Connected Health

(SPONSORED) Connected health is beginning to take hold. More than 50 percent of hospitals now use three or more connected health technologies such as patient portals, patient education/engagement apps, remote patient monitoring and others, according to the 2016 HIMSS Connected Health Survey.

A new report from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology claims technologies such as telehealth and wearable sensors should be put to work to help more elderly Americans stay healthy and connected as they age. The report by PCAST, an advisory group of scientists and engineers appointed by President Barack Obama to make policy recommendations related to technology and science, found these types of technologies can help elderly Americans face challenges tied to social connectivity, emotional health and cognitive and physical ability. "With many Americans wishing to live in their homes and communities for as long as possible, technology such as prosthetics, wearable sensors, and other tools for daily living can make that possible," said PCAST members Christine Cassel and Ed Penhoet. [Also: Mobile apps emerging as essential population health tools] As of 2014, an unprecedented 15 percent of the U.S. population was over the age of 65, according to the Census Bureau, and many of them remain active. Recommendations also include creating better access to the Internet as something essential to health, social engagement and well-being, and offering more education and training for seniors in online technologies. PCAST also suggests greater efforts by technology providers to develop monitoring tools for frail and vulnerable elders. But the report also calls on a federal agencies to make changes. Specifically it pointed to telehealth as something with clear benefits for seniors living remotely or with limited mobility – but said the government needed to update regulation and payment policies to reflect recent innovation in the space. For another example, the Federal Trade Commission should continue to enforce regulatory review and guidelines for commercial cognitive training products, PCAST said. [Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook] And the group called upon an array of federal agencies – from the National Institutes of Health to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA – to expand research on projects such as robotics and advanced mobility technology. It also recommended that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services payment policies should be adapted to increase seniors' access to those next-generation tools. "Technology has played an important role in increasing life expectancy, but it also has an important role to play in increasing the quality of life by maximizing Americans’ ability to function in their later years," PCAST Chairs John Holdren and Eric Lander wrote in a letter to President Obama. Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN

Barely a year after announcing its ambitious plan to tie reimbursement to quality of care, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that 30 percent of Medicare payments are now tied to alternative payment models, such as ACOs.  

(SPONSORED) Collective Health is a software and services company recreating the health insurance experience for companies and their people.

(SPONSORED) Konica Minolta is a multi-billion dollar global company that is always working on the next big innovation. Today, the exciting innovation in the healthcare space is the Exa Platform.

(SPONSORED) Joe DeSantis, vice president of HealthShare Platforms, is responsible for all aspects of the InterSystems HealthShare informatics platform, including software development, product marketing and business development.

LAS VEGAS – Rueben Devlin, CEO of Humber River Hospital in Toronto, sees full digitization as the future of physician efficiency and patient experience.  In seeking to fully digitize Humber River, the hospital focused on improving communications, bringing disparate technologies together into one streamlined package. Monitors on the outside of patient rooms are just the tip of the iceberg. “It tells people coming to that room what’s going on – if there are infection control problems, any special precautions that need to be made,” said Devlin. “If a nurse or physician is in the room, that will show up on the monitor as well.” [Also: See photos from Day 1 of HIMSS16] All nurses and physicians are also assigned “rugged PDAs,” smartphones that can take pictures, provide code call applications and scan bar codes. Devlin said the hospital recently implemented use of real-time locating systems. The RTLS devices are doled out to clinicians and patients alike, not only ensuring that nobody gets lost, but that hospital staff can more efficiently perform their jobs. “(Visitors) can track their family member in the waiting room on the screen,” said Devlin. “That solves their problem of constantly going back to the desk to check where they are.” Humber River Hospital in Toronto A patient portal at Humber further advances efficiencies in communication, he said. The patient portal “allows patients to access their own information (and) empowers physicians to access information off-site if they’re allowed to.” Devlin asserted that this has decreased registration load. Online billing is a component of the patient portal, and operates within a secure firewall. Since implementing full digitization in October 2015, the hospital has seen an increase in safety, with a higher focus on care, said Devlin. Communications aren’t the only ways in which technology has changed the landscape. Wireless addressable light switches, chromatic glass windows controlled by the patient, and 100 percent fresh air with temperature control has heralded a 40.8 percent decrease in energy usage. Automating the little things helps, too – as in the case of garbage. “Pneumatic garbage chutes … deliver the materials right to shipping and receiving,” said Devlin. “That goes on a truck. That’s quite helpful; none of the dirty material needs to be dragged through the hospital.” Devlin said part of the hospital’s success in innovation is due to gleaning a wide swath of ideas from different hospitals, and in keeping track of what non-health entities are doing to become more technologically current. “You need to look at other industries,” he said. “A big supporter of ours is someone who owns a lot of McDonald’s. … They’re very efficient. They only walk three to four steps to get to everything they need within their facility. We needed to look at other industries who were doing a good job.” The next steps for the hospital include creating a center of excellence, and implementing black box technology in operating rooms, similar to what’s found on an airplane – in case “something untoward happens.” Twitter: @JELagasse This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the HIMSS16 conference. Follow our live blog for real-time updates, and visit Destination HIMSS16 for a full rundown of our reporting from the show. For a selection of some of the best social media posts of the show, visit our Trending at #HIMSS16 hub.

LAS VEGAS – WellDoc, a mobile health technology vendor, announced Tuesday at HIMSS16 a collaboration with LifeScan, a blood glucose monitoring business within the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Care Companies, to deliver a digital health system for patients living with type-2 diabetes. In addition to the collaboration, Johnson & Johnson Innovation/JJDC Inc. participated in WellDoc’s $29.5 million Series B financing. Under the collaboration, WellDoc’s BlueStar product, an FDA-cleared digital therapeutic for adults who live with type-2 diabetes, will be integrated with LifeScan’s OneTouch Verio Flex Bluetooth Smart blood glucose monitoring system and OneTouch Reveal mobile app. The collaboration seeks to leverage LifeScan’s blood glucose monitoring system and mobile app along with the data analytics and patient engagement of WellDoc’s reimbursable mobile prescription therapy to create a real-time, personalized approach to the management of type-2 diabetes. “Together we seek to provide those living with type-2 diabetes a best-in-class diabetes management solution that delivers evidence-based and outcomes-driven support in a consumer-friendly manner,” said Kevin McRaith, CEO of WellDoc. “This is a very significant step forward for our company and has the potential to make a difference in the lives of millions of people living with this chronic disease.” Samsung Ventures, the venture arm of the consumer electronics giant, acted as the lead investor in the initial WellDoc Series B raise with existing investor Merck Global Health Innovation Fund serving as co-lead. Adage Capital Management, Excel Venture Management, Asset Ventures Management, Alexandria Venture Investments, Hudson River Capital Partners LLC and other investors also participated in the financing. WellDoc develops mobile systems to drive behavioral and clinical change in chronic disease with the goal of improving patient self-management and helping physicians overcome gaps in care to improve clinical outcomes and decrease cost. Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the HIMSS16 conference. Follow our live blog for real-time updates, and visit Destination HIMSS16 for a full rundown of our reporting from the show. For a selection of some of the best social media posts of the show, visit our Trending at #HIMSS16 hub.

CHIME touts OpenNotes partnership, early success of National Patient ID Challenge; opening keynoter talks challenges and opportunities of patient-generated data.

(SPONSORED) In this Q&A, he highlights how Konica Minolta is positioned to help solve today's healthcare challenges and what it plans to bring to health tech in the coming years.