05/24/2012
Caregivers are making greater use of online communities to seek out health information and social support. Certain websites allow family members to track medical information, while others connect users with a larger community of caregivers. New York Times' "The New Old Age."
05/24/2012
Pennsylvania's Medicaid program has expanded coverage for telehealth services from more types of specialty physicians. The expansion allows physicians to provide various medical services during telehealth visits, rather than just consultations. Modern Healthcare, MedCity News.
05/17/2012
The Federal Communications Commission has announced a plan to allocate spectrum for medical body area networks, which use wireless sensors to monitor patients and transmit data to a central computer. FCC is set to vote on the plan next week. The Hill's "Hillicon Valley" et al.
05/14/2012
Rep. Steve King has introduced a bill that would prohibit federal telehealth grants from going to health care providers who use videoconferencing tools to prescribe the abortion medication mifepristone. The bill has 47 co-sponsors. The Hill's "Floor Action Blog," CQ HealthBeat.
05/11/2012
A study presented at an American Heart Association meeting shows that patients who receive telemonitoring and blood pressure management support from a pharmacist are more likely to lower their blood pressure than those who do not receive the support. Healthcare IT News.
05/09/2012
Some of HHS' newly announced innovation awards will go to projects that have a health IT component. Emory University, University Hospitals of Cleveland and George Washington University received awards for projects involving telehealth. Modern Healthcare et al.
05/08/2012
A telehealth network allows oncology nurses take certification courses in chemotherapy and biotherapy, according to new research. The study is based on a telehealth project that helped 174 nurses receive their certification. Oncology Nurse Advisor, FierceHealthIT.
05/07/2012
Health insurers and employers are offering telehealth-based physician appointments to curb costs and improve access to care. However, some state medical boards' licensing requirements make it difficult for doctors to participate in telehealth programs. Kaiser Health News/USA Today.
05/03/2012
A study presented at the American Telemedicine Association's annual meeting finds that a dental telehealth program increased oral health treatment rates among children of migrant farm workers. The teledentistry program offered consultations at Head Start centers. Medscape.
05/01/2012
Employers and health insurers increasingly are using online games to encourage healthier behavior among workers. However, researchers note that there is a lack of data showing that such games are an effective strategy to improve employee wellness. Wall Street Journal.
04/17/2012
According to a new Archives of Internal Medicine study, seniors with certain medical conditions who used telemonitoring systems had about the same rates of hospitalizations and emergency department visits as seniors who did not use the telemonitoring technology. Reuters.
04/16/2012
Insurer Highmark and telehealth provider Teladoc have launched a telehealth pilot program involving 10,000 Highmark members. The program aims to reduce the number of Highmark members who visit the emergency department for minor illnesses. InformationWeek et al.
04/13/2012
Health insurers, government entities and researchers are looking into in-home monitoring technology that could help elderly individuals stay in their homes rather than in hospitals or nursing homes. Stakeholders say such tools could significantly reduce health care costs. Reuters.
04/11/2012
The California Telehealth Network plans to use a recent $700,000 donation from UnitedHealthcare to expand telehealth training and provide technical support for rural and underserved hospitals and clinics across the state. Sacramento Business Journal, Healthcare IT News.
04/10/2012
Starting on May 7, the Department of Veterans Affairs intends to waive copayments for veterans receiving in-home telehealth services. The agency said it proposed the change because it wants to improve veterans' access to care. Health Data Management, CQ HealthBeat.