Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
District 48 Illinois State Representative Terra Costa Howard (D-Lombard) joined the DCMS Governmental Affairs Committee's Zoom meeting in June, participating in discussions about telehealth, pandemic risks to the viability of our health care system, COVID-19 spikes as states reopen, and life as a legislator under the state's stay at home directives. A freshman legislator, Costa Howard took office in January 2019. Her district includes Glen Ellyn, Lombard, and parts of Wheaton, Lisle and Villa Park. While her first session was marked by intense legislative activity, this year saw the balance dramatically shift to constituent services as the pandemic took hold. Among those reaching out to Costa Howard are health care workers concerned about lost income and jobs because of the crisis. "I don't know the answer," Sasha Demos, MD, told Costa Howard, "but this problem is likely to persist and it places physicians and other health care workers at risk not only in terms of health, but also financially." Asked about their experience with telehealth, Committee members endorsed the practice and voiced optimism that it would remain a meaningful part of medical practice going forward. Costa Howard shared her disappointment that an Illinois telehealth bill failed in the State Senate after passing the House, and promised to revisit the topic.
Costa Howard joined the Committee in expressing concern about the public's growing pandemic fatigue. "How do we convince people that the virus is still here and a risk?" she asked. There were no ready answers beyond the expectation that the pandemic would speak for itself.
Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
Telemedicine Vendor Options
This list summarizes the key functionality of the various telemedicine products as reported by the vendors on their own websites. These companies have not been reviewed or vetted by the DuPage County Medical Society (DCMS); this compiled information is provided strictly as a reference for physicians seeking to implement telemedicine into their practice. The list is not exhaustive.
This information is intended to serve solely as a general resource. No recommendation or endorsement by the DuPage County Medical Society for the business(es) or service(s) listed is expressed or implied. This information does not constitute legal advice. DCMS is not responsible for the recommendations of or the quality of the work provided by any of the parties listed.
Physicians must be sure to execute a business associate agreement with the telemedicine vendor.
•Currently no integrated telemedicine, but several vendors integrate directly to athenahealthAPI and offer interfaces for free; see athenahealth marketplace foroptions
Aprima EHR •Plan to roll out telemedicine options later this year, offering integrated video systemfrom within EHR and will allow clinicians to document in real-time in main chart and avoid duplication, mixes of PDFs that aren’t structured,etc.
Pricing:
•TBA
Solution Series EHR & Practice Partner EHR
Functionality/Options:
•Telehealth part of complete patient communications suite that includes reminders, securetext, blast notifications, online scheduling, etc. Clinicians can invite patients to video chat and have open while documenting directly intochart
•E-prescribing software and organic clinical decisionsupport
•Population segmentation: eligibility + claims – support population health management or manage billing andclaims
•Patient outreach – Patients can opt in to receive a call to help them schedule anappointment, based on concern and reason for referral out of thesystem
•Reporting–Accessstandardandcustomizedreportsinareassuchasclinicaloperations,service utilization and visit volumes, clinician performance, andmore
Pricing:
•$159/month/authorized clinician user plus a one-time setupfee Zoom | zoom.us/healthcare
Functionality/Options:
•High-quality video conferencing, even in low-bandwidthenvironment
•Connect physicians, patients, and specialists for regular or urgentcare
•Physicians can see who is waiting while maintaining patientprivacy
•Recorded sessionreview
•Enhanced collaborationfeatures
•Internal communications between administrative and medicalstaff
•Integrates seamlessly withEpic
•EHR and medical deviceintegrations
•HD video andaudio
•HIPAA (signed BAA) and PIPEDA/PHIPA compliance with complete end-to-end 256-bitAES encryption.
•Never has access to PHI/doesn’t persistently store transmittedinformation
Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
New guidelines released this week urge millions more people to be screened for hepatitis C. The call for expanded screening for Americans ages 18 to 79 is the first change since 2013 when U.S. health authorities recommended all baby boomers get a hepatitis C test because that age group appeared at particularly high risk. Prompting the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Monday recommendation for expanded testing is the rise in hepatitis C stemming from the opioid crisis. Sharing needles is the main way that hepatitis C spreads in the U.S.
Health experts estimate that only about half of people with hepatitis C know they are infected. Finding infection early is critical now that drug treatments are available that can cure most people and the cost of those medications has declined. The task force concluded that more widespread screening would ultimately save costs, giving its recommendation a rating that requires insurance companies to cover testing without patient co-pays. About 2.4 million people in the U.S. are living with hepatitis C, and there were an estimated 44,700 new infections in 2017 alone.