Posts Tagged: coronavirus

Telemedicine Challenges and How to Resolve Them

Posted by & filed under Healthcare, Regulatory News.

telemedicine challenges

Telemedicine is exactly the kind of digital transformation healthcare needed. It’s revolutionized care, saving money, time, and possibly lives. Now, the need for telemedicine is heightened as the world faces the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though telemedicine has evolved, it’s not perfect. Let’s look at some of the current telemedicine challenges and ideas for solving them.

COVID-19 Has Led to Relaxed Restrictions

CMS and other entities have relaxed restrictions on telemedicine in response to the coronavirus. Medicare coverage of telehealth visits has expanded, adding 85 new services that are covered. Following suit, states and payers have rolled back previous restrictions. Coverage has long been a telemedicine challenge, and the environment has prompted swifter change.

While some restrictions have been removed, private insurers still have inconsistencies. Regulation of insurance occurs at the state level. That means that national insurers could have different rules for each state. This issue needs to be addressed with standardization.

Post-pandemic, all payers should reconsider coverage of telehealth visits. Having this option for all patients could encourage better preventive care while allowing providers to treat more efficiently. 

One of the biggest gaps, still unaltered by an ease in restrictions, is that therapy sessions still remain uncovered. Mental health is just as important as physical health. Having easier access to mental health resources could have a significant impact on patients.

Lack of Broadband Internet Access

Even though we live in a digital world, about 10% of the U.S. population doesn’t use it or have it. The internet isn’t considered a public utility. Many have propositioned that local governments should build their own broadband networks instead of relying on internet service providers (ISPs).

There is an opportunity for payers to get involved in the discussion. They could offer incentives for using telemedicine. To determine if this would be cost-effective, payers will need to look at all the costs. Could providing internet to patients without it actually decrease overall healthcare costs? It’s a question CMS and private payers should consider.

Interoperability and Integration

telemedicine data sharing

If you’re new to telemedicine, you may be concerned about how to select and roll out a program. There are lots of pieces that need to fit together, especially regarding interoperability and integration. Can your telemedicine platform gather information or transfer it to your EHR? As a user, you want a tool that fits in with your workflow and makes it easy to collect and share patient records. On top of this, you’ll need to consider HIPAA compliance.

Launching new software is critical right now, but it’s not something you want to deploy without ensuring it’s effective and efficient. What may be holding you back is the additional strain it may put on your internal IT resources. Partnering with a provider that can compliantly share PHI can accelerate deployment and adoption.

Embracing Telemedicine Now and in the Future

Telemedicine is really about offering access. Patients, especially those in rural areas, need expanded options. By solving some of the remaining telemedicine challenges, the healthcare ecosystem can scale and truly provide unabated access.

What do you think? Is telemedicine the future of healthcare?

The New Interoperability Rule and COVID-19: Links, Impacts, and Why It Matters

Posted by & filed under Healthcare, Regulatory News.

interoperability rule and COVID-19

March has been a tumultuous time in healthcare. The new interoperability rule and COVID-19 will be forever connected. Not just because they defined the healthcare space in 2020, but also because of this pandemic shines a bright light on the problems with healthcare data interoperability. As the entire healthcare ecosystem comes together with challenges and solutions related to both, it’s an ideal time to look at the parallels of these events.

The Pandemic and the Patient

interoperability rule data sharing

When faced with the possibility of risks related to becoming infected by the coronavirus, patients want to know the risks. Allowing them easy and unobstructed access to the medical history would help. That’s the central objective of the interoperability rule. 

Patients have questions and concerns. Physicians want to be able to triage rapidly. And the ability to do this digitally is dependent on data. Data that has been historically hard to share or integrate.

The new rule aims to remove information blocking barriers between providers and payers. With this knowledge, patients can take a more active role in their health, which is critical right now.

The outcome of the adoption of the new interoperability rules should allow patients to become fully engaged in their own health. With access to information, patients could track and assess symptoms, find appropriate care, and contribute their own data to public health efforts.

The Role of the Interoperability Rule in COVID-19

There are several ways that interoperability standards play a role in the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Data sharing is more critical than ever

Data sharing has been cumbersome because there were no specific standards or firm mandates to do so. The ability to share data between providers and health officials could make a significant difference in the race to understand and develop a vaccine or treatment for the novel coronavirus. 

Per the rule, data must be standardized through FHIR. This is a unique and compelling opportunity for a new frontier in healthcare data sharing. FHIR offers security, privacy, and efficiency.

Screening, telehealth, and triage apps need to be connected to patient data

telehealth

COVID-19 is highly contagious, which means limited mobility and social distancing. Further, testing for the virus is still slow and disjointed. Many patients are turning to apps for telemedicine, triaging, or screening. But how effective are these apps with the patient’s medical records? 

With information about preexisting conditions, age, gender, and other elements, patient care would be more relevant to that patient. It could also help public health officials understand better risk profiles for the virus. 

The effectiveness of virtual medical interactions is severely compromised without the ability to exchange data between EHRs and other platforms. 

Updating and improving standards of screening and care

Guidelines for screening and treatment of COVID-19 are changing every day. Only a few weeks ago, testing was being limited to those who had traveled outside the country. Now, that’s become irrelevant, as the U.S. has become the epicenter of the pandemic. 

With everything in motion, this is another area where interoperability and data exchange could help. As standards of screening and care evolve, the information can be delivered across multiple systems to provide real-time information to patients.

Will COVID-19 Impact the Interoperability Rule Timeline?

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the 2021 guideline was reasonable. Now, it seems that all impacted parties—providers, payers, and EHR vendors—are finding it difficult to ramp up interoperability processes while also fighting a pandemic. 

CMS is hearing the concerns of stakeholders, easing the reporting requirements for 1.2 million clinicians in the Quality Payment Program and other reporting requirements. CMS also said it’s looking at how COVID-19 will impact compliance but has not extended deadlines as of yet. 

Challenges and Opportunities Ahead

The interoperability rule and COVID-19 present both challenges and opportunities. What’s apparent is that the demand for data sharing is mission-critical at this time. Find out more about PHI data sharing and how we can be your data liaison. Taking action now could make all the difference in the fight against COVID-19.

Keeping Patients Informed in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Posted by & filed under Pharmacy.

coronavirus

As a partner to the healthcare and pharmacy industry, we understand this is an unprecedented time. In response to the coronavirus, or COVID-19, we are working on ways to support our customers and partners. One major concern is the spread of misinformation related to the virus itself as well as ensuring your patients are aware of how your organization is responding. 

How Are You Informing Patients?

Many pharmacies and healthcare entities are sending emails and posting content on their website with specific information related to how to prepare and best practices to take, like those offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). You may also be attempting to communicate with patients things like your hours of operation and if they are changing along with any specific services you are offering, such as pharmacy delivery or drive-thru or drive-up options. 

The time is now to be proactive and inform your patients, calming their fears and ensuring they are aware of the steps you are taking to meet their needs. 

But is an email notification enough? 

Mail May Be a Better Option 

Printwerks, a division of InfoWerks, has been offering innovative print and direct mail solutions, including data-driven, mission-critical communications to pharmacies for years. Much of our direct mail efforts revolve around store closings or rebranding, but the same business model applies here. Getting mission-critical communications to your patients via digital and mail capacities provides you with greater reach. 

Why Direct Mail Can Provide Better Engagement 

Supporting Pharmacy with Coronavirus Response Direct Mail Solutions

 We already have workflows in place to take your database and develop a mail list, which doesn’t require any additional work from you. Printwerks will provide you with several standard templates. 

The front page would include:

  •  Brief intro message
  •  Hours of operation
  •  Services such as delivery, drive-thru, or drive up
  •  Any additional offering or information around your response to the coronavirus

The back page of the letter would include best practices per the CDC and recommended OTC treatments, as advised by health experts.

How It Works

We can get a project moving quickly. Really, it only requires a few steps:

  •  Discovery call to define the scope and provide a quote.
  •  Access to your data (no data quality or filtering tasks for you—we’ll take care of it).
  •  Approval of custom template (includes your branding).
  •  Pieces printed and mailed within 48 hours of data receipt.

Make the Decision to Respond Now

You can learn more about our services today. Simply complete our contact form or email us at emma@infowerks.com.

You can also download a summary sheet.

We greatly appreciate all the healthcare industry and, most importantly, the doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and clinicians on the front lines. We stand with you in solidarity and are grateful for your efforts.