Posts Tagged: COVID-19

HIMSS 2020 Digital Is Now Live

Posted by & filed under Events, Healthcare.

HIMSS 2020 digital

As a HIMSS corporate member and supporter of the healthcare industry, we’re excited to see HIMSS 2020 Digital Experience launched. It was a smart and prudent choice made by HIMSS not to hold this year’s conference. But there is still great content and information available to stakeholders, as we attempt to prepare for today’s challenges and what lies ahead.

What is HIMSS 2020 Digital?

HIMSS created a portal for its members and registered attendees that features digital content on-demand. This content includes COVID-19 resources as well as other critical topics that healthcare is facing. 

HIMSS has made all programming available and the ability to earn continuing education credits. Presentations that were to be given at the conference are also available. Finally, the experience includes a virtual exhibition. Our profile includes content resources related to the coronavirus as well as healthcare data management. 

Staying Connected

HIMSS 2020 Digital offers the entire healthcare community to stay connected during these uncertain times. They also established the COVID-19 Digital Think Tank. This platform allows healthcare professionals from across the world to share best practices on treating the coronavirus pandemic. We urge you to check out these resources.

On-Demand Recordings

The new experience also offers a series of on-demand recordings tackling specific challenges relating to healthcare data and technology. Learn from the experts on how tech is bridging the gap and providing inventive ways to track public health concerns.

Visit the site today to get the complete experience! You can also view all our healthcare data management solutions here.

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.