Mobile Health Strategies

Utah Lawmakers, Payers Grapple Over Telemental Health Legislation

January 31, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

Utah lawmakers are grappling with proposed legislation that would require insurers to cover telemental health consults. HB 139, sponsored by Rep. Steve Eliason (R.-Sandy), would mandate that the state’s Medicaid program and private insurers...

Digital Health Study Targets Virtual Coaching in Diabetes Prevention

January 30, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

A Nebraska hospital is recruiting 500 patients for a study on the effectiveness of a digital diabetes prevention program that includes mHealth interventions. The University of Nebraska Medical Center will recruit patients for the project, to...

Judge Tosses Challenge to South Carolina’s Ocular Telehealth Ban

January 29, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

South Carolina’s law prohibiting telemedicine-based eye exams will remain on the books, following the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Opternative. U.S. District Court Judge DeAndrea Gist Benjamin has thrown out a lawsuit filed on behalf...

Draft Telemedicine Accreditation Standards Are Ready for Review

January 29, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

A partnership launched by the American Telemedicine Association has unveiled a draft set of standards for a new telemedicine accreditation program. ClearHealth Quality Institute’s Telemedicine Accreditation Program Standards was unveiled...

Telehealth Gives Senior Centers a Gateway to Patient Engagement

January 26, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

Senior centers across the country are deploying a wide range of telehealth and mHealth technologies to keep their residents active and engaged. One such example is Front Porch, a Glendale, Calif.-based non-profit comprising 10 full-service retirement...

Allergists’ Association Supports Telemedicine for Specialty Care

January 25, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

Healthcare specialists who focus on allergies could use telehealth or telemedicine to improve clinical outcomes, reduce access and travel issues for their patients and boost their bottom line by treating more people, according to the American...

Apple Unveils mHealth Integration With EMR Data Through Health App

January 25, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

Patients at 12 national health systems will soon be able to access their EMR data on an iPhone or iPad, thanks to an mHealth upgrade from Apple. The tech giant announced this week that iOS 11.3 will include a feature that allows users to access...

How Are States Using Telemedicine to Tackle the Opioid Abuse Crisis?

January 24, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

With the nation in the grip of an opioid abuse crisis, doctors and pharmacists see telemedicine and telehealth as an opportunity to improve outcomes by improving the distribution and management of controlled substances. But the U.S. Drug Enforcement...

Mobile Health Units Are Latest Telehealth Tool to Fight Opioid Abuse

January 23, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

Six mobile health units are providing telehealth services in western New York in an effort to combat the state’s drug abuse crisis. Funded by a $1.7 million grant, Buffalo-based BestSelf Behavioral Health deployed four vehicles in September...

New ECHO Telemedicine Project Targets Diabetes Care Coordination

January 22, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

Primary care providers in Florida and California will soon be using telemedicine to improve care management and coordination for patients with Type 1 diabetes. Armed with a $1.6 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable...

Licensing Compact Goes Live, Opening Door to Telehealth for Nurses

January 19, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

Licensed nurses in 29 states can now use telehealth to treat patients in other states, under terms of the Enhamced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC). Under the eNLC, overseen by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, registered nurses...

Microsoft Ends mHealth App Experiment, Shuts Down HealthVault

January 19, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

Microsoft is shutting down its line of personal mHealth apps, abruptly ending a program that sought to engage users in creating a digital platform for health and wellness. The company announced online that it would be closing out all iOS, Android...

Can mHealth Make the Connection Between Providers and Minorities?

January 18, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

Healthcare providers looking to connect with minorities should develop an mHealth strategy that focuses on the smartphone. That’s the takeaway from a pair of studies published this month in the American Journal of Managed Care. The studies...

An mHealth Wearable Helps Cedars-Sinai Doctors Manage Patient Care

January 18, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

Physicians at Cedars-Sinai Hospital are using an mHealth wearable to track and improve recovery times for post-operative patients. In a program that began roughly one year ago, patients are given a Fitbit after undergoing major surgery to track...

Telemedicine Consults Help Save About $500 Per Patient

January 17, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

A telemedicine consult platform for cardiology cases saved almost $500 per patient in Medicaid costs over in-person treatments, according to a newly released study. In what’s being billed as the first published randomized study of the eConsult...

mHealth Apps for Chronic Care Struggle to Solve the Motivation Issue

January 17, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

mHealth apps have the potential to help people with chronic conditions manage their health. Yet according to new research, that particular population isn’t taking advantage of those apps. A team of researchers led by Rebecca Robbins, PhD,...

Cedars-Sinai Study Finds mHealth, RPM Aren’t Changing Outcomes Yet

January 16, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

mHealth sensors in smartwatches, fitness bands and other wearables aren’t improving patient outcomes in remote monitoring programs, according to a new study conducted at Cedars-Sinai. But researchers say the issue is one of volume rather...

Telehealth Lends a Helping Hand to Senior Fall Prevention Programs

January 15, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

A Los Angeles-based provider of senior healthcare services is expanding its telehealth footprint to help more seniors stay out of the hospital. The Los Angeles Jewish Home has been using a telehealth platform to help seniors recover from joint...

VA Puts Telehealth to Work in ‘Anywhere to Anywhere’ Care Initiative

January 12, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

With Congressional approval in hand, the Department of Veterans Affairs is moving forward with plans for a national telehealth network for veterans. The VA recently awarded a $260 million contract to 1Vision LLC, a subsidiary of HMS Technologies,...

Weight Loss Success Linked to Telehealth Coaching, mHealth Devices

January 11, 2018 by Eric Wicklund

A telehealth program combining video coaching and self-monitoring through mHealth devices can lead to a “significant weight loss” among participants, according to a new study. As reported in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare,...