Kat Jercich

Although AI documentation assistants will likely be integral to future primary care consultations, they'll still need to be supervised by a human. 

In July, a Maryland federal judge issued an injunction blocking the FDA's in-person abortion requirements for the duration of the pandemic.

The CDC this week issued controversial guidelines saying people without symptoms may not need to seek testing, even if they've been exposed to someone with the virus.

In a new survey of U.S. specialists, 79% said that their use of telemedicine technology had increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report, from data and analytics company GlobalData, found that fewer than half of the cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonology and respiratory specialists surveyed were using telehealth before the pandemic. More than three-quarters of those surveyed said they would continue to use virtual care technology in the future. "Telemedicine has been critical during the COVID-19 pandemic to limit the risk of person-to-person transmission of the virus and to reduce the burden on overwhelmed healthcare systems," said Kathryn Whitney, director of thematic analysis at GlobalData. WHY IT MATTERS   The survey adds yet another data point to the massive increase in telemedicine use amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic. Some health systems have reported staggering growth, with many pointing to the relaxations in federal regulations around telehealth as facilitating the change.   "As a result of the pandemic, regulations and policies governing reimbursement and use of telemedicine have changed significantly, leading to expanded access and an unprecedented demand for these services," said Whitney. But uncertainty about those regulations also dogs the industry. The specialists GlobalData surveyed cited the possibility of future unsupportive policies as a reason for discontinuing telehealth use after the public health crisis.    "Changes in regulation will be important in providing solutions to improving access to care for underserved and rural populations and providing affordable care to the uninsured," said Whitney.   Others said they needed to see patients in person in order to best provide care – again, an unsurprising response, particularly with regard to patients who may not have access to remote monitoring tools.   The same report also found that telemedicine mobile app downloads had dramatically increased. The patient companion app for InTouch Health, for instance, had about 2,300 downloads in 2019, but more than 22,300 in the second quarter of 2020 alone. THE LARGER TREND As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to roil throughout the country, telehealth visit numbers have somewhat decreased – perhaps as a result of patients pursuing necessary in-person care or exhibiting less fear around catching the virus in a healthcare setting. Still, many stakeholders say there's no going back to a pre-COVID-19 environment when it comes to the virtual care landscape. Patients, especially those in healthcare deserts, have grown to appreciate its convenience, and many providers have found themselves "pleasantly surprised" with the transition.   ON THE RECORD "COVID-19 may be the tipping point for telemedicine as the full potential of the technology is increasingly realized by patients, healthcare systems and payers," said Whitney. Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News. Twitter: @kjercich Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

Last year, the organizations embarked on a decade-long partnership to advance the health system's AI and ML innovations. Then the novel coronavirus began to spread.

A case report published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association shows how algorithms can be used to augment the contact-tracing process for COVID-19 patients.

The Bluetooth-enabled case has sensors that detect when users take their daily pill, triggering customized phone alerts.

The announcement, which was expected last week, had been delayed after reports of pushback from National Institutes of Health officials.

Before COVID-19, Central Maine Healthcare had used remote care sparingly, says CMIO Dr. Steven Martel. By July, it had conducted 25,000 virtual visits.

Following President Trump's executive order on virtual care, the American Hospital Association issued a series of recommendations supporting access to telehealth after the public health emergency ends.