By: Lewis Levy, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Officer, TeladocOver the past five years, there have been many great changes in medicine - targeted biologics, expanded minimally invasive surgical procedures, meaningful interventions for difficult to treat neurologic conditions. Yet, despite many advances, patients interacting with the healthcare system often sense that the deck is stacked against them.More than 190 million Americans have at least one chronic condition.Over 46 million Americans struggle with a behavioral health issue.62 million people in the US lack access to a primary care physician.Cancer care alone costs us over $80.2 billion per year.Whether it’s access, quality, or the cost of care, members often struggle because the answers are too difficult to discover and then decipher. Now, with a focus on solving healthcare’s biggest challenges, a reshuffling is taking place, and virtual care is changing the game. Let’s look at two important ways that virtual care delivery is doing this: A Better Approac h to Tackling Behavioral Health ChallengesIt is estimated that one in five American adults at some point in their lives, deals with a medically-diagnosed mental illness. Traditional resources for mental health can be hard to find, and even harder to navigate once they’re found. This is where advanced virtual care platforms are stepping in to proactively identify individuals who need help, while providing convenient behavioral and medical health resources for them to access expert psychiatrists and therapists. These virtual expert reviews have led to 88% of diagnoses being changed or refined, 81% of treatment plans being altered, and 68% of medications being changed in behavioral health cases. Most importantly, members have seen impressive symptom reduction. Using DASS scores, members saw a 32% decrease in depression symptoms, 31% reduction in anxiety symptoms, and 20% reduction in stress symptoms. Getting it Right, Even with the Most Complex CasesExpert second opinions continue to be an instrumental tool in assuring quality outcomes, savings, and the confidence that the best path is being taken, and virtual access suddenly makes this a viable option for many. We’ve seen children originally diagnosed with a serious gastrointestinal condition and prescribed intense medications, have experts review the case to discover a gluten allergy. In one complex cancer case, a 50-year old member was about to begin chemotherapy, when she received an expert review and re-testing of pathology to confirm the cancer diagnosis, but the experts determined that a less invasive aromatase inhibitor therapy would be more beneficial.Recently, a 51-year old woman named Denise, with a long history of major depressive disorder, underwent a careful analysis of her case through virtual care. After a series of deaths in her family and strained relationships had forced her to take a leave from work, she finally found help when a team of expert clinicians and case managers guided her through a multi-disciplinary approach. It led to a significant change in her medication strategy, while also teaching her adaptive coping skills. The results have been remarkable, as Denise returned to work two months ahead of schedule. Her symptoms improved enough to downgrade her diagnosis from severe depression to moderate. Most importantly, her marriage was saved and many of her strained relationships have been reconciled. A Powerful CombinationToday, innovative virtual care delivery platforms have the power to connect individuals with providers for anxiety, depression, PTSD, panic disorders, domestic issues, and much more. This is why it’s so promising that virtual care can help members navigate complex systems of care, and even embark on an expert-led, early intervention approach where psychologists and psychiatrists review and often modify the diagnosis and treatment plans generally made by primary care providers. From expert review, to validation of diagnosis, to navigation all the way through the delivery of treatment, virtual care has created an easy to access, end-to-end path, that has never existed before at such a scale. The Future is Bright These breakthroughs are just the tip of the iceberg. Artificial intelligence and predictive analytics are now being used to proactively identify members in need of intervention and consider every piece of research to determine a treatment option. Advanced virtual care delivery platforms are improving outcomes through providing accessible quality care. Through a more expansive view of virtual care, we are restacking the deck in favor of our members. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/sponsored/how-right-vision-for-virtual-care-successfully-addressing...

by Rajiv LeventhalFor patients to truly become empowered, they cannot be paying astronomical fees to get copies of their medical recordsIt was quite discouraging to read the recent GAO (Government Accountability Office) report on the challenges associated with patients’ access to medical records, which found that some patients—particularly those with chronic conditions and lengthy records—believe they’re being charged too much to access their records.GAO, which reviewed four states for the 25-page report—Kentucky, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin—found that each have laws that vary in terms of the fees allowed for patient and third-party requests for medical records.For background, under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and its implementing regulations, providers are authorized to charge a reasonable, cost-based fee when patients request copies of their medical records or request that their records be forwarded to another provider or entity.In the case of third-party requests, when a patient gives permission for another entity—for example, an attorney—to request copies of the patient's medical records, the fees are not subject to the reasonable cost-based standard and are generally governed by state law. According to stakeholders GAO interviewed, the fees for third-party requests are generally higher than the fees charged to patients and can vary significantly across states. https://www.healthcare-informatics.com/blogs/rajiv-leventhal/patient-engagement/healthcare-s-patient...

ADVERTISING FEATURE What makes a research institute successful? That’s a question universities are increasingly puzzling over as they compete for student applications, research funding and coveted positions at the top of league rankings. To help answer it, many institutions are looking for relevant data to yield insights that will give them an edge over their competitors.Just ask the team at University of Glasgow, who for the past two years have been using Scopus, an abstract and citation database, and its analytical tools to map out the landscape of research and innovation. Scopus has an impressive pedigree, being owned by Elsevier, an information analytics business specialising in science and health.And the results at Glasgow have been significant. Not only can staff and students use the data to keep abreast of research fields – and their performance relative to peers within those fields – Scopus is also helping the university from a more strategic point of view to understand how it compares with other institutions, and when and where to seek out collaborations.A key benefit is how the data can help in applying for funding. “We put in a large bid recently, for medical research,” says Alice Gee, policy and business intelligence manager at the University of Glasgow. When writing the bid, Gee and her colleagues used Scopus data to demonstrate that they were the strongest recipients for the funding. “We were able to quote the number of papers published in the last five years, the percentages that were international and involved collaborations with industry, and our citation metrics,” she says. Scopus also allows institutions to analyse their standing and compare it with competitors. The team used this capability to show that, among the 24 Russell Group universities, the University of Glasgow scored third in terms of field-weighted citation impact and second for international collaborations in the specific research field. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23831790-100-inside-the-scientific-data-revolution/#.WwhGqbhLr60.email

Data is today’s commercial currency. So, it stands to reason that criminals today will use every means necessary to breach your security in order to access your data. In order for your organization to be protected from a data breach, you will need a comprehensive understanding of the types of data breaches or attack vectors available to cyber criminals. Defined simply, according to Wikipedia, a data breach is “the intentional or unintentional release of secure or private/confidential information to an untrusted environment.” The Identity Theft Resource Center tracks seven types of data breach categories: Hacking/Computer Intrusion (includes Phishing, Ransomware/Malware and Skimming): Cyber criminals are getting smarter every day and are constantly using a variety of techniques both new (zero-day) as well as variations on old exploits. Insider Threat: Your employees know the most about where your most sensitive data exists and, in some cases, how it is protected, so they can inflict significant damage if not properly monitored or security protocols put in place. Data on the Move: We live in an increasingly mobile world, so another concern has to be when laptops or flash drives are stolen, or back-up tapes are lost in the mail. Physical Theft: Although having Ethan Hunt fly down an air vent to physically access a secure network is a thing of Hollywood lore, physical theft is in fact a reality. Perhaps, not as dramatic as in film, physical data theft can be as simple as plugging a USB drive into a sensitive. Employee Error/Negligence/Improper Disposal/Lost: People make mistakes all of the time, so it is expected that at some point someone will do something dumb when it comes to data handling. Accidental Web/Internet Exposure: As organization migrate more data to cloud-based applications and infrastructure, the likelihood of accidental exposure increases. Unauthorized Access: This form of data breach is directly attributed to a lack of access controls. Specifically, if admin privileges are poorly monitored or there are no controls of level of privilege within specific applications or even across network resources. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to data breaches and just knowing about them is not enough. Informationisbeautiful.net has an amazing dynamic infographic of “World’s Biggest Data Breaches,” which we highly recommend you spend some time with to uncover the cost of the top data breaches from 2004 through present. Recognize that even though organizations knew theses cyber exploits existed didn’t prevent the magnitude of impact. The one with the biggest impact is breaches via hacking. Identifying any malicious or hidden code within incoming data files whether on your network or in a cloud is now a cyber imperative. What you don’t know or cannot see can harm you. Find a solution that can identify malicious code within any data set and you will be preventing the potential for significant harm. For your cyber data breach protection, we suggest a static evaluation technology which is faster, more accurate, not OS version dependent and covers 100 percent of code, with complete visibility. This is a solution where every line of code is evaluated, without being opened – or executed – in the first place. Having such a solution will place your organization in a consistent “prevent, don’t remediate” mode which, ultimately, will keep your organization secure and unnecessarily paying hefty recovery costs. https://chiefexecutive.net/understanding-seven-types-data-breach/

For the first time in half a century, the future home of innovation is up for grabs. The geography of American industry is upside down. Traditional capitals of the vast swath of the nation’s heartland, like Indianapolis, Detroit, Columbus and Des Moines, have become hot hubs for tech workers, as millennial talent flees the high-cost coasts. Meanwhile, traditional information enclaves like New York and California are rediscovering their passion for manufacturing.Wherever a company is based, it needs a solid infrastructure to thrive in an increasingly technological and talent-driven economy. But infrastructure means far more than roads and rails, noted David Roberts, CIO of the State of Indiana, at a roundtable sponsored by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. “We think about the ethereal, as well. What are the ideas driving economic development in our state? Where does the money come from for resources? What about the people piece, the culture piece? And how can we influence that?” asked Roberts, who added that the state takes a hands-off approach when it comes to individual companies’ organizational structures. “We want to enable the winners to win, not pick winners and losers in our state.” https://chiefexecutive.net/the-infrastructure-of-innovation/

Digital Transformation holds the key to unlocking future growth.Health systems around the world clearly recognize the potential of digital health: over the past decade, they have invested heavily in national e-health programs. Yet most have delivered only modest returns when measured by higher care quality, greater efficiency, or better patient outcomes. And in some cases, e-health projects have been cancelled due to significant cost overruns and delays, such as the National Program for IT in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS).1 That’s because such ambitious information-technology initiatives—with a clear focus on IT support for clinical professionals—are typically beyond the core mission of healthcare systems, which also often struggle with legacy systems that impede data integration.At the same time, the advent of smartphones, cloud computing, and global connectivity has created a universe of consumers accustomed to everything from checking bank balances, making purchases, and watching movies on mobile devices. Increasingly, those consumers wonder why health systems cannot provide similar service innovations. In that respect, digital-health companies would appear to be best positioned: innovation is in their DNA, they have attracted billions of dollars in venture capital, and they have the flexibility to design applications that cater directly to patient groups. Yet digital-health companies have been impeded by a lack of access to health data along with uncertainty about how to distribute the economic benefits generated by smartphone apps. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/digital-transformation-doreen-rosenstrauch-md-phd-mpa-hca-rn-faha/

The health care industry is experiencing perhaps its most rapid pace of innovation ever. Understandably, this shift has been driven in part by technology, with new innovations presenting tantalizing value for health care. Yet the time has also come to shift the emphasis from providers and doctors to patients and their data. The U.S. health care community converged at the 2018 HIMSS conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, where health care leaders, vendors and regulators confronted the challenges of riding the currents of innovation while consistently and strategically prioritizing patients and providing them with greater knowledge and more control of their health care.Amid a changing landscape marked by consolidation and disruption in the health care industry, organizations must seamlessly modernize, streamline and consolidate their IT systems to guarantee uninterrupted operations. As health care businesses continue to make strategic acquisitions and vertical integrations, there is a greater need for smooth transitions of IT operations across those integrations while maintaining reliable and transparent services to those on the front lines of care delivery. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/04/02/health-care-innovation-harnessing-new-tech...

By Jim Higgins , Forbes Councils The role that technology is playing in consumers’ lives is no surprise to anyone. We hear it, we feel it and we’re probably watching our kids do it right now. However, the speed and depth at which those technology transformations are taking place continue to amaze me every single day. Uber completely changed the way I’ll get to and from the airport next week. I refuse to bank with any bank that hasn’t enabled mobile transactions. I’m relying on a watch to tell me when I’m running too fast or need to pick up the pace. Now, technology’s disruptive influence has moved from “once in a while” to “impacting your home life all day, every day.” I recently read about a home builder that is including Amazon Echo in all new homes going forward. Alexa and all of her voice-enabled thermostat-adjusting, music-playing life simplification will now be the standard in our homes. What started as a cool tech gadget became the norm practically overnight. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/06/07/patients-are-now-consumers-but-is-health-c...

POST WRITTEN BY, Rahul Patel, EVP of Digital Products and Services at Persistent Systems, driving digital transformation across healthcare providers and institutions.The internet of things (IoT), big data and, ultimately, transformational digital health promise to greatly raise the standard of what can be accomplished in a software-driven health care universe. Wearable devices can collect patient data on everything from blood pressure to glucose levels to heart rhythms. Big data can identify trends, compare them to population health norms and determine how a patient is faring with his/her current treatment plan. This information can then become accessible to all participants in the care ecosystem -- including patients, physicians and specialists -- through their mobile devices as part of a universal health record.All of these new capabilities are made possible by a new generation in health IT that puts software at the core of the entire ecosystem. Essentialy, this is Software 4.0.The idea of Software 4.0 is similar to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, which is focused on automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It combines cognitive computing, the internet of things, cyber-physical systems and cloud computing to enable a smart factory. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/06/12/how-a-new-generation-of-software-could-res...