Funding to emergency medical services to develop an HIE and interoperability is now available via Medi-Cal (Medicaid) through a process established by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). (more…)
ONC’s FY 2018 Budget Request
The President’s proposed FY 2018 Budget request for the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for HIT www.healthit.gov is $38 million which is $22 million below the spending level appropriated through the FY 2017 Continuing Resolution. (more…)
BPC Report: Patient Safety & IT
Improving information technology’s role in providing safer care requires not only leadership but also public-private sector collaboration. The need to achieve interoperability, effectively use data, and further develop safety standards were discussed by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) http://bipartisanpolicy.org, upon the release of BPC’s report “Patient Safety and Information Technology” funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation www.moore.org. (more…)
World Bank Approves Loan to China
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors www.worldbank.org has approved a $600 million loan to China to be implemented from 2017 to 2021 to help improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare services in China’s Anhui and Fujian provinces. The loan will enable the use of the “Program-for-Results” (PforR) instrument to link loan disbursements to tangible results. (more…)
Texas Bill to Become Law
The bill (SB 1107) supporting telehealth introduced into the Texas legislature last February that passed the House in May, is expected to become law as soon as it is signed by Governor Abbott. As soon as the bill is signed into law, American Well www.americanwell.com will enable clinicians to use their platform to provide services to patients in Texas. (more…)
Developing Wearable Brain Scanner
Patients undergoing a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan in today’s bulky shaped machines must lie completely still. As a result, scientists can’t use the scanners to unearth links between movement and brain activity. For example, the scanner can’t be used to determine if the brains of people struggling to walk after a stroke differs from people able to walk. (more…)
Telehealth Improving Care for Kids
ATA hosted the Telehealth Capitol Connection Briefing (TCC) www.americantelemed.org “Telehealth and the ABCs of Keeping Kids Covered”, on Capitol Hill, May 16, 2017 to discuss the need for healthcare to be delivered to the home and schools via telehealth. (more…)