Recent news and commentary covering technology in U.S. healthcare
Heartbeat-Tracking Technology Raises Patients’ and Doctors’ Worries
“Huge swaths of people have embraced wearable gadgets. … Figuring out what to do with these new doodads is up to patients and doctors. … [T]he devices can help doctors and patients manage conditions and respond quickly when there’s a funny flutter. And doctors can use the devices to confirm whether their treatments for atrial fibrillation are working …”
(Kaiser Health News — April 2022)
Pandemic Health-Tech Boom in U.S. Loses Momentum
“The Fed is tightening and the frantic pace of health-tech funding is slowing down as well. The $10.4 billion invested globally in digital health companies in the first quarter of 2022 is the lowest in six quarters, according to research firm CB Insights. It’s down 36% from the prior quarter.”
(Bloomberg — April 2022)
What’s next in healthcare consumerism: Digital management solutions benefit patients and providers
“We’re past the point of technology being a Band-Aid to get practices through a pandemic. Investing in the right digital tools can help practices attract new business, get them paid faster and provide better patient care.”
(MedCity News — April 2022)
Opinion | Automation Can Make a Doctor’s Job Easier
“We are rationing healthcare. The reason is not a shortage of beds, drugs, ventilators or surgical suites. It is a shortage of healthcare personnel.”
(The Wall Street Journal — April 2022)
HHS aims to merge patient data across networks with new health IT system
“The end goal is to create a single point of access to all of an individuals’ health records.”
(Federal News Network — April 2022)
HHS IT coordinator researching algorithmic bias and implications for health equity
“Micky Tripathi, national coordinator for health IT called 2022 a ‘pivotal’ year in the U.S.’s transition to ‘digitally native’ health care while admitting faxing is still ‘hiding in plain sight’ across the delivery system.”
(FedScoop — April 2022)
Pursuit of profit bodes ill for US healthcare
“I fear the bifurcation within our system is poised to get worse. Covid and the promise of higher public spending on healthcare is drawing the sharpest-elbowed investors to an industry that doesn’t allocate resources as perfectly as the “invisible hand” of efficiency would suggest that it should. (Although, frankly, after 30 years of covering business, I’m hard pressed to think of an industry that does.) The unprecedented sums of money sloshing around a complicated and opaque system will undoubtedly make the rich richer, and the sick sicker.”
(Financial Times — April 2022)
How digital health is challenging traditional reimbursement models
“Digital health enables value-based care in almost every way. It facilitates a more holistic view of a patient by delivering care throughout their daily routines, providing insight between care delivery, treatment, lifestyle, engagement, and compliance. Reimbursement in value-based care models is structured around metrics that reward high patient satisfaction, outcomes, and quality. For patients, convenience, engagement, and communication are key to positive outcomes in healthcare – and are also enhanced by digital tools like remote monitoring. For payers, the data from digital healthcare tools can assist in establishing new, and better, value-based models. And for providers, tying payment to outcomes prioritizes quality of care and results.”
(MedCity News — April 2022)
