With such a hustle and bustle around cryptocurrencies, spot trading, or margin trading at Bitcoin Broker, could you ever imagine that blockchain technology can be helpful in the healthcare domain?
Possibly, the first thing that comes to mind once you hear blockchain is a virtual currency. However, this is not the only sphere where blockchain technology is applied. We have prepared for you the list of healthcare use cases. Read on to discover them.
Electronic health records are getting more and more accessible with blockchain
Blockchain for healthcare is most popular at the moment because it keeps our medical records safe and secure. In the healthcare industry, security is one of the biggest concerns. In the period between 2009 and 2017, over 176 million patient records were exposed as a result of data breaches. Data stolen by the perpetrators included credit card and banking details, as well as health and genomic testing records.
As technology is able to keep an incorruptible, decentralized, transparent log of all patient data, blockchain is rife with security applications. As well as being transparent, blockchain is also private, concealing a user’s identity with complex codes that can protect sensitive medical data. Patients, doctors, and healthcare providers can also share information quickly and safely due to the technology’s decentralized nature.
Managing electronic health records (EHR) can be challenging. Healthcare providers may have different EHRs for the same patient, depending on their location. CareCloud hopes to change that with APIs and blockchain technology. Their goal is to give patients more control. Patients will have the ability to authorize the exchange of medical records between doctors. An API that runs on the Hyperledger blockchain platform is currently available.
Data of all patients is kept secure
One more example of such a blockchain-based program is Akiri. This company provides the healthcare industry with a network-as-a-service that protects patient data while transporting it. As a network and protocol, Akiri does not store any data; instead, it establishes policies and configures data layers in real-time with the goal of verifying the data’s sources and destinations. Akiri makes sure healthcare data remains secure and is only shared with authorized parties when they need it.
If you are reading this, you already know that the fee-for-service model conflicts with the delivery of quality healthcare and the ongoing optimal management of chronic conditions. The model incentivizes the quantity of services rendered and disincentivizes preventive care. As a result, fee-for-service is highly inefficient for payers and not aligned with the sustainability of healthcare delivery systems.
Value-based care has presented a better model for providers, payers, self-insured employers, and patients alike. However, it was not until recently that value-based care was positioned for adoption at scale. The challenge in adoption has always been the realignment of financial incentives and focus on long-term optimization of patient outcomes. New technology platforms have had to evolve to the point they enable fully integrated analytics, population health management, and administrative capabilities to realize the transformational opportunity we have in front of us.
Value-based care is the path to translating early intervention into healthcare savings. In 2016, a study on primary care spending in the United States showed total healthcare costs increased from $810 billion to $1.6 trillion.Specialty care accounted for 75% of healthcare spending in the United States. According to the CDC, four in 10 Americans have two or more chronic conditions requiring continued treatment by specialists.
Comprehensive value-based care requires identifying health risks and chronic conditions early. It necessitates consistent monitoring of an individual’s health and the earliest possible interventions through primary care, and specialists when necessary. In value-based healthcare, getting patients to high-performing specialists, backed by clinical outcomes data, must be prioritized to avert severe conditions and their corresponding high costs. Early intervention is proven to drive the most optimal patient outcomes while significantly reducing cost. Meaningful, specialized intervention is one of the most powerful strategies for saving lives—and therefore, it should be at the heart of advancing healthcare.
Value-based Models are Ready for Adoption
Why isn’t there complete adoption of value-based care, given its alignment with patient outcomes and cost reduction? The factors are varied, but the perceived financial risks and lack of technology enablement have held back adoption – until now.
By Mark Clements, MD, PhD, CPI, FAAP, chief medical officer, Glooko, Inc.
Seemingly overnight, healthcare discovered and fully embraced digital health solutions. Just months after the 2020 nationwide lockdown, telehealth visits, virtual clinical trials and countless remote patient care technologies became the new normal.
Most of these technologies addressed what the American Medical Association calls “an epidemic” of chronic diseases. RPM solutions are especially suitable for these complex conditions, which typically require the frequent collection of physiological and/or patient-generated data from self-reporting tools, mobile devices, fitness wearables or other biosensors.
Diabetes has long been a focal point for technological innovations to personalize at-home patient care, beginning with the first glucose meters for patients in 1980. The need for such solutions has never been more urgent. A 2020 CDC report estimates that 122 million U.S. adults – one-third of the population — either have or are at risk of developing diabetes.
Here are three noteworthy recent advances in personalized diabetes care management that show the vast potential of digital health solutions to revolutionize both care management for chronic diseases and clinical research.
Online therapy has made treatment for mental health not only affordable but easily accessible as well. It offers a great treatment solution for people without reliable transportation, unconventional working hours or lack of health insurance.
With the rapid advancement in the world of online video chat and messaging, a vast range of therapy online options has sprung up for people to choose from.
To help you determine which online therapy site is best suited for your needs, we have carefully evaluated and scoped out five of the most popular mental therapy sites by paying particular attention to the things that matter most to those looking for mental health support online.
BetterHelp
Depending on the treatment needed, this amazing app offers among other things, couple counseling, family counseling, and individual counseling. Their trained psychologists and clinical social workers then match you to the right counselor after checking your filled-up questionnaire. If you don’t approve of whom you have been paired with, a simple email to BetterHelp can help change that.
Once you have been successfully matched you can start contacting your counselor in a private and secure chat room or even schedule a live chat with your counselor. For those who wish to speak out their problems out loud, you can schedule a phone call for up to sixty minutes with your therapist.
Though BetterHelp paid services are not covered by health insurance companies, they charge a reasonable $35-$80 per week with the option of a 7-day free trial which can be canceled at any time. For those unemployed or going through financial difficulties, BetterHelp offers a 40% discount.
Finally, for someone who never wishes to leave the home and at the same time enjoy the ease of 24×7 texting and communication, there is nothing better than BetterHelp. Keep in mind though that this app should never be considered as a substitute for emergencies and when in immediate danger.
Modern medicine is constantly evolving. Whether it’s wireless stethoscope or infrared scanning that can detect minuscule cancers, it’s nothing short of amazing. And as we continue to dive deeper into technology, as a healthcare provider, you might be wondering how this can benefit both you and your patients. Read on to learn about the latest health IT trends and how they can help your practice.
Virtual Care
During the height of COVID, healthcare facilities had no choice but to find ways to treat patients. And while virtual care isn’t necessarily new, it became the go-to choice to treat patients who otherwise wouldn’t be seen. And even though most medical establishments are seeing patients in office, virtual care is still being utilized.
Greenway Health announced that its Board of Directors has named Pratap Sarker as chief executive officer effective January 1, 2022. Mr. Sarker, who has served as President of Greenway Health since August 2020, succeeds Richard Atkin who has served as CEO since 2018. Mr. Atkin will transition to the role of Executive Chairman of the Greenway Health board.
“Pratap Sarker brings the ideal combination of leadership, experience and vision as the new Greenway Health CEO for this next chapter in the evolution and growth of the company,” said Atkin. “As we continue to enhance our product offerings, invest in our technology platform and deliver measurable client outcomes, we are uniquely positioned for continued growth in 2022. With a seamless transition to CEO, Pratap’s leadership will continue to be invaluable to the expansion of solutions we offer our clients nationwide.”
Sarker joined Greenway Health in 2020 as president. His vision and ownership for client relationship building and his passion for growth has revolutionized the Greenway brand, helping to actualize the company’s purpose of creating successful providers and empowering patients, resulting in healthier communities. Prior to joining Greenway Health, Sarker spent three years as president at Conduent, where he led a multi-billion-dollar business in mission-critical technology and BPO services.
“Greenway Health is primed for growth and market opportunity,” said Sarker. “Together with a strong senior management team, we will continue to evolve our company and transform the healthcare technology sector with products and services that enhance practice growth and deliver innovative, client-centric solutions. I look forward to guiding Greenway Health into its next phase as an industry leader in this exciting market.”
Sarker, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from Savitribai Phule Pune University, has over 25 years of experience and achievements garnered from helping organizations drive results through strategic development and a focus on execution.
If you’re in the healthcare industry, you know how important it is to have efficient and reliable technology to support your business operations. Leading among these reasons is the need for you to have a secure environment protected from the prevalent cybersecurity threats and to maintain your healthcare data privacy. For instance, certain apps can help you connect with your clients better. However, you have to choose whether you want to host it on-premises or in the cloud.
Even though the cloud offers a wide range of advantages, many healthcare facilities are still hesitant to adopt this technology. However, if you’ve been thinking of transferring your app to the cloud, you should go for a service provider who specializes in healthcare cloud-based services. Moreover, professional services such as True North’s IT services for healthcare account for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) Act of 1996, which standardizes the protection of sensitive patient health information.
Thousands of physicians leave their homes every day and travel across the country to fill both short- and long-term needs. Called locum tenens, this group of traveling, temporary physicians often treat patients who would otherwise not receive care.
History of locums
The idea of a traveling, temporary physician was created in 1979 to help address rural physician burnout and the subsequent abandonment of practices. At the time many physicians didn’t have resources to take time off for CME courses, vacations or to even take a sick day. The University of Utah’s College of Medicine and Intermountain Healthcare created the Health Systems Research Institute. The institute’s purpose was to bring rural doctors to the University of Utah for courses to help them run their practices efficiently. The program assembled a network of doctors to cover the practices while the rural physicians were attending the program.
Word of the work being done by HSRI spread and soon there were demands for temporary coverage at facilities around the country and the locum tenens industry and the company that would eventually become CHG Healthcare was born.
