Delve Health

delvehealth

Big Tech Companies Have Your Health Info Thanks to Telehealth Startups

If you're a parent, you've probably heard of telehealth addiction treatment. The idea is that with the help of online treatments and video conferencing, patients can receive care from doctors while they're at home. But what does it mean for a startup to enter this highly competitive space? What are the challenges they'll face? And how do you know if it's right for your child? In this post, we'll take a closer look at the telehealth addiction treatment startup industry and explain what parents need to know before making an investment. How does telehealth addiction treatment work? Telehealth addiction treatment works by providing real-time support, advice and guidance to help you overcome your addiction. You can receive help from our experienced counselors and therapists while you are at home, or remotely. Telehealth addiction treatment is a unique approach that combines the convenience of being able to communicate with your counselor through the internet while avoiding the hassle of having to travel to a clinic or hospital. Step-by-step options for recovering from addiction are provided through telehealth services that are convenient and comprehensive Recovering from addiction can be a long and difficult process. With the right support, however, it is possible to overcome this challenge. Some people may find the process easier than others. Recovering from an addiction is not an instant fix. It takes time, patience and dedication. If you are ready to take the first step towards recovery, there are several options that you can choose from: Telehealth Services: The most common option for recovering addicts is to use telehealth services. Telehealth refers to a variety of different services that provide treatment through video calls or online sessions with doctors and therapists who specialize in addiction treatment. This can be done either at home or in treatment centers around the country. The benefits of using include convenience and accessibility as well as cost savings compared to traditional methods of treatment such as counseling or therapy sessions in person or over the phone. telehealth services A telehealth program can make addiction treatment more accessible and convenient Many addicts are physically unable to attend in-person therapy due to their location or schedule. A virtual addiction treatment program can be a perfect fit for them, especially if they are located in another city or state. A telehealth program that offers treatment options through Skype, Facetime, FaceTime, Hangouts and more can help addicts track their progress and stay on track with their recovery. The new technology has made it possible for people who live far away from their treatment center to access the same types of services as anyone else in their area.

Addiction Treatment: All You Need to Know About Telehealth

Telehealth’s virtual healthcare methods have taken the medical industry by storm since COVID-19 began. It has been instrumental in getting at-risk patients the care they need without exposing them to the virus. The pandemic might be winding down, but telehealth is here to stay. Here are five measures healthcare professionals must take to sustain telehealth success. Prioritize Patient Privacy Patient privacy has always been a top priority in healthcare, but it’s even more important in a virtual setting. Video calls between doctors and patients are now open to cyber criminals. Someone without either party’s authorization and learn information about the patient’s health records. The same thing can happen to private online chatrooms. can hack into the call Practitioners should use multi-factor authentication and encrypted links to prevent hackers from accessing their telehealth calls. A virtual private network (VPN) is also a wise investment. Another security concern might arise based on the callers’ locations. People in the call’s vicinity might overhear sensitive details if both parties don’t choose their locations carefully. It’s critical that patients make their telehealth calls in private rooms to avoid eavesdroppers. Provide Equal Access One of the modern healthcare system’s main problems is to basic treatment. There are many people who don’t have the resources or skills to get the full scope of telehealthcare: the inequality of access Elderly and disabled people Those with limited internet access Non-English speakers Hospitals should provide these underprivileged groups with resources to find locations with reliable WiFi. Schools, libraries and community centers are the safest places. If a bilingual practitioner isn’t available, the facility should provide non-English speakers with translation tools and add custom captions to the video calls. Regain Patient Trust Healthcare providers must be authoritative and trustworthy to foster strong relationships with patients. Since telehealth is still fairly new and takes place in a virtual setting, facilities need to earn their patients’ trust all over again. They should sign up for accreditation programs and video conference courses to gain experience and credibility with standard telehealth practices. Physicians and patients alike during COVID-19. Practitioners are already fighting an uphill battle, so they need to do everything they can to bolster their resumes and reputations. lost faith in America’s healthcare system Make the Presentation Look Professional If healthcare facilities want patients to take telehealth seriously, then need to make the calls look professional. First, the room needs to have a strong overhead light source that makes the doctor look friendly and welcoming. The sound quality needs to be crisp and coherent so both parties can understand each other. Eye contact is another important factor that ensures the patient feels heard and appreciated. The camera should be parallel with the doctor’s eyeline to encourage trust and thoughtful conversation. Healthcare professionals must also strengthen their WiFi and close out of other tabs during video calls to avoid lagging. Miscommunications happen over video calls all the time because of weak internet connections. Both parties can become easily frustrated during shoddy video calls, which would strain the all-important doctor/patient relationship. Know When to Meet In Person Telehealth has been revolutionary for standard check-ups, diagnoses and prescriptions. However, it can never completely replace in-person care. Practitioners need to know when to bring patients in for a real visit. Many people are still , but you can’t let those feelings interfere with the in-person treatment they need. anxious about visiting healthcare facilities Sometimes doctors won’t be able to accurately evaluate a patient’s symptoms over a video call. Diagnostic errors , so facilities can’t afford to make costly mistakes and compromise telehealth’s integrity. are already frequent enough Telehealth is Just One Step For all of its positive qualities, Telehealth is just one step in a long journey toward successful healthcare reform. can’t afford the treatment they need. Checking off these five boxes will help sustain telehealth’s success and create a system that’s affordable and accessible for all. One in five Americans

How to Sustain Telehealth Success

The pandemic has caused a massive rise in the implementation of telehealth technologies: Frost & Sullivan reports that in 2020 these technologies in the US alone. But what’s next? skyrocketed by 64% According to Statista, the use of this tech will with the pandemic going down. So is it that providers deploying telehealth solutions are making a poor investment? Not really. Telehealth solutions have the potential to prosper after the pandemic, too. reduce by 40% Telehealth for Better Care Telehealth technologies comprise remote patient monitoring apps, telemedicine software, mHealth tools, and diverse sensors. They all may be used to streamline care delivery, provide the needed therapies for chronic condition patients, and more. We’ll look into some potential applications of below. telehealth software Optimized Care Delivery Through telehealth visits and remote patient monitoring, providers can deliver quality care without any exposure risks for clinicians or their patients. Besides, they can avoid hospital overcrowding by hospitalizing only patients with acute symptoms and letting others get well at home with continuous monitoring and regular virtual appointments. In the present turbulent times, many providers went for these practices. What’s more, RPM software may be critical for vulnerable populations, as it notifies providers, caregivers, and family members about sudden spikes or drops in measured parameters. This way, providers may take timely actions and save lives. Emergency Care Telehealth technologies may help providers bring paramedicine to a new level. As a rule, EMS patients need not only a paramedic but a doctor of a narrower specialty, and this is where teleparamedicine steps in. Paramedics connect with their colleagues (cardiologists, neurologists, and others) to find out which treatment fits the patient most. This fosters immediate care provision, which in some cases may save a patient’s life or prevent a disability. Connecting with their colleagues via a telemedicine tool, paramedics can get help when evaluating a patient’s condition. This in turn may help them decide on the exact destination, which allows them to lower the cost and avoid unnecessary transportation for a swifter care provision. Telemedicine may also help with abusive EMS line phone calls. Some persistent patients may dial the line dozens of times in a row, which distracts the operator. Though telemedicine doesn’t cut off such patients automatically, it does allow providers to triage patients faster and diagnose a non-emergency situation. AR & VR Telehealth For some patient populations, telehealth enhanced with AR & VR has become a life-changing experience and a part of day-to-day therapy. This is true for patients suffering from diverse chronic conditions, such as neurological and mental ones. AR glasses help visually impaired patients to safely navigate their homes, and not only that. AR for VIP, a Berkeley University project, employs AR glasses to assist visually impaired users with moving in unfamiliar outdoor settings. AR glasses make surrounding obstacles audible so that visually impaired people can move around independently, without any assistance. VR telemedicine may make part of successful therapies for patients suffering from chronic pain, stress, memory decline, and other conditions. This is what XRHealth, a VR telehealth clinic, helps with. With VR glasses on, patients may enter diverse virtual environments to get a professional consultation or just some management insights from fellow patients in support groups. Improved Post-Discharge Care and Better Outcomes Telehealth technology may also help providers reduce costs by lowering readmission rates. Though the common scenario with a home nurse regularly visiting patients after the discharge still stands, digital solutions may be more efficient. Firstly, a patient may develop symptoms at any time. With a telehealth system (an RPM tool coupled with a telemedicine solution) in place, a patient can connect with their doctor right away and report the symptom for the clinician’s consideration and timely decision-making. Secondly, an RPM tool may actually outdo a human health worker in monitoring the adherence to the treatment plan. For example, Proteus, an ingestible sensor used in a tuberculosis care and management system, proved more efficient in tracking treatment adherence than clinicians with an accuracy ratio of 93% to 63% respectively. Inviting clinicians to virtual visits can assist providers with understanding patients’ recovery process and thus facilitating it. A New Spin on Clinical Trials In the present epidemiological situation, medical and pharmaceutical research is going through a hard time. Many trials have been canceled or put on hold. So logically, medical researchers started to look for viable alternatives permitting to conduct research with reduced in-person visits. Luckily, telehealth technologies can assist in this regard. With the recent HIPAA waivers, researchers no longer need to deploy a specific telemedicine tool; common messengers will do, provided that they are not public-facing. Moreover, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has provided a list of messengers that are HIPAA-compliant by default. The list includes a range of popular messengers, e.g. Skype for Business. Going for virtual and hybrid trial implementation has two important benefits. First, it may help reduce trial participants’ churn, a pain point for many clinical trials. Second, by allowing patients to participate in trials from the comfort of their homes, researchers may improve patient experience and adherence. With these two benefits at play, clinical trials are unlikely to return to exclusively traditional implementation methods with regular site visits. Conclusions As we can see, telehealth technologies are not only about secure video chats. They integrate successfully into clinical processes and help streamline care delivery and emergency care, improve the quality of life for some groups of patients, and more. Telehealth solutions help reach one of the key healthcare goals — which is improving the population’s quality of life. Considering this, it’s unlikely that these technologies will lose relevance anytime soon.

How to Keep Telehealth Valuable in Post-Pandemic Times

Introduction In a data-driven world where data theft and data breaches are on the rise, the need for data protection laws is extremely welcomed. For example, what does a patient do in regards to his or her health information if it is compromised? How can people guard their health information against the myriad of companies needing their data? Are there laws in place to prosecute entities that leaks or share your health information without your consent? Follow this tutorial and all these answers will be addressed. What is HIPAA? Firstly, I will tell you what HIPAA is not. HIPAA is not HIPPO! HIPAA is an acronym that stands for . It is a Federal law designated to protect your health information from unauthorized disclosures. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA is federal legislation that requires the establishment of national standards to prevent information from being revealed on sensitive patient health without the agreement or knowledge of the patient. A Brief History of HIPAA The history of the HIPAA began on 21 August 1996 when the HIPAA Act was signed, but why did it be introduced? HIPAA was established to "enhance health insurance coverage mobility and accountability" for staff across workplaces. The Act also aimed to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in health and health insurance. The Act also included provisions for promoting the use of health saving bonds through the introduction of tax incentives, the covering of existing medical problems for employees, and the simplification of health insurance management. The processes for streamlining the administration of health insurance have become a vehicle for promoting the health sector to computerize medical records of patients. That section of the Act led in 2009 to the establishment of the "Managing Use Incentives Program," which leaders in the health sector called "the main piece of health legislation in the previous 20 to 30,' in the Health Information Technology Act on Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH). HIPAA Regulations There are about four regulatory acts provided in HIPAA to protect health data and they are as follows. The HIPAA Privacy Rule sets national standards for the protection of medical records and other personal health information and includes health plans, clearinghouses, and healthcare providers conducting certain digital healthcare transactions. The Privacy Rule The HIPAA security rule establishes national requirements for personal e-health data safeguards created, received, used, or retained by a covered organization. The Security Rule The HIPAA Enforcement Rule includes laws on the compliance and probe of violation of the HIPAA Administrative Simplification Rules, the application of civil monetary fines, and hearing processes. The Enforcement Rule The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule requires the categorized entities to report an infringement of an unsecured PHI to the impacted person; HHS; and, in some circumstances, the media. An infringement is generally an unacceptable use or disclosure under the Data Protection Rule which jeopardizes the privacy or safety of PHI. The Breach Notification Rule Definition of HIPAA Terms You must be saying, "What are all these acronyms and abbreviations all about?". Don't worry, we got you covered. Below is the definition of terms you must understand when discussing HIPAA. - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. - Human Health Services, a U.S department for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. - Protected/Personal Health Information. - This means a business associate agreement. It is a contract between a HIPAA-covered entity and a vendor used by that covered entity. - This is any person, business, or organization that needs to comply with HIPAA. HIPAA HHS PHI BAA Covered Entities Use and Disclosure of PHI In HIPAA A covered entity is only required to disclose protected health information in two circumstances, according to the HIPAA Privacy Rule: When Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule Require Use and Disclosure of PHI? To people (or their personal representatives) who seek access to, or an accounting of, their protected health information; and To the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) when it conducts a compliance inquiry, review, or enforcement action. HIPAA & Telehealth Some reasons why you should be concerned about your telehealthcare, but what is telehealth in the first place? Wikipedia defines telehealth as the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies. It allows long-distance patient and clinician contact, care, advice, reminders, education, intervention, monitoring, and remote admissions. HIPAA applies to you if you are a health care provider who provides personal medical information. If you do, you are a protected organization (covered entity). Does HIPAA apply to you and your telehealth practice? Is the information you are transmitting considered PHI? All that can be used to identify someone is potentially PHI. There are 18 types of identifiers considered PHI. Examples related to telehealth care include name, telephone numbers, anniversaries, IP address, email addresses, device identifiers, and pictures. Do I have business associates? A Business Associate is an individual who creates, receives, maintains, or transmits PHI on your behalf; or who has the ability to communicate with PHI in your practice. HIPAA Compliance Physical, administrative, and technical precautions are used to ensure HIPAA compliance. HIPAA compliance cannot be achieved solely through technology. Here are some things you and your business associates should perform and document. Undergo a comprehensive examination of where you store or access PHI and how secure each location is. Take the necessary actions to secure it in a manner that is appropriate for your company. Make a list of your security policies and processes, and record them. Train your personnel on a regular and consistent basis. Risk Assessment Perform and document regular checks of access logs or other records for unauthorized activity. If you find any, it may be terrible news, but you want to be the one to find it first. Report the breach and deploy a patch as soon as possible. Consult with a professional about your next steps. Information Systems Activity Review Conclusion To conclude, we have learned quite a lot of things about the health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) today. We have seen how this law protects users against data theft and breaches and how to address issues arising from patients' data infringements. We have seen how integral HIPAA is to the health industry, especially as regards the growing hybridization of information technology and healthcare/medicine. About Author Gospel Darlington is a remote full-stack web developer, prolific in Frontend and API development. He takes a huge interest in the development of high-grade and responsive web applications. He is currently exploring new techniques for improving progressive web applications (PWA). Gospel Darlington currently works as a freelancer and spends his free time coaching young people on how to become successful in life. His hobbies include inventing new recipes, book writing, songwriting, and singing. You can reach me on , , , or . LinkedIn Twitter Facebook GitHub Key resources to learn more about HIPAA HIPAA History HIPAA for professionals Use & Disclosure of PHI HIPAA Project 1027

Breaking Down The HIPAA Regulations and It's Role In Telehealth

Telemedicine and Telehealth are the future of healthcare. Telemedicine encompasses remote clinical services, and telehealth is remote non-clinical services. Telehealth is a $20+ billion-dollar industry that’s expected to reach $186.5 billion in 2026.  18% of the U.S. GDP is healthcare-related.  90% of physicians have experience with remote treatment and 77% want a shift towards telehealth.  Not only does telehealth bring in revenue, but it also increases patient satisfaction and retention by 81.5%. thanks to its many formats; video calls, mobile health, remote patient monitoring, texting services, and phone calls are a few of the wide array of telehealth platforms available.  Telehealth is less than 100 years old but is growing at an unbelievable rate.  In the first quarter of 2020 alone, 1,629,000 telehealth visits occurred.  During the pandemic, 69% of patients managed their concerns with telehealth guidance. Telemedicine is booming Telehealth has continued to thrive, even with many opposing barriers. 41% of patients have limited access to the internet, but this is currently being solved with Federal broadband initiatives.  Patient privacy was another concern, but consumers are growing more comfortable with private records in the cloud.  Studies show no significant difference between in-person and telehealth diagnoses, so concerns of misdiagnoses are less relevant. The majority of studies now show that patients prefer telehealth over in-person visits. Telehealth has created new innovative solutions for holistic healthcare.  28% of consumers use tech to moderate their health; remote clinical tools can monitor blood pressure, administer anticoagulation testing, and contain ECG devices.  These impact the fields of cardiology, pulmonology, and endocrinology.  With new technologies like apps and smartphone gadgets, mail-in labs, and wearable technology, telehealth has continued to help those in need. Telehealth will continue to boom after the pandemic. COVID-19 spurred many to try telehealth for the first time, and now that they’ve tried it, most Americans want telehealth to continue.  82% of Americans say telehealth makes it easier to get the care they need.  Telehealth is convenient, allowing patients to stay at work rather than taking time off to commute to the doctor’s office.  It is less costly, and many feel less anxiety when seeing a doctor remotely. The future of medicine is just a few taps away.

Hacking the Future of Healthcare: Telehealth and Telemedicine

We are living in the era of online everything, so there’s no wonder that healthcare is expanding to the digital space as well. While patients enjoy fast and accessible healthcare services, businesses view healthcare software development as a great opportunity to generate revenue. The global pandemic added to the quick rise of telehealth applications and wellness apps in general; more than ever before people want to take care of themselves with all the available tools out there. Today, I’m exploring the niche of telehealth and wellness applications development including their functionality, trends, and benefits for the industry. Telehealth and Healthcare Software Statistics In 2019, the telemedicine global market reached in value. $45 billion By 2026, the telehealth sector is expected to grow by $175 billion. The total number of telehealth patients has grown by more than in five years (2013-2018). This number continues to grow. 6.5 million North America is the biggest market for telehealth globally. of physicians actively use their smartphones for work. 90% The number of healthcare-related applications has almost doubled in the last five years. of smartphone users utilize their devices to search for information about their symptoms or health conditions. 62% Hospitals that offer branded healthcare apps demonstrate among their patients. higher satisfaction ratings t.png https://www.grandviewresearch.com/static/img/research/north-america-healthcare-mobile-applications-marke Reasons Behind The Telehealth and Wellness Apps Popularity (often referred to as telehealth or mHealth) is the . Mobile healthcare use of telecommunication tools to provide distant patient care This includes calls, video conferencing, data storage and processing, file exchange, calendar for appointments scheduling, and even an online payment system. While medical software development attracts companies with continuous revenue, it’s the sincere user interest that makes this industry sector go round. Below is a list of reasons why modern people value healthcare software development services so highly: Beyond question, we all want to prolong our well-being as long as possible, and that’s exactly what healthcare applications are promising to assist us in. From an app that reminds you to stay hydrated during the day to more complex solutions for prescription management and chronic symptoms tracking, the benefit of such applications speaks for itself. Add to this the fact that there are hundreds of conditions that require ongoing management, and you’ll get just as many healthcare software ideas to launch. Interest that stays for life. The essence of telehealth is that it allows practitioners to care for patients remotely. This opens up a ton of opportunities for people who have limited access to quality healthcare, like citizens of developing countries, patients with low mobility, field workers, etc. High accessibility. Custom medical software makes healthcare distribution almost instant, and not just because it substitutes paperwork with digital data processing. It also lets people fill in a questionnaire instead of initial check-up at the hospital (that comes after you schedule an appointment and wait for it God knows how long) and many other time-consuming things like prescription renewal, getting lab results, etc. Commitment to the moment. The lack of resources in healthcare is a huge issue that both government and medical device software development companies are trying to solve. Things like reduced stay-in time, faster patient care delivery, cross-hospital communication for more even patient allocation became possible because of well-made healthcare CRM systems and client-facing applications. Redistribution of healthcare resources. Since mHealth positively affects the working environments in healthcare facilities and helps in saving up resources, it didn’t take long to start showing the financial benefits for patients as well. Insurance companies are also taking a new look at the telemedicine practices promoting it on the federal level due to its remarkable cost-effectiveness. Cost reduction. Let’s face it, by this point we all are pretty addicted to using our smartphones. That’s why it is so important to load them with applications that do more than just entertain us. Custom healthcare software development companies contribute greatly to raising awareness of many serious conditions by notifying their users on annual check-ups and other things that should be done regularly. Awareness scale-up. Your Basic Telehealth App Functionality The vast majority of all smartphone users are already familiar with how wellness applications look and work, but it’s not always the case with telemedicine software. Below you can find the basic functionality of such an application described: Double-sided interface for patients and practitioners; Personal profiles for different user roles; Electronic medical record (EMR) integration with databases; In-app messaging for instant communication; Online appointment scheduling through calendar; Video conferencing and calls that provide high-quality image resolution and clear sound; Integrated payment processing for easy and secure financial transactions; HIPAA compliance and abidance by other healthcare laws and regulations. Healthcare Software Development Trends While for some of us medical software development services still sounds a bit unusual, thousands of people actively use such applications and form industry standards and tendencies through reporting their feedback. Here are the healthcare software development trends that I think will be on the rise in 2021: 1. Customer-Centered Platforms This trend is mostly related to medical software design. Regardless of what type of product you develop ― a CRM system, fitness application, , etc. ― it’s got to be as user-friendly as possible. telemedicine API Things like extraordinary design, unusual navigation, and chaotic toolkits should be avoided at all costs, because with health, ease of use always takes over the artistic taste. Companies that truly care about releasing effective end products seem to have come to an unspoken agreement that the patient always has to come first. 2. Open Content Management System Content is the essence of any application, and to keep the content production process going is costly and time consuming. An outstanding example of content creation freedom for users was years ago demonstrated by MyFitnessPal ― one of the most popular fitness applications worldwide. This app allows users to load its databases with their custom content ― in this case, meals with calories and nutrients counted ― that later becomes available for the rest of MyFitnessPal users. This quickly transformed into a trend that doesn’t seem to decrease any time soon: wellness apps developers are trying to design their apps in a way that would let users contribute to the applications’ databases making them more content-heavy thus more engaging. 3. Accent Shifting to Security and Stability It’s hard to imagine a more sensitive information to share than a patient record. That’s why cybersecurity should always be a first priority for healthcare software development companies. This applies to both data storage and data transferring. Software developers nowadays pay extra attention to data transfer protocols that assure stable communication and network safety even with unstable connections. For patients living in the areas with unstable internet coverage, technologies like Bluetooth can be used as an extra option for stable data exchange. This would be a vivid demonstration of how service stability can be achieved with technologies that have been around for years and still remain valuable under certain circumstances. 4. Cross-Platform Support Clearly, people should never be deprived of high-quality healthcare applications regardless of the hardware they are using. Telehealth and wellness applications have extremely wide target audiences which cannot be limited to iPhone/Android users. These days, custom healthcare software developers know that to successfully promote an application, it is a must to make sure it runs equally well on smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Also, older devices with corresponding versions of operating systems shouldn’t be neglected as well. In any other case, a healthcare app risks to compromise most of its effectiveness. 5. It’s Not About Weight Loss Anymore Body positivity social movement has penetrated many businesses including fashion, makeup, and of course selfcare programs like wellness and fitness applications. This does not mean that online calorie counters and digital workout assistants ceased to exist, but their marketing strategies have definitely changed. In 2021, aggressively pushing the idea that thin means beautiful or speaking negatively of corpulent people might cost you a reputation. 6. Pandemic Alert as a Stand-Alone Feature The fact that we all got tired of talking about COVID-19 doesn’t make this topic any less hyped, especially for healthcare professionals and software providers. This explains why most medicine and wellness app owners rushed to add some sort of pandemic or quarantine alert to their interfaces. After all, a small adding to Corona awareness doesn’t harm anyone, does it? Summing up Custom healthcare software development is a profitable niche in the global IT market. The current state of this industry sector holds many opportunities for business owners enthusiastic about healthcare. Working closely with software development providers, I’m noticing the growing interest in wellness, telemedicine, and selfcare applications both for end users and investors. User demand for these kinds of applications is still on the rise and has not reached its peak. What’s more, over the past 10 months more and more people have become increasingly more comfortable with receiving healthcare services remotely. Meanwhile, the supply of developers with experience in similar applications isn’t growing as fast. If telehealth and wellness applications is a market in which you want to get a solid foothold, it is important that you begin acting sooner rather than later.

Why Telehealth and Wellness Apps Are Worth Developing in 2021

Soon after COVID-19 hit the world, hospitals across the country started quickly filling up with new patients and forcing some of the long-term care patients out of hospitals. Most of those long-term care patients now can’t go to hospitals due to how vulnerable they are to getting COVID-19. In order to still receive the attention and care that they need, many have turned to telemedicine. Technologies like video conferencing, data monitoring, and smartphone apps that are used to help keep and eye on and treat patients have all seen usage start to spike. CareClix, a virtual health company which has over 20 million users, saw a 50% rise in usage in March alone and Zipnosis, another virtual health company, reported a 3,600% increase in virtual visits over the course of just 11 days in February. The idea of telehealth is not a new concept - as early as 1924, Radio New Magazine featured an illustration of a physician attending to his patient via video. In 1967, the University of Miami’s medical school worked with the local fire department to help set up a system where emergency patient info could be transferred remotely. Modern telemedicine provides medical services via virtual visits and with the use of diagnostic tools. Telemedicine has many benefits for both the patient and the doctor. It can prevent unneeded emergency room visits, decrease possible hospital re-admissions, improves physician access with 24/7 coverage, and promotes early treatments and intervention, and can help improve quality of life. But even with all these extra benefits, some healthcare providers are skittish about adding telemedicine to their plans and are slow to utilize the virtual tech that is growing in popularity. Only 2 out of every 10 doctors plan to implement virtual visits and of those who do, a third are concerned about keeping patient data secure. Learn more about during and after COVID-19 is gone here. the future of remote health

[Infographic] How Telehealth and Telemedicine are Hacking the Healthcare System

In recent months, individuals across the globe have shifted to a remote way of life, including working from home, virtual dating, drive-by birthday parties and now, even doctor’s appointments. The healthcare sector quickly implemented changes to provide a more remote experience to comply with social distancing regulations. To decrease the number of face-to-face doctor’s appointments and adhere to social distancing limitations and regulations, the announced they “will not impose penalties for noncompliance” with the regulatory requirements under the HIPAA Rules against covered health care providers in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) The shift to virtual appointments has allowed different healthcare providers to implement some popular video communication applications including Zoom, Skype, WebEx, and GoToMeeting. Telehealth visits can be a successful tool for remotely observing and treating patients with symptoms who are more comfortable and safe staying home. While telehealth has many benefits for patients, it comes with its challenges for healthcare providers – especially the traditional healthcare companies that did not have a telehealth program in place. Similar to scaling an entire company remotely, implementing telehealth programs also takes time to establish, including installing the necessary technology, recruiting and training doctors about the best virtual practices and teaching the patient how best to use the platform. Privacy risks are inherent to any digital process including telehealth. With the sudden surge of telehealth visits, medical professionals, providers, IT teams and even patients need to think more about their privacy, but now in a virtual setting. The healthcare industry’s hyper-sensitive regulations on record sharing present itself as a problem for telehealth platforms. By sharing sensitive data over a virtual communications app, it creates an opportunity for hackers to access the conversation. Cybercriminals can act as flies on the wall of vulnerable and privileged conversations between doctor and patient, since even seemingly secure systems  may sometimes be easily breached and expose a trove of valuable patient information. Hospitals and healthcare providers need to double down on IT and cybersecurity to fight off potential privacy breaches. HIPAA Solves Privacy Risks Paired with Secure Solutions Healthcare has always been an attractive target for hackers trying to breach patients’ sensitive records. While medical data and records are some of the most delicate pieces of information out there, the healthcare industry has the right compliance regulations in place. HIPAA and other regulations have been around for years but since the HHS weakened the previous compliance regulations, telehealth is now a more attractive target for hackers. Now that the government has become more lenient with telehealth regulation rules, enforcing HIPAA with telehealth communication is the right move to provide better privacy for patients. The (HIPAA) requires medical providers to adopt data security in order to protect their patients’ information from disclosure. The HIPAA regulation requirement of encryption initially sounds a bit confusing, however, it’s more simple than suggested. The HIPAA encryption requirements for transmission security state that covered entities should “implement a mechanism to encrypt PHI whenever deemed appropriate.” Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act In other words, the majority of healthcare organizations are required to be and each provider needs to have some level of security for PHI. Healthcare providers are required to encrypt their data unless they can justify why they can’t implement encryption and can provide an equal alternative. HIPAA compliant Tasked with choosing the best way to store, access and back up electronically protected health information, many healthcare technology companies and providers are looking at cloud computing. They are adopting cloud-based Network as a Service technology as an alternative to traditional hardware-based solutions, as it offers scalability, affordability and increased compatibility with cloud storage environments. But remember, the security service you choose must be and and have signed multiple HIPAA BAAs. With these checks in place, a Network as a Service solution can offer a highly effective solution for any organization’s HIPAA compliance needs. SOC 2 type 2 compliant ISO 27001-compliant Secure Telehealth for a Secure Future of Healthcare As we are experiencing global social distancing, telehealth is quickly evolving, as is the way that it presents a remote option for healthcare services. However, potential privacy and security risks could decrease its value in moving forward. Soon, we should begin seeing more government bodies authorize and create federal telehealth privacy and security protocols which will help healthcare providers avoid risks to their patients and better show the numerous benefits telehealth has to offer. With the help of the government and best privacy and security tools in place, telehealth will have that added security to fight off hackers, and defend its security model.

With Telehealth on the Rise, Privacy Regulations are Imperative

In this new age of COVID-19, wound care has become harder than ever. Wound care specialists and clinics have seen huge drop-offs in the number of patients that they are able to treat as COVID-19 spreads across the country. Hospital-based, outpatient wound care clinics are shortening hours or closing down entirely. Patients suffering from wounds are cancelling at-home appointments and are declining to visit clinics. Post-operative patients are requiring new ways to be cared for remotely. Nursing homes around the country are banning visitors, including wound care specialists, in an attempt to stave off infection and protect vulnerable patients. This pandemic is piled upon the long list of challenges that already face wound care. Regardless of these challenges, wound care remains essential for the lives of millions of people. Wound care is costly - Medicare estimates the cost of acute and chronic wound care treatments may range from $28.1 billion all the way up to $96.8 billion each year, with treatments for surgical wounds and diabetic foot ulcers costing billions of dollars each. Chronic, non-healing wounds affect nearly 15% of Medicare beneficiaries - over 8 million American seniors. These treatments, per patient, can cost around $3,000 to $4,000 for every treatment. Some treatments can cost all the way up to $10,000. Wound care is also complex as nearly all patients require specialized attention for individual needs. Without the necessary care, untreated wounds can cause avoidable visits to already overcrowded hospitals and added complications to already serious ailments such as wound infection, preventable amputations, and even death. The spotlight in these trying times has been turned to telehealth, where medical professionals can help patients without risk of infection. Learn more about how is expanding, the challenges it faces, and how it's helping stop the spread of COVID-19 here: telehealth and wound care

Stories, News & Mentions about DELVEHEALTH

Delvehealth’s Stories on HackerNoon