Bonus Features – September 18, 2022 – HIMSS and WHO to collaborate on digital health, inpatient admissions for pediatric mental health up 60% since 2016, and more

Welcome to the weekly edition of Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features. This article will be a weekly roundup of interesting stories, product announcements, new hires, partnerships, research studies, awards, sales, and more. Because there’s so much happening out there in healthcare IT we aren’t able to cover in our full articles, we still want to make sure you’re informed of all the latest news, announcements, and stories happening to help you better do your job.

News and Studies

WHO/Europe and HIMSS have signed an agreement to collaborate on digital health, with the entities saying the partnership will allow for a more aligned approach to digital transformation in Europe. Under the agreement, WHO/Europe is set to launch a strategic partnership initiative to engage HIMSS and other key partners in a transatlantic coalition for digital health, while HIMSS will provide resources to help WHO/Europe assist more health systems across the continent with their digital transformation efforts.

Research from payment and analytics company Clarify Health found that mental health utilization for pediatrics has increased significantly since 2016. Inpatient admissions for mental health increased 60% from 2016 to 2021, while ED admissions increased 20%. This compares to just 5% for office-based and outpatient mental health services. Insurance coverage seems to be creating disparities in where children receive mental health care, as children covered by Medicaid are twice as likely to go to the ED while those covered by commercial insurance are more likely to be admitted for inpatient services.

The American Telemedicine Association joined 375 industry stakeholders in urging the U.S. Senate to permanently extend the telehealth flexibilities and waivers put in place during the public health emergency. The Senate is currently considering a two-year extension of these flexibilities, which include lifting location limitations and in-person requirements for mental health, as they are due to expire at the end of the year.

The latest survey from the Medical Group Management Association found that practices with high marks in four performance categories – operations, profitability, productivity, and value – collect nearly 9% more accounts receivable in the first 30 days after service and have less outstanding A/R after 120 days. High-performing specialty practices also collect at least 10% more copays at the time of service.

Specialty prescribers deemed delays and denials as the most challenging part of their job, according to a recent Surescripts survey. About two-thirds of specialty prescribers said outdated prior authorization processes and missing patient information are the top causes of these delays. In addition, more than 80% said the time to therapy for new specialty medications should be faster – no more than two weeks.

Partnerships

Products

Sales

  • Dartmouth Health deployed Qstream, a microlearning platform, to help properly insulin to diabetic patients. The pilot project saw a 66% reduction in nursing administration errors, while 85% of program participants reported increased confidence in diabetes management.
  • Device implementation service provider BrightInsight selected Lyniate as its data interoperability platform.

People

  • AI company Infermedica hired Amanda Bury as Chief Commercial Officer and Dr. George Gellert as Medical Advisor.
  • Care journey platform SeamlessMD hired Jeremiah McGuire as Vice President of Sales. He recently held a similar role at WebMD.

If you have news that you’d like us to consider for a future edition of Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features, please submit them on this page. Please include any relevant links and let us know if news is under embargo.

About the author

Brian Eastwood

Brian Eastwood is a Boston-based writer with more than 10 years of experience covering healthcare IT and healthcare delivery. Brian also writes about enterprise IT, consumer technology, corporate leadership, and higher education for a range of publications and clients. He got his start as a professional writer as a community newspaper reporter in 2003.

When he's not writing, Brian is most likely running, hiking, or cross-country skiing in Northern New England. When he needs a break from cardio, he's usually reading a history book.

   

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