ATA Chair Joseph Kvedar, MD, says "strong magnetic forces" are pulling care back into brick-and-mortar, in-person settings.
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
 
 

"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.
 

ATA Chair: Telemedicine Choices in Next Few Months Will Shape the Next Decade
"The choices we make in the next few months, all around the industry, are going to pave the way for the next decade," says ATA Chair Joseph Kvedar, MD, who is also a professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School.
 
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.
Sponsored
Everyone Offers Telehealth Now. How Will Yours Stand Out?
While the stresses and strains of COVID-19 were undeniably costly, they also helped healthcare organizations find new competencies and strengths. Among these, perhaps the most influential is the advent of telehealth.
Sponsored
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.
Remote COVID Monitoring Reduces Hospitalizations for Cancer Patients
A Mayo Clinic program used in-home technology to monitor oxygen levels, vital signs and COVID-19 symptoms, and relied on a centralized virtual care team to manage patients.
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.
COVID Was a Tipping Point for Telehealth. If Some Have Their Way, Virtual Visits Are Here to Stay.
There is an emerging consensus that many services that once required an office visit can be provided easily and safely — and often more effectively — through a video chat, a phone call or even an email.
 

Must Reads
 

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.

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If you've got news tips, thoughts, or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at jcommins@healthleadersmedia.com.
 

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