Telehealth

Almost three-quarters of healthcare professionals are pursuing an enterprise approach, rather than a departmental approach, for their telemedicine programs, according to a Reach Health survey.

A study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders shows physicians can use telemedicine to assess and diagnose autism spectrum disorders in young children.

Healthcare professionals most frequently cited inadequate telemedicine parity laws as a significant barrier to building a telemedicine program, according to a Reach Health survey.

Annapolis, Md.-based ClearHealth Quality Institute, an independent healthcare accrediting firm, rolled out a telemedicine accreditation program and is now accepting applicants.

Telemedicine is growing at a rapid pace fueled by faster Internet connections, the ubiquity of smartphones and personal devices, and new software platforms that connect patients with providers more easily and efficiently.

Though researchers claim nearly 70 percent of all patient visits do not require face-to-face interactions, nearly 41 percent of hospitals and health systems do not plan to offer telehealth services in 2018, according to a recent MGMA report.

Patients with Type 2 diabetes who participated in a telephone-based remote care program had comparable improvements in blood glucose control to those who received traditional in-person care, according to a study presented March 17 at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting…

As behavioral health emergency department visits continue to spike, providers across the U.S. are scrambling to find ways to offer this service to patients in a more cost-effective, timely manner to increase throughput while simultaneously lowering expenses. 

Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare launched a virtual hospital services program late February, comprised of 35 telehealth programs and more than 500 caregivers, to address rural Utah's care needs.

Weeks Medical Center in Lancaster, N.H., is joining forces with Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock Center for Connected Care to add telemedicine services in neurology and psychiatry.