Showing posts with label online patient access. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online patient access. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

IKONA, the Startup Using VR to Improve Health Literacy, Starting with Dialysis


CEO and founder Tim Fitzpatrick is leveraging the latest in neuroscience research and VR filmmaking to radically improve health education and patient confidence. 

Kidney disease is a large and growing health challenge, in the United States and globally, thanks in part to rising rates of diabetes and high blood pressure. A full 37 million Americans (15% of the adult population) suffer from kidney disease, according to the National Kidney Foundation, and in 2016, more than half a million people had to be put on dialysis at least 3 times a week just to survive. 

This represents a huge cost to Medicare ($114B in 2016) and efforts are now underway to transition dialysis patients to in-home care, a cheaper and more comfortable alternative. This need for this transition to home became even more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, but how can resource-strapped dialysis clinics — which currently only spend a few minutes on patient education through paper pamphlets — safely and efficiently transition hundreds of thousands of patients to home care?

Levin is a former CEO of Time Warner

It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Jerry Levin, ex CEO of Time-Warner shares his own personal experience with dialysis. Following a severe injury from a fall, with multiple injuries he eventually was placed on hemodialysis while rehabilitating in a skilled nursing facility.  The experience was an eye-opener and less than optimal for his condition and many others.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also provided specific guidelines to address a similar deathtrap: dialysis centers, due to their comparable high volume of older patients (50% of all dialysis patients are over 65) and their history of infections are a very high risk for heightening the spread. More than 725,000 Americans suffer from kidney failure, otherwise known as end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Of these, at least 500,000 individuals are on dialysis.

Receiving home dialysis treatments in a nursing home is not something that is only available to people like me (former CEOs). It could be provided to any patient who needs it. Unfortunately, right now it’s not available to many, which is mainly a function of the red tape and bureaucracy in healthcare. Our current system is characterized by slow decision making, limited willingness to try new and innovative therapies, and stubborn adherence to the status quo of where and how healthcare should be delivered.

But there is a safer way to administer this lifesaving care, and we must urgently make plans to deliver dialysis within nursing home and long-term care facilities, and further to accelerate the provision of dialysis for those able to do it in their home. We must save our elderly and our broader population from this deadly blind spot.















Say Hello to IKONA, the Startup Using VR to Improve Health Literacy, Starting with Dialysis

Friday, May 9, 2014

Health IT Potpouri

There is an overwhelming amount of information about HIT on the web, blogs, email newsletters and a Google search will turn up literally hundreds of resources.

For this week, May 8 2014 I have compiled this list of hot topics and links:


ROI -- whether the "I" stands for innovation or for investment -- will be among the many topics up for discussion at the National Healthcare Innovation Summit, which kicks off May 13 in Boston. The organizers promise "the kinds of innovations that people can take home and use tomorrow."

Among the healthcare developers workshopping better approaches to technology design at HxRefactored in Brooklyn next week will be Stephen Buck, who'll offer some "lessons learned" from looking closely at leading EHRs -- specifically, how not to design a user interface.

More than 370,000 Medicare and Medicaid eligible providers have earned an EHR incentive payment so far, with 64,000 new participants attesting to meaningful use for the 2013 reporting year.

The Defense Health Agency has put a foot forward with revamping its clinical information systems after it inked a bridged contract with a Reston, Va.-based technology and defense company.
The current landscape of data exchange networks is disjointed, with health care systems scrambling to uncover sustainable business models. The need for interoperability is greater than ever. What will the model look like in the future and what are organizations doing to move toward more valuable data exchange? Ashish Shah, Medicity’s CTO, and I recently discussed these industry drivers with Anthony Brino, editor of Government Health IT. Read the article HIE at a Crossroads.
Carolinas HealthCare System CareConnect got an early start on creating a robust network for data exchange. Take a look at this recent case study highlighting Medicity’s role in connecting the health care ecosystem to enable a 360-degree view of patients across the care continuum.


Posted: 06 May 2014 10:06 PM PDT
A while back — three months, to be exact — I asked readers if they had a preferred term to describe “the application of new, personalized technologies to healthcare.” I gave you the choice of digital health, connected health, wireless … Continue reading →

HIE among U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals has been trending upward since 2008, in fact, and it took some major leaps forward in 2013.



Posted: 05 May 2014 09:01 AM PDT
Understanding that physicians require more comprehensive, flexible clinical documentation solutions that reflect the fast-paced highly mobile health care environment, M*Modal today announced enhancements to its Fluency Flex™ Mobile dictation application for iOS 6.0+ devices. Moving beyond the capture of clinical notes during … Continue reading →

More than half of people with chronic conditions say the ability to get their electronic medical records online outweighs the potential privacy risks, according to a new survey by Accenture.

New guidelines issued by the Federation of State Medical Boards could have a chilling effect on the growth of telemedicine -- especially in rural areas and among low-income patients, say some patient advocates, healthcare providers and healthcare companies.

Some analysts are predicting the next "great wave" in EHR purchasing among U.S. hospitals to be just around the corner. But do the numbers really bear that out?

The hits keep on coming for the new EHR certification criteria, as the American Medical Association and Telecommunications Industry Association send their complaints to ONC on the heels of similar criticism submitted earlier by the EHR Association.

The “unconfirmed rumor of a huge acquisition” that HIStalk (a.k.a. the National Inquirer of health IT) tweeted about on Wednesday apparently is that IBM was going to acquire Epic Systems. Mr. HIStalk on Thursday expressed some reservations.   @DaLAWon Much … Continue reading →


The hits keep on coming for the new EHR certification criteria, as the American Medical Association and Telecommunications Industry Association send their complaints to ONC on the heels of similar criticism submitted earlier by the EHR Association.


Posted: 01 May 2014 10:51 AM PDT
Nextgov has a great article up which outlines many of the details of the soon to be bid out Healthcare Management Systems Modernization contract. I’d prefer to call it the DoD EHR Contract or AHLTA replacement contract. Certainly there’s more … Continue reading →

Explore Medical Practice Insider's guide to emerging apps and devices for the medical practic

If you want to learn more about ACO formation and Operational Issues: Attend
this event either in person, or as a webinar.
Press Release: Brookings/Dartmouth Fifth ACO Summit Announces New Keynote Speakers Sean Cavanaugh & Alice Rivlin

  • A Hybrid Conference and Internet Event
  • The Leading Forum on Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Related Delivery System and Payment Reform
  • Sponsored by Engelberg Center for Health Reform at the Brookings Institution and Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice
  • June 18 - 20, 2014
  • Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC
  • Online In Your Own Office or Home live via the Internet with 24/7 Access for Six Months


For Summit registration information, visit www.ACOSummit.com/registration.php, email registration@hcconferences.com, or call 800-503-3597.