Literature Review

AMA Advocacy 2024 efforts American Medical Association; by AMA; Updated June 2024, 6/27/24 There are far too many everyday practice challenges interfering with patient care. That’s why the American Medical Association is advocating to keep physicians at the head of the health care team, reform the Medicare physician payment system, relieve the burdens of overused prior authorizations and so much more. [Key advocacy efforts include:]

'We may not ever be fully staffed': Health system C-suites plan for the future Becker's Hospital Review - Leadership & Management; by Laura Dyrda; 6/24/24 After the pandemic, most healthcare leaders experienced a "great resignation" as workers left for other service industries and ever since health systems have been dealing with a lack of skilled labor to backfill the vacancies. "As we have realized we may not ever be fully staffed to the degree we were pre-COVID, we now must augment our existing workforce with technology that extends their capabilities," said Mark Moseley, MD, president of USF Tampa General Physicians and executive vice president of Tampa General Hospital. "This is a two-part challenge. First, we need to deploy technology thoughtfully with sound blocking and tackling, which is expensive in both time and capital. Second, we must train our workforce to use these new technologies to aid them in their daily responsibilities in a manner that does not diminish the ethos of why many of us went into healthcare: the interactions with patients and members of the healthcare team." Physicians and nurses can fall on a wide spectrum of excitement or distaste for incorporating technology into their practice. Some may find it impersonal and challenging to understand while others see it as a tool boosting their capacity. ... [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

A paradigm shift for healthtech CEOs: Increasing patient satisfaction and retention Forbes; by Eric Giesecke; 6/24/24In our hyperconnected world, seamless communication is the norm. From the latest news to customer service chats, consumers expect streamlined interactions. However, the healthcare and healthtech industries have lagged in adopting consumer-friendly practices. ... A patient’s experience is extremely important for healthcare organizations to thrive. It’s important to remember that in the digital age, competitors are not just other healthcare companies. ... So how can we customize experiences better than ever before? One important step is taking the time to understand your organization's current technology. ...

Global digital health outlook and growth report 2024: Care at home and alternative sites will see a growing preference, focus will be on adoption across clinical and operational use cases Classic 96.7 FM; by Business Wire; 6/17/24The digital health industry has maintained a consistent growth trajectory. Investing in technologies that help organizations achieve the quintuple aim of healthcare is a constant priority. However, high inflation and tight monetary policy will impact the investment landscape as it shifts from top-line growth to profitability. ... Change management initiatives will require stakeholder education to understand the pros and cons of newer technology initiatives and work alongside these to improve clinical and operational processes. Top 2024 Digital Health Predictions:

Telehealth can broaden reach of palliative care for lung cancer patients, per MGH study MedCity News; by Frank Vinluan; 6/16/24 Palliative care provided by video was equivalent to in-person visits with a clinician, according to study results presented during the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Investigators say these results indicate telehealth can make palliative care accessible to more cancer patients. ... Guidelines of ASCO and other professional organizations recommend integrating palliative care from the time of a diagnosis of advanced cancer. Nevertheless, many patients don’t get this care, Greer said. On the clinician side, there are not enough specially trained palliative care clinicians, he explained. From the patient perspective, living in a rural area or lacking transportation can make it difficult to access such care.

Telehealth delivers early palliative care as effectively as in-person careAJMC, American Society of Clinical Oncology; by Laura Joszt, MA; 6/2/24 Early palliative care can be delivered via telehealth with equivalent quality-of-life effects as palliative care delivered in person to patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to late-breaking results presented during [a] plenary session at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. Whether the palliative care was delivered in person or via telehealth, the most common topics discussed during the visit were similar and included building and establishing rapport to create a relationship with the patient and their family, identifying symptoms and grading symptom management, and coping with serious illness, explained Joseph Greer, PhD, codirector of the Cancer Outcomes Research & Education Program at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School ...

Telehealth is far from dead, says Providence’s Virtual Care ChiefMedCity News; by Katie Adams; 5/15/24This year has been a messy one for virtual care companies, but that doesn’t mean that telehealth is dead, according to Eve Cunningham, Providence’s chief of virtual care and digital health. In her view, virtual care can definitely still be an important part of the care delivery model — but only if it is embedded into the greater healthcare delivery ecosystem. This year hasn’t been a great one for virtual care companies. Optum shuttered its virtual care unit in April, Walmart closed its virtual care offering (as well as its entire healthcare unit) in May, and two of the country’s largest telehealth providers - Teladoc Health and Amwell - have both enacted major rounds of layoffs this year. But this doesn’t mean telehealth is dead, said Eve Cunningham, chief of virtual care and digital health at Providence, during a Tuesday interview at the Reuters Digital Health conference in San Diego.

6 ways to cut EHR burdens for physicians AMA - American Medical Association; by Sara Berg, MS; 5/7/24 When Jane F. Fogg, MD, MPH, first became a doctor, patient charts were on paper. She looked forward to the rise of the EHR, believing electronic charting could help modernize the care she provided while also empowering herself and her patients. Funny how things turn out. “EHRs are a source of burnout—we have lots and lots of great evidence that has helped us understand the low usability and the high work burden that it adds to physicians,” Dr. Fogg, senior physician adviser at the AMA. ... Here are just a few ways that health systems and organizations can improve EHR workflows to reduce physician burden.

Top 5 AI concerns for nurses Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 5/8/24Nurses have been expressing concern about healthcare artificial intelligence lately, with some even marching in protest against the technology. But what are their main qualms with AI? [According to a recent study:]

House Committee vote gives hope to extending telehealth, hospital at home waivers Health Leaders; by Eric Wicklund; 5/9/24 The House Ways and Means Committee has voted to advance the Preserving Telehealth, Hospital and Ambulance Access Act (HR 8261), which would, among other things,  continue pandemic-era Medicare waivers enacted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for telehealth access and coverage through 2026 and extend the CMS Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver for an additional five years, to the end of 2029.

Postpandemic, telehealth preferred in outpatient palliative care setting Rheumatology Advisor; by Lisa Kuhns, PhD; 5/1/24 Even after the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine against COVID-19 became available, patients preferred outpatient palliative care visits via video rather than in person, according to study results published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. ... The researchers ... added, “Although telehealth may be preferable for reasons beyond social distancing, this survey found that COVID-19 transmission was still a [postpandemic] concern for some patients, where telehealth can be advantageous. These concerns reflect [an] ongoing sentiment [that] patients with advanced cancer, who are often immune-compromised, have with regards to the pandemic even after widespread vaccine availability and end of COVID-19 restrictions. 

Eagle Telemedicine announces solution to counter lack of palliative careCision, PRNewswire-PRWeb; by Eagle Telemedicine; 4/25/24 Eagle Telemedicine adds new specialty to increase access to life-saving palliative care in underserved communities. ... Only 71% of U.S. hospitals provide palliative care and metropolitan hospitals are 15% more likely to offer palliative care than rural hospitals (National Institute of Health). Through Eagle's Tele-Palliative Care, hospitals everywhere can offer this next level of care, any day of the year.