Hazard, Ky.-based Appalachian Regional Healthcare System will launch Advanced ICU Care's remote monitoring technology for intensive care unit patients across all 12 of its hospitals.

Animated avatars may be the next big thing in telehealth, helping reduce healthcare costs without jeopardizing patient care or eliminating jobs, according to orthopedic surgeon Mary O'Connor, MD, and cited in an American Medical Association blog post.

Victoria, Texas-based Crossroads Area Veteran Center is implementing a new telehealth system that will connect veterans to mental health specialists at Corpus Christi (Texas) Vet Center through videoconferencing technology, Victoria Advocate reports.

The Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston will ramp up investments in its transplant telehealth program throughout the rest of the year, SC Now reports.

Pregnant patients who use a mobile prenatal care app and have fewer in-person clinic visits show no difference in patient or provider satisfaction than those who receive all prenatal care and education in person, according to a study published in JMIR mHealth and uHhealth on May 1.

St. Louis-based SSM Health is upping the ante for providers in Wisconsin and Missouri by offering all residents — established patients or not, health insurance or not — $25 virtual visits within an hour of requesting an appointment.

Gains in broadband internet access are smaller than previously reported, according to tech publication Ars Technica.

AdventHealth Dade City (Fla.), part of AdventHealth system in Altamonte Springs, Fla., added Advanced ICU Care's remote monitoring technology for patients in its intensive care unit.

Minneapolis-based Allina Health and Hayward (Wis.) Area Memorial Hospital launched a telemedicine program geared toward expanding virtual neurology care, Sawyer County Record reports.

Telehealth fraud appears to be on the rise, as more patients are opting into virtual appointments with their physicians via audio and video technology, Legal Reader reports.

Telehealth technology company CirrusMD, which offers a chat-based solution for health plans, raised $15 million in its latest financing round.

Teladoc Health released its earnings results for the first quarter of 2019.

Two Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth hospitals in Georgia are working with Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, Tenn., to provide neurology and stroke care through telemedicine, Chattanoogan reports.

The Florida Senate passed a new bill April 29 that would expand telehealth services from out-of-state providers to Florida residents, Miami Herald reports.

Nine former employees of Nurx, a telemedicine startup based in San Francisco, told The New York Times that the company has habitually ignored or violated state and federal laws surrounding the sale and shipment of prescription medication since its 2015 founding.

Valhalla, N.Y.-based Westchester Medical Center Health Network implemented a telemedicine program that allows neonatologists at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla to provide remote care to newborn patients at HealthAlliance Hospital.

Optima Health is piloting telehealth company MDLive's recently launched quality performance product CareLink, which aims to help health systems improve various clinical quality metrics.

Louisville, Ky.-based Norton Healthcare teamed up with a local Kentucky school district to provide telemedicine services for elementary school students, Courier Journal reports.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a new law April 18 that requires telehealth services be covered by commercial health plans, The National Law Review reports.

After their recent partnership, telemedicine provider Doctor On Demand and Humana are launching a new health plan called On Hand, which is focused on comprehensive virtual primary care.