Telemedicine is a booming industry. Hundreds of companies are providing virtual physician visits via videoconferencing technology to individuals at home, at school and in the office. A segment of this market consists of companies that provide telemedicine services to hospitals, so patients can get virtual bedside care from physicians and specialists round-the-clock—a big advantage, especially in rural hospitals hit hardest by the physician shortage.
This telemedicine sector is booming, too. How is it working for hospitals?
Very well. Hospitals report they transfer fewer patients to tertiary care facilities because they have ready access to specialized expertise no matter where they are located. Physicians report they have fewer burnout issues because telemedicine doctors can cover night shifts and fill in other staffing gaps. Patients and their families report widespread satisfaction with this new model of inpatient care.
Nevertheless, there are ways to do it wrong and do it right. When a hospital or health system decides to consider telemedicine, the selection process can be a complicated one. Whether you’re dissatisfied with a current provider and considering a change or looking to start a new telemedicine program from scratch, here are three things to look for to be sure you get the telemedicine partner that is right for you.
Determine how care is delivered by telemedicine physicians.
Some telemedicine companies might have dozens of physicians on call across the country to serve the range of their hospital customers. The problem isn’t that they are well qualified. They probably are. The problem is that patients in those hospitals might never see the same telemedicine physician twice during their stay. How does that work?
Nurses have told us that when telemedicine companies furnish “a different doctor a day” or “a different doctor for every call,” it makes it difficult to build a long-term relationship, get to know them and drive better patient care forward. Nurses are an invaluable cog in the wheel of any hospital inpatient program. It’s best to listen to them.
Look for companies that assign a small team or “pod” of six to eight virtual physicians exclusively credentialed for a particular site. Over time, they all become an integral part of a hospital’s clinical team, deeply familiar with a hospital’s specific services, its procedures and its people. The result is more consistent, more personalized care.
This smaller team helps speed the credentialing process, easing the administrative burden for hospitals wanting to start a telemedicine program. It can be a headache credentialing a roster of physicians who might only have a few sessions with patients at the hospital. There’s little return on investment there.
By Steeve Huin, vice president of strategic partnerships, business development and marketing, Irdeto.
The Internet of Things (IoT) market is booming, with IHS Markit forecasting there will be 73 billion connected devices in use around the world by 2025. IoT technology has moved beyond speakers and smart fridges and is increasingly being utilized for critical applications across the healthcare industry, such as pacemakers, insulin and infusion pumps and medical imaging systems.
This Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is subsequently opening up a new world of possibilities to improve upon patient care, while also improving operational productivity and effectiveness. However, as the proliferation of connected and complex medical devices grows, healthcare providers are more susceptible to cyberattacks.
The key challenge is that cyber criminals often operate as businesses themselves and will focus on targets that will provide the greatest return on their hacking investment. Therefore, as the healthcare sector becomes increasingly connected, we could see an extremely costly impact of IoT-focused cyberattacks, if security is not prioritized. Insecure devices, and potentially companion apps, present a variety of risks to safety and privacy in a critical industry such as healthcare.
The IoMT Threat Landscape
Unfortunately, cyberattacks are already an all too common reality for many organizations in the healthcare space. A recent survey by Irdeto of security decision makers in the healthcare, transport and manufacturing sectors, found that 82% of healthcare organizations have experienced an IoT-focused cyberattack in the past year, with 30% of attacks resulting in compromised end-user safety.
IoT devices are often targeted by cybercriminals as they are much easier to compromise than businesses’ more sophisticated perimeter cyber defenses. The problem is that growth in the use of IoT has far outstripped the increase in trained professionals emerging. As a result, healthcare organizations often don’t have the expertise internally to ensure the connected devices they are using within their organizations are secure.
The research also emphasized this point, revealing that only 6% of healthcare organizations have everything they need to tackle IoT cybersecurity challenges, with an urgent requirement for increased skills and more budget for security identified. In addition, the research found that 98% of respondents in healthcare organizations believe the cybersecurity of IoT devices could be improved and one in four manufacturers of IoT devices for healthcare only update the security of devices they manufacture while they are in warranty.
These alarming findings, combined with reported cyber incidents to critical connected devices in the last few years, make for worrying reading. For example, in the last two years we have seen pacemakers recalled to install a critical patch to update firmware against cybersecurity issues, as well as cybersecurity warnings for insulin pumps from the FDA and Health Canada.
Data analytics is the next step in the evolution of healthcare as it uses data-driven findings to predict and address health issues. Healthcare data analytics can also help to keep track of inventory and access methods and treatments faster than conventional systems. Data analytics is often paired with health information exchanges (HIEs) to provide safer and more personalized care based on patients’ medical history, chronic conditions and medications. Healthcare data analytics software extracts, translates and synthesizes vast amounts of data to reduce costs, involve patients more in their own health and wellness and improve patient outcomes.
Opportunities and practical applications of data analytics in healthcare
Data analytics in healthcare relies on big data (vast quantities of digitized information) that gets consolidated and analyzed. The application of data analytics in healthcare has life-saving outcomes as it uses data of a subset or a particular individual to prevent potential epidemics, cure diseases and cut down on healthcare costs. Here are a few of the opportunities and practical applications of data analytics in healthcare.
Predictive analytics for personalized treatments
Predictive data analytics is the process of using historical data in order to make predictions that are personalized to each individual. Typically, analytics tools use information from millions of patients to help doctors make data-driven decisions and improve the delivery of care. Predictive data analytics helps to identify individuals who are at an elevated risk of developing chronic conditions based on lab tests, biometric data and patient-generated health data. Physicians can provide insight on lifestyle changes, wellness activities and enhanced services that can help patients avoid long-term health problems. This is particularly useful for patients with complex medical histories and suffering from multiple conditions,
Data analytics to advance telemedicine
Data analytics and telemedicine go hand in hand as it helps to empower physicians and patients and offers opportunities for remote patient monitoring and remote clinical services. Smart devices are the future of telehealth monitoring as they monitor a patient’s vitals in real-time and communicate with other devices and cloud health information systems based on data analytics to alert physicians about potential problems and provide analysis on possible interventions. Data analytics in telemedicine can help to predict acute medical events – this doctors to alter medication dosages to avert negative outcomes and prevent deterioration of patients’ conditions. Telemedicine also cuts down on costs, reduces the need for hospital visits and allows patients to live healthier and more comfortable lives.
Data analytics for real-time alerting
Hospitals have started employing clinical decision support (CDS) software that analyzes medical data on the spot and provides health care experts with suggestions as they make prescriptive decisions. However, in cases where patients are unable to make frequent hospital visits, doctors recommend wearables that collect patients’ data and send it to the cloud continuously. This data is analyzed continuously so that the system can identify potential problems and send real-time alerts to physicians. Doctors can then contact patients immediately to administer medications to prevent problem escalation.
AristaMD, an innovative telehealth platform that delivers primary care providers timely and documented specialist insight, announced today the launch of an app allowing its providers to easily transfer images as part of the eConsult platform. The new web-based AristaMD Photo App is an easy-to-access, streamlined, and HIPAA-compliant solution that further enhances electronic consultation efficiency and effectiveness for cases needing visual references—most commonly the dermatology consult.
AristaMD, which launched in 2013, aims to improve healthcare outcomes by connecting its thousands of participating payers and providers to specialists through eConsults. It is already proven to deliver cost-effective, more timely access to specialty care. Providers simply use their mobile phone to take photos through the app, which are automatically and securely saved exclusively to the AristaMD platform, then continue to process their referral order and eConsult as usual.
There are fewer practicing dermatologists in rural regions. Geographic barriers compound the issue of long wait times for specialist appointments. According to a recent report,“since 2009 patient wait times for a dermatology appointment have increased by 46 percent, or from an average of 22.1 days to 32.3 days in 2017.” Timely access to care for dermatological issues can have a significant impact on patient health, as conditions include life-threatening and quickly progressing conditions such as skin cancer. Researchers have found “providing specialty treatment to a potential melanoma within 14 days of diagnosis could improve a patient’s prognosis by 20 percent.”
Use of AristaMD’s eConsults have proven highly effective with 81 percent of dermatology consults replacing a face-to-face visit with a dermatologist. The Photo App will continue improving patient access to this specialty care for even more case uses.
“Currently, patients are waiting anywhere from two to four months for a specialist appointment, but the reality is that a large portion of those specialist referrals are not needed,” said Brooke LeVasseur, CEO of AristaMD. “The new AristaMD Photo App will help PCPs continue to significantly reduce unnecessary face-to-face referrals in even more cases needing visual documentation. This marks one of many product innovations my team has been working on to expand the benefits of eConsults to as many patients as possible.”
In response to the rapid rise of community-based healthcare programs around the country, Graphium Health is leveraging its history in developing intelligent software for healthcare professionals to launch FieldMed, a dedicated community health software platform. The new software is the first of its kind to offer paramedics readily accessible, accurate and HIPAA-compliant data capture capabilities to better serve patients in community health programs.
Community health paramedicine is community-based healthcare that utilizes certified paramedics to facilitate non-emergent response resources and treatments in the home of patients. Created in an effort to close the gap between 911 emergency response and home healthcare, community health programs provide efficient and effective patient care, while reducing emergency calls, hospital readmissions, and overall costs to cities, fire departments, hospitals and patients. Programs are currently active in over 500 cities nationwide.
Through FieldMed’s intelligent software, community health programs are empowered with in-depth patient data and trends, such as vitals and labs, food and shelter needs, and environmental risks, allowing paramedics to know and understand their patients better than ever before and deliver focused care for the patient’s unique needs. With FieldMed’s reporting capabilities, community health programs can provide enhanced patient care, while reducing lost hours and resources for paramedics, city fire/EMS departments and hospitals.
“Having served as a community health paramedic, I’ve seen the need for this software first-hand, as it allows paramedics to track data points that previously didn’t exist in other EMR systems,” said Daniel Frey, co-founder and vice president of business development at FieldMed. “FieldMed is delivering a groundbreaking advancement for community health programs, now empowering paramedics to access and track patient data to provide the best possible care. Instead of an automatic trip to the hospital, paramedics can now better track the root of 911 calls, particularly for non-emergent needs, such as food, shelter, environmental risks, and more.”
FieldMed was created by a team of experienced paramedics alongside the founders of the healthcare software provider Graphium Health, who developed intelligent anesthesia technology that advances how practices operate by providing automated data capture, MACRA-compliant reporting, and billing integrations.
Daniel Dura
Daniel Dura, co-founder and CEO of FieldMed and Graphium Health, added: “Through our work with Graphium, we saw an immediate need in the healthcare industry for a software platform to streamline community health patient care. FieldMed is transforming community healthcare by creating technology that allows providers to capture rich data which, in turn, helps them to prioritize patient care. This leads to better patient outcomes, better use of city and hospital resources and overall creates better communities.”
Randy Barker, co-founder of FieldMed and Graphium Health, continued “In our work, we want to create real solutions that make a lasting difference for not only the healthcare providers, but ultimately for the patients. Community health programs are revolutionizing emergency responses for both paramedics and patients, and coupled with FieldMed’s innovative software, the opportunities to enhance patient care and reporting capabilities are endless.”
FieldMed is now available nationwide and offers a variety of pricing structures based on specific program needs. To learn more about FieldMed and the software’s capabilities, visit www.fieldmed.com.
The way we live has changed beyond all expectations in the last few decades. Thanks to amazing developments in modern medicine, people are living longer. Also, we are expected to work longer hours and commit more time to our professional lives, which can lead to strain on the family, and other difficulties too.
There was an age where, when a family included elderly persons or perhaps infirm, they would be looked after by other family members. Everybody put aside a bit of their time to help Grandma, for example, and nothing was thought of it. Today, things are not so easy. We grow up, have our own family and lead busy working lives, leaving very little time to give to our elderly or infirm family members.
The answer for many people is to take the decision to put grandma or grandpa in a residential care home. Yet, the home they live in may have been their home for most of their life, so why should they be forced to leave it? This is why the demand for professional private home help is booming, as more people are deciding that their elderly loved ones should live out their lives in the comfort of their homes. What does it entail? Here, we have a closer look at the factors you need to consider when making the decision to enlist private home help.
What is Required?
First, we should say that in most cases, finding a way for your elders to remain in their own home is the least stressful choice for them. It is an upheaval at any age to have to move from one place to another, but for elderly persons, going from home to a place full of strangers is not going to be conducive to good health. This is one reason why private home help services are so important these days.
What is important to consider is the level of help the individual will need. If, for example, they are simply of-old age and finding it hard to get about – or perhaps want a bit of company every now and again – then there are many carers who can attend once a day, for example, and simply make sure that all is well and have a chat with the patient.
If, on the other hand, the person concerned has medical requirements, then it will be that they need someone who fully understands their condition, and who can ensure they get the medication and treatment they need, when they need it. Professional care providers will be able to assess the needs of a patient and supply the care needed, via properly trained carers for whom the job is not just a job, but a passion and – in many cases – a calling.
Home Help and Other Services
While everyone would like to be able to dedicate time to doing their elderly loved one’s shopping, for example, or perhaps do their laundry, ironing and keep the house clean and tidy, busy lives and commitments to family and work mean that they may not be able to set aside the time to do so regularly enough.
The emergence of different cutting-edge medical devices is a positive sign that the medical technology landscape is in excellent state. For many years, medical technology is there to solve health problems and improve our daily lives. So, it’s great to hear that the advancements in technology today promise us much better health and wellness.
Now, let’s look at those gadgets that assist many of us in our medical conditions, keep us in good shape, and prevent us from getting diseases. Read on below.
iHealth Wireless Smart Gluco-Monitoring System
Are you looking for a portable, high-tech, FDA-approved glucometer? Well, this Wireless Smart Gluco-Monitoring System developed by iHealth Lab Inc. is for you. This gadget measures glucose levels in your blood and displays the results on your smartphone.
The device has a simple yet sophisticated design, and it’s compatible with Apple and Android smartphones. You just have to download the Smart-Gluco app to keep a record of your glucose levels and share it with your doctor.
The Gluco-Monitoring System also comes with ten lancets, ten testing strips, lancing device, and a carry bag.
Muse Brain Sensing Headband
The Muse Brain Sensing headband tracks the activity in your brain while you’re meditating and sends the data to your smartphone, tablet, or computer via Bluetooth. This monitoring is done thanks to the seven electroencephalographic (EEG) sensors built in the device.
This unique gadget provides real-time feedback on your brain activity, and it’s specially designed to relieve and manage stress. For instance, it provides you with information on how to calm your mind and gives you motivational rewards to encourage you to meditate.
PainPod
If you are experiencing a type of chronic pain in your life, you’ll probably give everything to solve your medical condition. Now, do you want to hear some good news? Well, there’s a popular gadget now that can get rid of the pain that’s tormenting you. I’m talking about the PainPod.
The PaidPod is a wearable device powered by a set of microcurrents and bioelectrical technology, which its creators say is the very first in the world. This technology knows how the peripheral nervous and body systems work. It helps in relieving pain caused by a medical condition and speedy recovery of muscle tissues after physical training.
Of course, there are no painkiller pills that you have to take. You simply have to attach the pods on the part of the body that’s in pain, and then you’ll have to wait for several minutes before the pain goes away. This device is FDA-approved.
Muhdo DNA Profiler
Good health can be achieved by giving your body the essential food nutrients and doing some physical activities that your body needs. Most of the time, it can mean having a personalized nutrition plan and physical workouts.
Now, how do you know that your body requires this food and that workout if you don’t know about your genetic makeup yourself? Well, DNA profiling and analysis is what you need first.
Muhdo is a firm that specializes in genetic profiling and analysis to help you make the most of your genetics and provide you with the best health and fitness regimen that’s right for your body.
You just have to buy the Muhdo kit, which includes a tube that you have to spit on for DNA testing. The Muhdo medical team will analyze that sample, and then they will send you a highly personalized report of your DNA. There’s an app that you have to download to access your DNA information, as well as the nutrition and fitness plan designed for you.
Casio G-Shock GBA800-7A
If you want to have an iconic digital watch and a fitness device at the same time, you must have this Casio G-Shock GBA800-7A. This wristwatch makes your sports activities and physical workouts more fun with its 3-axis accelerometer that tracks your steps, countdown timer, and lap recorder.
You can also access a host of functions of the device via a smartphone app. Using the app, you can track and calculate your calorie levels and plan your physical activities. If you want to buy this watch and other Casio timepieces, you can visit thewatchcompany.com for that purpose.
Takeaway
As the saying goes, health is wealth. Nowadays, we are fortunate because we are living in an era when advancements in medical technology are booming. We have all the gadgets that help us in getting healthy, assist us in our medical conditions, and prevent us from getting sick. We must take advantage of technology to make ourselves healthy and free from diseases.
Unfortunately, nurse burnout has reached epidemic proportions. That’s not to illicit hopelessness, rather it’s a call to action.
Nurses comprise of the largest healthcare workforce in the United States. According to The American Nurses Association, by 2022 there will be more registered nurse jobs available than any other profession in the US. And with an aging population—those of the Baby Boomer generation are moving towards increased health care needs—now is the time to look for resources to prepare for the future.
For context, in 2011, 41 million Americans were over 65 and in 2019 that number rose to 71 million. The number of Americans over 80 years old reached 12.7 million in 2018 up from 11.2 million in 2010. Aptly called “the graying of America” this trend is one to take note of for healthcare administrators who may be seeing a few grays too, as they try to prepare their workforce for the future.
The good news is that we’re beginning to understand and reduce the stressors nurses face that can accelerate turnover. The industry is taking note and conducting nurse surveys to get to the heart of the matter.
Through our research at CareThrough, we’ve learned that nurses on the front lines face a myriad of forces hindering their ability to deliver quality care. From increased patient ratios, understaffing, overtime hours coupled with a shortage of nurses due to many leaving the profession, it’s no wonder health systems nationwide are concerned with nurse burnout, and how best to curtail the effects.
Solutions
One health system implemented routine check-ins with nurses, utilizing 60 and 90 day periods to ensure morale remains high, and to solicit feedback. This method, though incredibly important, still leaves nurses unsupported during the time between check-ins. In another hospital I visited, nurses were supported with nurse techs, although sometimes there was only one tech per unit. As you can imagine, several nurses relying on the support of only one tech performing clerical and clinical duties may limit the level of optimization health systems would like to gain.
Every day, similar scenarios of imbalanced support take place in hospitals and Emergency Departments across the country. Nurses, overburdened by administrative duties, lack the bandwidth to deliver the most effective patient care. Working long hours coupled with a feeling of overwhelm lead to lack of job satisfaction. Depression poses a health risk to nurses themselves.
At CareThrough, we’ve found that embedding dedicated, highly skilled support adds value simply and efficiently. For successful nurse workflows, Nurse Care Team Assistants, under the supervision of nurses, are able to mitigate the daily burdens of patient care. CTAs comfort round on patients, take vital signs, perform ancillary tasks, assist with hydration, blood draws and much more to ensure nurses work top-of-license.
Telemedicine is a booming industry. Hundreds of companies are providing virtual physician visits via videoconferencing technology to individuals at home, at school and in the office. A segment of this market consists of companies that provide telemedicine services to hospitals, so patients can get virtual bedside care from physicians and specialists round-the-clock—a big advantage, especially in rural hospitals hit hardest by the physician shortage.
The Internet of Things (IoT) market is booming, with IHS Markit forecasting there will be 
Data analytics is the next step in the evolution of healthcare as it uses data-driven findings to predict and address health issues. Healthcare data analytics can also help to keep track of inventory and access methods and treatments faster than conventional systems. Data analytics is often paired with health information exchanges (HIEs) to provide safer and more personalized care based on patients’ medical history, chronic conditions and medications. Healthcare data analytics software extracts, translates and synthesizes vast amounts of data to reduce costs, involve patients more in their own health and wellness and improve patient outcomes.
AristaMD
The way we live has changed beyond all expectations in the last few decades. Thanks to amazing developments in modern medicine, people are living longer. Also, we are expected to work longer hours and commit more time to our professional lives, which can lead to strain on the family, and other difficulties too.
Are you looking for a portable, high-tech, FDA-approved glucometer? Well, this Wireless Smart Gluco-Monitoring System developed by iHealth Lab Inc. is for you. This gadget measures glucose levels in your blood and displays the results on your smartphone.
The Muse Brain Sensing headband tracks the activity in your brain while you’re meditating and sends the data to your smartphone, tablet, or computer via Bluetooth. This monitoring is done thanks to the seven electroencephalographic (EEG) sensors built in the device.
If you are experiencing a type of chronic pain in your life, you’ll probably give everything to solve your medical condition. Now, do you want to hear some good news? Well, there’s a popular gadget now that can get rid of the pain that’s tormenting you. I’m talking about the PainPod.
Good health can be achieved by giving your body the essential food nutrients and doing some physical activities that your body needs. Most of the time, it can mean having a personalized nutrition plan and physical workouts.
If you want to have an iconic digital watch and a fitness device at the same time, you must have this Casio G-Shock GBA800-7A. This wristwatch makes your sports activities and physical workouts more fun with its 3-axis accelerometer that tracks your steps, countdown timer, and lap recorder.