To combat and contain the COVID-19 pandemic, testing has emerged as the both a lynchpin and one of the most of the significant pain points. This is true for all parts of the health care continuum in the U.S., but for skilled nursing facilities, the need for widespread testing is acute, given how swiftly the […]
The federal government has waived multiple regulations around telehealth with an eye toward making it as easy as possible to stay home and receive medical care. It’s a move that seems well-suited to benefit the Medicare beneficiaries living in skilled nursing facilities across the U.S., who need care while minimizing contact with visitors during the […]
Third Eye Health had a two-year plan to expand the network of skilled nursing facilities that use its telehealth technology from 400 to more than 1,000. Amid a world-historic pandemic, the Chicago-based tech company reached that multi-year goal in a matter of a few weeks. “We’ve had truly exponential growth,” Third Eye vice president and […]
An analytics company that provides data in real time about changes in patient conditions has launched an infectious disease surveillance program in the wake of the COVID-19 national emergency, with the goal of identifying hot spots for the disease before they gather steam. Real Time Medical Systems, a provider of interventional analytics software based in […]
When Jonah Blumenthal, co-founder of the Pomona, N.Y.-based marketing firm TypoDuctions, first started pitching nursing home operators on the potential benefits of using social media, the response was decidedly skeptical. “Five years ago, people thought we were nuts — why in the world would a nursing home want social media?” Blumenthal told SNN recently. Engaging […]
About a month after COVID-19 first arrived on America’s radar, the federal government continues to tear down the dense web of regulations surrounding all aspects of the health care continuum in an attempt to fight back against the coronavirus pandemic. As health care providers and officials look to prevent all non-emergency visits to nursing homes, […]
As part of a sweeping set of waivers announced late Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded its efforts to cut restrictions on telehealth — essentially removing any last roadblock that providers would face to offering virtual interventions at nursing homes. By allowing providers to perform initial and discharge services remotely, and […]
With the federal government cracking down on nursing home infection control policies based on the initial coronavirus outbreak at a Washington state facility, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rolled out a self-assessment tool for nursing home leadership to proactively monitor safety in place. “Nursing home residents and their families who want to […]
The Trump administration on Tuesday announced an emergency expansion of telehealth coverage for Medicare beneficiaries amid the COVID-19 outbreak, removing multiple regulatory barriers to doctors providing remote care for nursing home residents. Retroactive to March 6, Medicare can pay for virtual consultations provided through telehealth platforms across the country, including those conducted in a patient’s […]
Telemedicine is drawing national attention from lawmakers as officials look to safeguard health care workers and patients — while nursing homes anxiously monitor infection-control policies to protect vulnerable residents from the global pandemic of the coronavirus. Expanded Medicare coverage of telehealth services was included in the recent $8.3 billion emergency bill, offering national aid in […]
With concerns around staffing and supply shortages in nursing homes amid the coronavirus, telemedicine has emerged as a key potential weapon, receiving the first-ever major green light for reimbursement on the national level — as part of an $8.3 billion bill allowing the federal government to cover remote care for Medicare recipients passed last Wednesday. […]
Since the latter half of 2019, an East Coast health care group has used a telemedicine partnership to intervene in 100 potential hospitalizations, and within that grouping, definitively stopped 30 hospital admissions — in a collaboration with a medical device company that provides real-time heart monitoring and remote care. In an effort to reduce unnecessary […]
Attend any conference geared toward long-term and post-acute health care operators, and you’ll hear a common thread: Data is king. In a landscape defined by value-based payment models such as Medicare Advantage plans and accountable care organizations (ACOs), investing in data analytics has become almost a prerequisite for success. If a given operator can prove […]
Fresh off a successful Series A funding round, a telehealth company that built its platform around serving rural skilled nursing facilities sees growth ahead in urban markets — as well in serving other post-acute providers along the continuum. TapestryCare last week announced the completion of a funding round led by the New York City-based Sopris […]
Advance care planning has emerged as a key win-win for nursing home operators and their residents, improving quality of life while also helping providers avoid unnecessary and costly rehospitalizations. Backed by a multi-million-dollar grant and adopted by some major players in the skilled nursing space, a program designed to improve advance care planning opportunities — […]
Officials in Maryland have put out a call to nursing home operators and telehealth providers, offering $750,000 to the company that can create the most expansive tech solution for the state’s post-acute and long-term care facilities. Following in the footsteps of the federal government and health systems across the country, the Maryland Health Care Commission […]
More than 100 nursing homes were left vulnerable, without entry to patient medical records, after their data provider experienced a breach — an example of a threat that could become more widespread in an industry not known for technological advancement. Virtual Care Provider Inc. (VCPI) last month was hit with a ransomware attack, a kind […]
A care-coordination startup that has generated 33% reductions in avoidable hospitalizations and $3.4 million in net savings for nursing homes is expanding on its success with a cash injection from a non-profit research institute. Probari — formerly known as Care Revolution — focuses on treating acutely ill residents in place at nursing homes in an […]
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) has substantially scaled back plans for its medical transportation subsidiary GoRide Health, marking a major turn for the ambulance alternative that had targeted the skilled nursing and hospital-system spaces. TechCrunch initially reported the news this week. GoRide Health, which was launched in March 2017 with the goal of providing an […]
For nursing home owners and operators, having frank conversations about residents’ end-of-life intentions, and organizing the associated paperwork proactively, is a potential way to avoid unwanted hospitalizations and the sizable costs that come with it — especially if it’s not in line with the patient’s wishes. Nursing homes are faced with tough decisions when the […]