Telehealth News Recap - August 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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In this month’s roundup, we're sharing a report on the road to increasing telehealth equity through policy coherence, a podcast on the first FDA-approved video game treatment for ADHD, key takeaways from Amazon's acquisition of One Medical, and much more.
Trends & Insights
Report: The Roadmap to Telehealth Efficacy: Care, Health, and Digital Equities 📄
The U.S. healthcare system has long struggled to provide affordable and accessible care, especially for Black, Latino, Indigenous, and low-income populations. Telehealth has the potential to increase care equity in these communities, once coverage and reimbursement, medical licensure, and service modality issues are addressed.In this extensive report, researchers from Brookings propose a plan to overcome these issues with a “telehealth 2.0 roadmap” to harmonize the goals of value-based care, health disparities, and digital health access.
The Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings >
Report Reveals Gaps Between Patient Expectations and the Reality of Today's Digital Healthcare Interactions
A report from KLAS found that in-demand digital health solutions have critical gaps to close in order to meet patient expectations for convenience and care quality in the virtual care environment. Although patients report high satisfaction during virtual visits, they are increasingly demanding pre-visit and post-visit conveniences like online scheduling abilities, prescription refill services, and more options for communicating with providers before and after their visit. This article details how organizations can innovate to meet these needs with technology enhancements.
First Opinions & Engaging Conversations
The Future of Health Care Is Here. When Will It Be Everywhere?
“We’ve already built the Ferrari of health care. What’s missing is the road.” In this article, healthcare industry expert, Pratap Khedkar, shares reflections from the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting on global healthcare transformation. Khedkar provides detailed solutions that stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem can adopt to scale digital health innovations globally as a collective.
Policy & Regulatory Updates
Post-Roe Patient Privacy: What Telehealth Companies Should Know
Reproductive healthcare privacy takes on a new meaning in a post-Roe era. As states criminalize abortions, and may even permit private citizens to enforce abortion bans, personal data may be vulnerable, particularly in an increasingly digital society. When can companies and providers release patient data? And what data is susceptible? In this article, Renae Flowers, Wheel's Associate Privacy Counsel, discusses how companies can answer these important questions when navigating a rapidly changing legal environment following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling.
Growth & Innovation
Amazon Scoops Up Primary Care Company One Medical in Deal Valued at $3.9B
In what may be the biggest investment in hybrid care to date, Amazon acquired One Medical last month in a deal for $3.9B. The investment is a part of Amazon’s goal to “reinvent” healthcare. “Together with One Medical’s human-centered and technology-powered approach to healthcare, we believe we can and will help more people get better care, when and how they need it,” said Neil Lindsay, SVP of Amazon Health Services.
Podcast: What if Instead of Pills, You Were Prescribed a Video Game? 🎧
At Akili Interactive, researchers have developed EndeavorRX — the first ever FDA-approved video game for medical treatment for ADHD in children. The therapeutic game, which can be prescribed through telehealth visits and downloaded on mobile devices, is clinically proven to target key areas of the brain that play a role in attention function.
On this episode of the Chasing Life podcast, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and experts from Akili look into the science behind the treatment and how video games have the potential to be used for other cognitive dysfunctions, including autism, depression, and multiple sclerosis.
Wheel News
Wheel Expands Leadership Bench to Continue Powering the Future of Virtual Care
Last month, Wheel welcomed four new marketing and commercial leaders to the team. In this piece, Wheel CEO & Co-Founder, Michelle Davey, introduces Shoshana Deutschkron, Wheel’s first Chief Marketing Officer; Brandon Castel, Vice President of Sales; Daniel DeSantis, Vice President of Partnerships; and Brandon Kelly, Business Lead for Behavioral Health. Learn how these new leaders will impact Wheel’s continued growth in the Medium article.
Webinar: Virtual Care and the Clinician Workforce: Strategies for Attraction and Retention 💻
How can companies effectively attract and retain a virtual clinician workforce amid a Great Resignation that’s upended our healthcare system? In this webinar from Modern Healthcare, Dr. Pooja Aysola, Head of Clinical Operations at Wheel, Daniel Kuzmanovich, Managing Director at The Advisory Board, and Dr. Alissa Erogbogbo, Clinical Medical Director at Maven Clinic, share insights on overcoming challenges to attract and retain a high-quality virtual clinician workforce.
Podcast: Using Virtual-First Care to Improve the Patient and Clinician Experience 🎧
In this episode of MedCity Pivot, Contributor Jeanne Mell and Wheel’s Michelle Davey, discuss the emerging trend of virtual-first care and how Wheel is using its virtual-first care platform to improve the patient and clinician experience.
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