Approximately 55 percent of veterans live in rural areas with limited access to VA healthcare. To meet the healthcare needs of the veteran population, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) just announced that their national telehealth programs www.telehealth.va.gov has served more than 690,000 veterans during FY 2014. This total represents about 12 percent of the overall veteran population enrolled for VA healthcare and accounts for more than 2 million telehealth visits. …Continue reading
Attacking Prescription Opioid Abuse
“Prescription Opioid Abuse: Fighting Back on Many Fronts” was discussed by experts at a briefing held September 29th on Capitol Hill sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform www.allhealth.org and the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) www.pcmanet.org. According to statistics, prescription drug abuse is the nation’s fastest growing drug problem with more than 20,000 Americans dying each year from overdoses. …Continue reading
CHCF Supports POLST Registry
The California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) www.chcf.org has issued two requests related to the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST), which is a form developed to give patients more control over their end-of-life care. …Continue reading
Showcase on Telehealth Partnerships
The key focus of the “Telemedicine & Telehealth Service Provider Showcase (SPS): Advancing Telehealth Partnerships” www.ttspsworld.com held October 6 and 7, 2014 in Phoenix provided valuable input on building partnerships to better enable connected health access and delivery. The goal for partnerships between healthcare providers and telehealth services is to improve patient care and outcomes. …Continue reading
Improving Patient Care
Sachin Jain, MD, Chief Medical Information and Innovation Officer for Merck and Company was one of the keynote speakers at the MedCity ENGAGE Summit held September 30 to October 1st www.events.medcitynews.com/engage in Bethesda Maryland. …Continue reading
Redesigning MRIs for Children
Pediatric patients that could benefit from an MRI of the abdomen, chest, or pelvis often undergo CT scans instead. Although a CT scan can be sufficient in many cases, an MRI often provides additional information that can influence treatment. …Continue reading
DOD to Improve Patient Safety
A final report submitted August 2014 to the Secretary of Defense reviewed the Military Health System www.defense.gov/pubs/140930_MHS_Review_Final_Report_Main_Body.pdf in several areas including how patient and safety in the Military Health Service (MHS) is progressing. …Continue reading