Digital transformation is expanding the cyber attack surface in health care and other sectors. Today, threat actors are working overtime to exploit vulnerabilities in health care systems, its primary care physicians and their applications, resulting in data breaches that expose confidential and protected information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is […]
Contrary to widespread hopes, the growth in telehealth brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic probably won’t lower health care costs. But it may make some services more widely accessible. A new Kaiser Family Foundation study compares average 2020 commercial insurance payments for evaluation and management and mental health therapy claims for services provided via […]
Computerized artificial intelligence (AI) cut the time primary care physicians spent sifting through patient charts – but helped them feel better prepared for patient visits. The findings were part of a study by the American Academy of Family Physicians’ (AAFP) Innovation Lab. AAFP worked with a computer program developer to test its AI Assistant program […]
More than half of patients are concerned about the quality of care they’re receiving, according to the Software Advice survey. One of the firm’s analysts dives into the results. Telemedicine has, at long last, become very popular. But lingering concerns remain on its effectiveness for certain diagnoses and treatments. Software Advice’s 2022 State of Telemedicine […]
Implementing and pursuing innovation in digital health and healthcare IT should be a priority for all U.S. healthcare providers and payers — especially as the lessons and response to the Covid-19 pandemic become permanently part of our everyday lives. The outbreak of Covid-19 was a “black swan” event that dramatically accelerated the evolution and acceptance […]
Amid inflation and recession concerns, organizations are cutting back on IT spending. While healthcare tends to outperform other industries when faced with economic headwinds, healthcare practices are not entirely immune to a recession. Smaller offices with fewer resources, staff members and revenue are the most susceptible to potential difficulties. So where can healthcare providers trim […]
Using telemedicine for primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic did not hurt quality of care for patients, according to a new study. Researchers examined 16 measures of primary care quality and found patients using telemedicine had outcomes as good or better than those making in-office visits, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open. […]
Federal and state advocacy team members discussed the status of telehealth policy as the public health emergency deadline looms and the industry questions, ‘Is the pandemic over?’ The American Telehealth Association is working with Congress and several federal agencies to shape the fate of policies and payments for telehealth services that experienced a rapid uptake […]
Three common myths about the effectiveness of telehealth are exactly that – myths, according to two new studies that examined its use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerns about telehealth have stymied its use nationwide, but those fears are unwarranted, said researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). They examined data for the first […]
Given the current state of the world, AI is expected to play a critical role in home-based care systems, particularly in the areas of data collection, monitoring, analysis, and interpretation. The increase in the number of monitoring devices such as fitness trackers and wearable technology, for example, demonstrates the effect of AI on home […]