Telehealth News Recap - November 2022
It can be tough to keep up with the latest news in the virtual care space. Wheel's Virtual Care News is a monthly newsletter for stakeholders in the digital health industry. As a subscriber, you'll receive timely information on trending news, regulatory updates, engaging conversations, and key innovations emerging in the space.
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This month we're sharing an exciting milestone announcement of our own, then key details on a new federal ruling that increases patient data access, a podcast exploring how wearable tech data can transform healthcare, a list of can’t-miss speaking sessions at HLTH, and more.
Wheel + GoodRx Care 🎉
Wheel Acquires GoodRx Care Backend Technology to Strengthen Our Virtual-First Care Platform
Yesterday we announced an agreement with GoodRx Care to acquire its virtual care technology, including its clinician-centric EMR, powerful clinical management tools, and configurable patient experience software.
We’ll combine the best of GoodRx Care’s platform with our existing technology, including our end-to-end lab infrastructure and routing API that connects patients with the right clinician, at the right time. Investing and bringing together a comprehensive and flexible platform enables us to provide our customers with more capabilities, support more care models, and expand into new markets.
And it solidifies our leadership position to drive virtual-first care adoption across the broader healthcare ecosystem.
GoodRx has been an incredible partner to Wheel over the years and we’re excited to broaden our long-standing relationship. As part of the deal, we’re proud to continue powering the GoodRx Care service with our underlying technology and leading clinician network.
This is a big milestone in Wheel’s journey — and a giant leap forward in delivering virtual-first care to millions more patients.
Trends & Insights
Call It Data Liberation Day: Patients Can Now Access All Their Health Records Digitally
Power to the patients! October 6th was a milestone day for healthcare data access. Under new federal rules that went into effect last month, healthcare organizations must give patients unfettered access to their health records in digital format. The rule — passed under the 21st Century Cures Act — empowers patients to not only access their health data with ease but also control where their data is shared.
This is a huge step forward for patient empowerment within the healthcare system, and it will be interesting to see how this ruling will impact interoperability.
🎧 Podcast: How Wearable Tech Is Disrupting Medicin
Watch this space — the wearable tech market is booming. Experts predict that 400 million smartwatches will be sold globally each year by 2026, doubling those sold in 2020. But could smartwatches, smart rings, and other wearable health trackers use the data they capture to transform healthcare?
In this 23-minute episode of the New Foundations podcast, The Economist’s Jeremy Kingsley answers this question and more with Tom Hale, CEO of Oura Health, and wearable tech researchers Jessilyn Dunn, Stephen Friend, and Leo Wolansky.
Policy & Regulatory Updates
How Telehealth Companies Can Prepare for 2023 State Privacy Laws
2023 will bring with it new (or amended) comprehensive privacy laws in five states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia. It’s no surprise because when California signed the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) into law in 2018, most industry projections indicated that other states would soon follow suit.
Now, those projections are coming to fruition as the momentum for privacy legislation is at an all-time high. The result has been a patchwork of privacy regulations around the country, with more on the horizon.
With so many different laws, it may seem overwhelming to develop a plan for regulatory compliance if your telehealth company operates across multiple states, but now is the time for your company to prepare if it hasn’t yet begun.
First Opinions & Engaging Conversations
Amazon, CVS, Walmart Are Playing Healthcare’s Long Game
The past few months have been a Wall Street whirlwind with retailers making big healthcare moves. Some critics argue the healthcare industry is too complex for these major retailers to successfully navigate. But others see the recent influx of deals from Amazon, CVS, Walmart, and others as strategic plays in what is likely to be a decades-long journey to healthcare retailer dominance.
In this article from Forbes, contributor Dr. Robert Pearl explores how retailers are approaching their healthcare takeovers in the short, middle, and long term.
From Transactions to Transformation: How To Deliver on the Patient-Centric Promise
We’ve all felt the frustration that comes with going to see a new doctor. Do they accept your insurance? Are they seeing new patients? Can they access your medical records? At times, it can feel like the administrative system is working against the patients it’s supposed to be serving. This article from MedCity News explores ways we can shift healthcare’s focus from process to person with interoperability.
Wheel News
7 Can't-Miss Sessions at HLTH 2022 in Las Vegas
Who’s ready to kick off HLTH 2022 in Vegas this weekend? We are just days away from the biggest healthcare innovation event of the year. With over 100 sessions from 300+ speakers across eight stages, the conference agenda is packed to the brim with thought-provoking sessions you won’t want to miss.
With all these innovators under one roof, it's tough to decide which sessions to attend. That's why we’ve put together our list of the top seven “can’t-miss” sessions at HLTH.
P.S. If you’re heading to HLTH this weekend, be sure to visit Wheel atbooth #3441!
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At Wheel, we believe healthcare will move forward when we amplify the impact of virtual care for more patients. Find out how Wheel can help launch, scale, and sustain your telehealth business.