Telehealth News Recap - July 2021
It can be tough to catch up and keep up with the latest news, trends, interviews, and insights in the virtual care space. That’s why we’re here to do the work for you with our monthly telehealth news recap.
This month we explore how hospital systems in Western Europe are providing support for their clinicians' mental health, and the military health model that should be implemented to help healthcare providers recover from the pandemic. We also take a look at what Biden’s stance on expanding virtual care means for the future of telemedicine, and how physicians are supportive of expanding telehealth but only if certain pain points are addressed.
Trends & Insights
Taking Lessons Learned from Healthcare Communication During Pandemic and Putting Them Forward
McLaren Healthcare shares how it transformed its in-person training model into a remote-first training for their clinicians during the height of the pandemic. The technology helped training become easier and is still utilized today, proving that forced innovation can sometimes prove the best-case scenarios for training.
Read the full article from MobiHealthNews >
In Western Europe, Hospitals Look to Quell the Mental Health Epidemic Among Staff
In response to the growing mental health crisis among clinicians, hospitals in Western Europe implemented initiatives to provide support. Led by the UK’s National Health Service, strategies included weekly bulletins on information relative to clinicians as well as free access to counseling.
Read the full article from MedCity News >
Tough & Engaging Conversations
Give Clinicians Time to Recover from the Pandemic
An argument that clinicians need a recovery period focused on letting healthcare providers take a step back from what they experienced last year and work on their individual healing. The model, adopted from military health, focuses on a reprieve from their time in service.
Read the full article from Harvard Business Review >
Opinion: Let’s Banish the Term ‘Patient’ from the Health Care Lexicon
A discussion about flipping the term 'patient' on its head. Many industries have changed the term used for the people they serve, yet the term patient still suggests a submissive role. Perhaps if we change the term from patient to client, people will take more ownership and responsibility for their health.
Read the full article from STAT News >
Policy & Regulatory Updates
Biden Administration 'Absolutely Supportive' of Efforts to Expand Virtual Care, HHS Official Says
President Biden’s top health official signaled that the administration supports expanding virtual care long term. Over 43 new bills related to telehealth were introduced throughout the pandemic, and Biden’s team wants to ensure equity and accountability when virtual care coverage is expanded.
Read the full article from Fierce Healthcare >
The Affordable Care Act: What's Its Future?
The U.S Supreme Court upheld the ACA for the third time since the law passed in 2010. After 11 years, some provisions have changed while other portions have not. There are three noticeable distinctions between the healthcare marketplace in 2020 and 2021. Those differences will shape the future of the Affordable Care Act.
Read the full article from The Keckley Report >
Growth & Innovation
Physicians in Favor of Permanent Telehealth Expansion
A recent study from JMIR Human Factors found that physicians want to expand telehealth permanently — as long as limitations of the virtual care model are considered. As one clinician states, “The goal of advancing telehealth is to increase access, and market concentration can make things work backward. We cannot ignore this if this is going to be the next big thing."
Read the full article from Healthcare IT News >
A Bootcamp for Digital Health Executives Seeks to Demystify the Inner-Workings of the Drug Industry
Naomi Fried explains in a recent interview that with the right training, startups can better understand their audience and the business concerns that drive decision-making, rather than misunderstanding both. Her 10-week bootcamp, PharmaStars, helps digital health companies understand the inner workings of the pharmaceutical industry and how its executives think about technology.