signs, physiologic trends, treatment results, and, as needed, communicating directly to the bedside with two-way audio/visual communication.
September 26, 2012
news
Residents of the largest city in the Navajo Nation in need of emergency medical care for a stroke may benefit from a Mayo Clinic "telestroke" program that will now be available at Tuba City Regional Health Care in Tuba City, Ariz. A recent agreement between Tuba City Regional Health Care and Mayo Clinic in Arizona means the service will start in Tuba City as early as November. Tuba City is located in north central Arizona within the Painted Desert. Most of the area's population belong to the Navajo and Hopi tribes.
September 7, 2012
news
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced that 11 rural hospitals in the state are receiving $262,000 in grants that will be used on improving telemedicine care. The grant is part of Missouri’s MoBroadbandNow initiative, which aims to greatly expand broadband to reach more homes, businesses, schools, healthcare facilities, and public safety agencies.
August 23, 2012 John DeGaspari
blog
As technology becomes more pervasive in healthcare, examples of how it is being used effectively to improve care are cropping up everywhere. I came across one example yesterday, during a conference call regarding the announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding the selection of primary care practices to participate in the agency’s Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative.
August 21, 2012
news
Norfolk, Va.,-based Sentara Healthcare, a 10-hospital healthcare system in Virginia and North Carolina, has signed a deal with telehealth firm MDLIVE, Sunrise, Fla. Sentara says the partnership will devlier real-time medical consultations to patients with an established regional network of physicians, available via telephone and online video throughout the state of Virginia. The deal also gives an equity stake in MDLIVE.
August 15, 2012 Gabriel Perna
article
In an announcement this week, at the Chicago-based EHR vendor Allscripts’ client experience event, University of South Florida (USF) Health became one of the first university health systems in the country to integrate EHR and telehealth solutions into a coordinated effort with a retirement community, according to USF Health CEO, Stephen Klasko, M.D. In this exclusive interview, he discusses the details of the deal.
August 1, 2012 Gabriel Perna
article
In the past year, American advocates of telehealth may have gotten their biggest boost from across the pond with a large UK-based study that confirmed many of the technology’s benefits. But while telehealth reform in the U.S. remains fragmented, leaders at a prominent healthcare organization in Maine are out to prove the results from the British trial were no international fluke.
July 25, 2012 Mark Hagland
article
Surgeons at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) health system are pioneering an innovative new practice, "telementoring," in which surgeons are providing live online support to colleagues performing groundbreaking new surgeries in other countries.
July 16, 2012
news
Congressman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) recently introduced a bill that would increase veterans access to the care provided by telemedicine devices. The bill, the Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support Act of 2012,is a bipartisan effort with Reps. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Donna Christensen (D-VI), Walter Jones (R-NC), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Laura Richardson (D-CA), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Judy Chu (D-CA), Todd Platts (R-PA), and Mike Kelly (R-PA), joining Rangel.
July 12, 2012 Jennifer Prestigiacomo
article
The Villages, the country's largest senior residential community in the U.S., in partnership with University of South Florida (USF) Health and Boston, Mass.-based American Well, have launched an e-visit telehealth platform to begin its journey toward accountable and patient-centered care. The web-based e-visit will specifically target the 90,000 residents of The Villages retirement community in central Florida to increase access to primary and specialty care, including post-operative care, diabetes care, cardiovascular health, dermatology, mental health, and urology.
July 11, 2012
news
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has implemented a new initiative, Specialty Care Access Network-Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (SCAN-ECHO), to increase access to specialty care services for Veterans in rural and medically under-served areas through the use of videoconferencing equipment. Through SCAN-ECHO, patients in rural areas with complex medical conditions are now able to receive specialty care treatment from their local VA physician.
July 6, 2012
news
Michigan Governor Rick Synder has signed a bill in the state that requires health insurance providers to recognize claims for health services delivered by telemedicine methods. The legislation, House Bills 5408 and 5421, were originally sponsored by state Reps. Gail Haines and Matt Lori and would expand private coverage of telehealth service by preventing insurers from requiring face-to-face contact between healthcare providers and patients for treatment coverage.
