The news is flooded with digital health, healthcare tech, telehealth, and virtual care updates. Trying to keep up with it all is almost impossible, so we’ve made it simple. These are the newest updates and trends you don’t want to miss. 

1. Kicking off our Doxy.me Roundup, researchers find telemedicine eliminated a historical racial health gap. Follow-up care has always had obvious and drastic inequities between African-American and caucasian patients during one of the most vulnerable times of need: after a hospital stay. Researchers found that the rise of telehealth due to COVID-19 has eliminated this historical racial gap in care.

2. Doxy.me in the Caribbean Doxy.me, in 156 countries with over a million providers, partners with MedRegis to help expand affordable and accessible health care. MedRegis is looking to expand throughout the Caribbean and into countries of Africa.

3. Amazon Care expands virtual care services nationwide First offered to internal employees in 2019, Amazon Care takes on the employer market, now available in all 50 states with their newest company deals: Silicon Labs, TrueBlue, and Whole Foods Market.

4. The newest federal legislation proposed for Telehealth: Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act No one knows if the most recent of the eight renewals for the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) will be the last. Senators introduce the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act to extend Medicare telehealth services for an additional two years.

5. With Telehealth here to stay, and the lack of training for providers and preceptors, the American Medical Association launches their new guide: AMA Telehealth Clinical Education Playbook. Laid out like an actual playbook with sections like Warm-up, Pre-game, Game time-telehealth, and Post-game, AMA’s guide supports the spectrum of telehealth stages and implementation.

6. Privacy and safety in virtual care will be a top focus in 2022. You don’t know what you don’t know. Follow the Data Defender Series to keep you, your clients, and your data safe. This month’s topic is Data Privacy and Telehealth: Are you safe in a natural disaster? – Doxy.me  

• Privacy in the news
• Backup your data
• Prepare for natural disasters
• Stay safe from criminals!

7. Controversial medication abortion via telehealth is in the news with varied state regulations. Medication abortions, often referred to as the “Abortion Pill,” can be prescribed to qualifying patients to take at home, up to 70 days gestational age. As with many healthcare services and prescription needs, telehealth visits have become an efficient and safe choice for patients and providers. However, different state policies affect abortion, including the number of in-person visits required to be prescribed a medication abortion vs a virtual visit. In 24 states, state laws limit access to telehealth use for medication abortion prescriptions, 8 states require at least one in-person visit, and 19 states require two or more in-person visits.

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Better Patient Engagement

Providers have access to online tools and features that enhance patient understanding and engagement, including:

• Screen share
• Whiteboard
• Chat
• File Transfer
• Interactive assessment tools

Virtual Physical Exams? 

Technology is more readily available in the home to assist with physical examinations. These technologies can relay necessary insight for assessments, diagnosis, and treatment from home. They also effectively impact patient engagement and accountability:

• Remote Patient Monitoring, using devices with Bluetooth and cloud capabilities.
• In-home vital sign monitors
• Health apps
• Smart watches

New research and tools are also becoming available for providers to learn best practices for virtual physical exams.

Safety and Support

Telehealth is a powerful and necessary tool for cancer treatment. This virtual tool can drastically decrease exposure risks, as immunocompromised patients can stay safely at home. It also delivers a new engaging method for patients and their support people. Family members and caregivers can be easily included in telehealth visits for planning and understanding, as we know support people are vital to success across the cancer trajectory. 

Remove Obstacles to Care 

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the economic and social barriers affecting a patient’s ability to achieve greater outcomes.

Telehealth addresses patient barriers to care, as it can:

• Cut transportation needs
• Allow for greater access to care for rural areas
• Reduce treatment cost
• Require less time off of work
• Show a patient’s environmental needs
• Uncover environmental and social needs: food insecurity, underserved living conditions, and neglect.

Compassionate Telehealth

Providers may feel they are taking away from the patient experience by not being in-person. Yet, providers are finding a better patient experience if they are prepared and timely. This complements a new practice of virtual bedside manner called “Webside Manner:”

• Camera positioning 
• Cut external distractions 
• Understanding eye contact through the camera 
• Professional setups 

Simple steps can enhance the authenticity of care that is seen and felt. Patient satisfaction even improves with thorough and direct provider time from the comfort of the home.

The Shift in Healthcare Delivery

More providers and patients are able to take advantage of the convenience and safety in Tele-Oncology because of increased awareness, education, and preparation. 

Hybrid care continues to make waves throughout oncology care and across all specialties. Over time, providers will find more success and value in the delivery of clinical and compassionate care with telehealth.

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