Telehealth

The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ use of telemedicine to treat patients at its Vermont hospital at White River Junction resulted in an average travel payment savings of $18,555 per year between 2005 and 2013, according to a study published in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health. The study found that telemedicine resulted in an average savings of 145 miles and 142 minutes per visit, resulting in the aforementioned payment reductions, while telemedicine services volume grew significantly over the study period such that by the final year the travel savings had increased to $63,804, or about 3.5 percent of the total travel pay for that year. [Also: VA picks up $233 million from Congress to fund VistA EHR upgrades] Authors of the report explained that the number of mental health telemedicine visits increased during the study period but remained small relative to the number of face-to-face visits. And a higher proportion of telemedicine visits involved new patients. On a nationwide scale, the VA has taken strides to use telehealth tools for treating its patients. For example, an August 2015 study determined that older veterans with depression benefited from telemedicine talk as much as in-person therapy sessions. That study, published in The Lancet, found that older veterans with depression benefited from telemedicine talk as much as in-person therapy sessions. With many seniors facing difficulties to getting help for depression, including mobility issues and fear of social stigma, telemedicine can increase their access to treatment, the study found. And with the national VA healthcare system’s travel pay to patients for getting to appointments projected to cost nearly $1 billion in 2015, a 3.5 percent reduction, if achievable at scale, can yield significant savings. Twitter: @HealthITNews

A new report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology claims technologies such as telehealth and wearable sensors should be put to work to help more elderly Americans stay healthy and connected as they age. The report by PCAST, an advisory group of scientists and engineers appointed by President Barack Obama to make policy recommendations related to technology and science, found these types of technologies can help elderly Americans face challenges tied to social connectivity, emotional health and cognitive and physical ability. "With many Americans wishing to live in their homes and communities for as long as possible, technology such as prosthetics, wearable sensors, and other tools for daily living can make that possible," said PCAST members Christine Cassel and Ed Penhoet. [Also: Mobile apps emerging as essential population health tools] As of 2014, an unprecedented 15 percent of the U.S. population was over the age of 65, according to the Census Bureau, and many of them remain active. Recommendations also include creating better access to the Internet as something essential to health, social engagement and well-being, and offering more education and training for seniors in online technologies. PCAST also suggests greater efforts by technology providers to develop monitoring tools for frail and vulnerable elders. But the report also calls on a federal agencies to make changes. Specifically it pointed to telehealth as something with clear benefits for seniors living remotely or with limited mobility – but said the government needed to update regulation and payment policies to reflect recent innovation in the space. For another example, the Federal Trade Commission should continue to enforce regulatory review and guidelines for commercial cognitive training products, PCAST said. [Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook] And the group called upon an array of federal agencies – from the National Institutes of Health to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA – to expand research on projects such as robotics and advanced mobility technology. It also recommended that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services payment policies should be adapted to increase seniors' access to those next-generation tools. "Technology has played an important role in increasing life expectancy, but it also has an important role to play in increasing the quality of life by maximizing Americans’ ability to function in their later years," PCAST Chairs John Holdren and Eric Lander wrote in a letter to President Obama. Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN

(SPONSORED) Telehealth is where the patients are. See the new ways patients use telehealth to see a doctor.

Carla Smith, Executive Vice President at HIMSS, highlights the major themes at the upcoming HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas, including the the value of health IT and cybersecurity. Watch more video coverage of HIMSS16

(SPONSORED) Health systems are the fastest growing sector of the telehealth adoption market. Find out why.

Telehealth provider VirtuMedix is homing in on emergency care. The company's software, as such, comprises a dashboard for tracking patients while they await consultation, as well as features enabling patients to log-in, view their medical record, and state the reason for a particular visit, according to Kannan Sreedhar, group vice president and general manager of VirtuMedix. Sreedhar said that VirtuMedix will be showcasing the latest version of its platform at HIMSS16 beginning in late February. [Also: 11 essential quotes from notable HIMSS keynotes] EMS physicians, for example, can use telemedicine technologies to give patients the ability to access provider organizations in an on-demand fashion, according to VirtuMedix group vice president Kannan Sreedhar. On the other side, patients can enter e-mails or mobile numbers to get messages alerting them when physicians are ready for their consultations, Sreedhar explained, adding that certain features enable patients to conduct online payments. “A parent might have three kids at home and one has an ear infection, and there’s the need to go to an emergency room, where a person might have to wait for three or four hours – that’s the usage of healthcare resources today,” he said. “But when a parent has the ability to use her smartphone or iPad and connect from home with physicians via telehealth, then she does not need to go to the hospital, and an emergency care physician can diagnosis the ear infection and send a prescription to the parent’s local pharmacy.” See all of our HIMSS16 previews According to a study by the American Academy of Family Physicians 15 percent of clinicians are using telemedicine tools today and 78 percent said they believe telemedicine improves access to care. VirtuMedix will be exhibiting at the HIMSS16 booths of partner organizations Allscripts and IDS, where it intends to showcase the latest version of its VirtuMedix platform. Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the HIMSS16 conference. Follow our live blog for real-time updates, and visit Destination HIMSS16 for a full rundown of our reporting from the show. For a selection of some of the best social media posts of the show, visit our Trending at #HIMSS16 hub.

(SPONSORED) Telemedicine is a hot topic in healthcare, with consumers more willing than ever to see a doctor remotely.

NewYork-Presbyterian has deployed its Patient Placement Operations Center, designed to support the hospital's existing patient teletracking systems. PPOC integrates NYP's advanced teletracking system with automated patient flow data and real-time patient information to efficiently place patients in the right departments for a smoother admission and placement process. Teletracking was in place within NYP for about five years and was built by senior leadership to combat issues with patient flow among its campuses, which include six main campuses in Manhattan, one behavioral health center in Westchester and two medical centers, among others. [Also: NewYork-Presbyterian says hospital integration not without hurdles] NYP also created the position of vice president of patient access, to focus on teletracking and patient flow, with the hiring of Holly Meisner this past year. Meisner says that although teletracking was in place, it wasn't fully utilized. Her task was to streamline patient flow in all of its campuses. But she soon realized although "the opportunities were present many different processes, we didn't know what the left hand was doing from the right hand." Back in October, NYP relaunched the teletracking initiative on the Columbia campus. It eventually will incorporate Allen, Morgan Stanley, and Cornell campuses into the teletracking system. Construction began in November and was completed in two months. PPOC is the centralized location for the project and is just the first of other projects to be implemented this year at NewYork-Presbyterian. Its Weill Cornell campus is next in line to have a PPOC constructed. [Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook] "Teletracking is a great tool for patient flow software," Meisner said. "I think some of the challenges in health IT is a lot of the large organizations want to create a single platform to integrate the revenue cycle, as well as EMR. That is ideal state." However, it's difficult to access all of the data. "Teletracking does a good job of pulling the data in real-time minutes," she added. "The downside is you're bringing in another system – especially in a world where we're trying to streamline. But the amount of data is worth it to drive results." Twitter: @JessiefDavis

JoAnn Klinedinst, Vice President of Professional Development at HIMSS, previews the topics and approach for education sessions at HIMSS16 and how attendees can access content online after the conference in the newly redesigned Learning Center. LEARNING CENTER: Health IT's most comprehensive online learning platform

Wen Dombrowski, MD, has been in the field of clinical informatics since the 1990’s. Back then, her work involved building diabetes databases for community health centers. Today, she’s a geriatrics physician executive at Resonate Health, a role that sees her combining technology, social media, and business solutions to help patients with complex conditions. Dombrowski is also one of only a fistful of social media influencers to sit in the top slot of the #HIT100 list. [Also: Steve Sisko: 'Healthcare literacy' surge coming soon] We reached out to Dombrowski ahead of HIMSS16 to discuss what she’s hoping to find at this year’s conference, what trends she expects to see taking hold in 2016, and what she sees as the untold benefit of social media for healthcare. Q: What’s something about you that even your devout followers likely don’t know?  A: My early days in Clinical Informatics were in the 1990's building diabetes registry Access databases for community health centers in inner-city of Chicago. As part of an IHI (Institute for Healthcare Improvement) Diabetes Learning Collaborative, I learned to track key clinical measures and use the data to identify and reach out to patients with gaps in care. Q: One health IT prediction for 2016? A: In 2016 we will see more direct-to-consumer telemedicine and other digital health services. Mainly because consumers are increasingly demanding easy-access user experience of healthcare, and also because technologies are maturing while state and federal payment policies are starting to cover telehealth. I really like this recent quote: "The digital strategy of a healthcare organization must be aligned with everyday consumer experiences in other industries," from @dchou1107. Q: What is the untold benefit of social media in healthcare today? A: Social media is not only an information-sharing tool — it catalyzes online and local conversations about what are the problems and potential solutions in healthcare. While social media is rich in content for anyone to learn about a diverse array of topics, the online interactions between individuals can be encouraging, thought provoking, and motivating people to action. See all of our HIMSS16 previews Q: What are you most looking forward to learning about at HIMSS16? A: I am looking forward to reconnecting with my Health IT colleagues from around the country and brainstorm how to accelerate healthcare innovation so that patients can truly get the best care. At the HIMSS16 conference I am planning to participate in the sessions related to Physician Informaticists, Long Term & Post Acute Care Providers, Women in Health IT, and HX360 Innovation Leaders.  Q: What inspired you to apply for the Social Media Ambassador program? A: I am already active in using social media to promote awareness of the benefits and challenges of using technology to improve health and care. I helped plan the #HIMSS16 Physician IT Symposium, so I was already planning to be at HIMSS sharing about the latest ideas and discussions happening there. Twitter: @SullyHIT This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the HIMSS16 conference. Follow our live blog for real-time updates, and visit Destination HIMSS16 for a full rundown of our reporting from the show. For a selection of some of the best social media posts of the show, visit our Trending at #HIMSS16 hub.