Category: Healthcare

Telehealth Use Continues to Decline

A new report by Trilliant Health breaks down the decline in telehealth utilization. Their findings were based on over 70 billion medical claims data representing 309 million patients across all 50 states, including private insurance and Medicare claims. (via Emarketer.com)

Here’s a breakdown of some key stats:

  • Telehealth use fell 37% from pandemic highs to the end of Q1’ 2021.
  • Most telehealth visits are accounted for by a small percent of total US adults. Around 38 million US adults (not including Medicare beneficiaries) generated 96 million telehealth visits during the pandemic.
  • Mental health has been, and will continue to be, a key driver of telehealth demand. 35% of all telehealth visits were for mental health conditions, which is more than the next five leading drivers combined.
  • 80% of consumers say they’d be willing to use home care models (like hospital at home schemes) if they were covered by insurance.

Apple Watch Series 4: An ECG on Your Wrist

Amazing how far the Apple Watch has come since it’s debut in 2015!

From Apple.com:
Electrodes built into the Digital Crown and the back crystal work together with the ECG app to read your heart’s electrical signals. Simply touch the Digital Crown to generate an ECG waveform in just 30 seconds. This data can indicate whether your heart rhythm shows signs of atrial fibrillation — a serious form of irregular heart rhythm — or sinus rhythm, which means your heart is beating in a normal pattern.

Each beat of the heart sends out an electrical impulse. With the ECG app, Apple Watch Series 4 can read and record these impulses by connecting the circuit between your heart and both arms.

Apple-ECG

The resulting ECG waveform, its classification, and any notes you’ve entered on related symptoms are automatically stored in the Health app on your iPhone. You can share them with your doctor and have a better-informed conversation about your health.

ECG information is stored in the Health app on your iPhone.

John Hancock Offers Apple Watch to Vitality Customers for Just $25

John Hancock has announced that new and existing members of its Vitality life insurance program can receive an Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS only for an initial payment of just $25 plus tax. Over the next two years, monthly payments are based on the number of workouts completed.

By connecting the Vitality Today app to Apple’s Health app and confirming sharing of data, customers can earn Vitality Points for Light, Standard, and Advanced Workouts in the Workout app. Customers can share steps measured by their iPhone or Apple Watch, as well as active calories from the Apple Watch. Vitality members must earn at least 500 fitness-related Vitality Points per month over two years to avoid owing any of the installments.

An innovative life insurance solution that rewards healthy living!

Apple Watch Can Detect Abnormal Heart Rhythm with 97% Accuracy

According to the results of a study* conducted by the University of California, San Francisco and the app, Cardiogram, Apple Watch can detect the most common abnormal heart rhythm with 97% accuracy.

From TechCrunch:
The study involved 6,158 participants recruited through the Cardiogram app on Apple Watch. Most of the participants in the UCSF Health eHeart study had normal EKG readings. However, 200 of them had been diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (an abnormal heartbeat). Engineers then trained a deep neural network to identify these abnormal heart rhythms from Apple Watch heart rate data.

Each year, more than 100,000 strokes are caused by an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation – the most common abnormal heart rhythm responsible for 1 in 4 strokes. It’s pretty amazing to think that soon there will be technology available on our wrists that can identify and warn us of abnormal heart rhythms, including atrial fibrillation.

*I’m proud to have participated in the Heart eHealth study and am currently participating in the mRhythm study, the goal of which is to compare the heart rhythms gathered by the FDA-approved AliveCor monitor against those from the Cardiogram App/Apple Watch to assess its validity and accuracy in detecting arrhythmias.

via TechCrunch

Using Robots and Telehealth to Diagnose Concussions

New medical research from the UT Southwestern Medical Center and Northern Arizona University shows that robots equipped with web-enabled cameras and telehealth are as effective as a trained medical professional or athletic trainer in diagnosing when a young athlete has suffered a concussion. Using telehealth and robots, one person could cover numerous schools. A physician who is on-call virtually could be anywhere and available as soon as a consult is needed, particularly in high school sports where not every team and event has a trainer or other medical professional on hand.

via Internet Health Management.

Few Patients Use Digital Portals

A new study from the United States Government Accountability Office shows that relatively few patients electronically access their health information when offered the ability to do so. In 2015, the latest year for which full data is available, only 15% of hospital patients accessed their data through a hospital digital portal and only 30% of patients used a portal provided by their doctor’s office. Patients cited limitations such as the inability to aggregate their health information from multiple sources into a single record.

Since 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has invested over $35 billion in health information technology, including efforts to enhance patient access to and use of electronic health information.

The full study is available on the US GOA website.

The Modernization of Healthcare

Healthcare trails many industries in their adoption of technology. Recently, a shift has begun that signals the “retailing” of healthcare as providers take cues from other industries to aid consumers as they begin their patient journey. An article over at Internet Health Management discusses what patients want when shopping for healthcare:

  1. Patient-friendly environments.
  2. Loyalty programs.
  3. More convenient services.
  4. On-demand services.
  5. Better physician directories.
  6. Publication of ratings and reviews.

How Millennials are Changing Healthcare

According to Pew Research Center, millennials are now America’s largest generation and their numbers are continuing to grow. The millennial population is expected to peak at 81.1 million in 2036. An article at the Advisory Board details 4 ways they are changing health care:

  1. They want to know about costs upfront – so price transparency is a must.
  2. Convenience – including extended hours, scheduling appointments online, and walk-in appointments – is a priority.
  3. They want, and expect, their providers to be tech savvy.
  4. They consult family, friends, online ratings and reviews when looking for a provider.