HIMSSCast

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: CMS allows 60 new telehealth services to be covered by Medicare, drawing commendation – and caution – from the American Telemedicine Association. Plus: Google's Deep Mind AI makes protein-folding breakthrough. Links to the stories: Congressional action is needed for telehealth not to return to a rural benefit, Seema Verma says ATA responds to CMS...

Note: We are publishing this week's episode early so our listeners can enjoy it over the holiday break in the United States. Also note there is no episode of Top Stories this week. Happy Holidays! In today's episode of HIMSSCast, guest host Laura Lovett, managing editor of MobiHealthNews, checks in with Maria Velissaris, founding partner at SteelSky Ventures and Colette Courtion, founder...

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: NorthShore University HealthSystem is utilizing targeted labor strategies and robust analytics to weather the COVID-19 surge; Amazon muscles into the online pharmacy space. Plus: What's taking up clinician's time? (It's not patient care!) Links to the stories: NorthShore University HealthSystem's digital strategy is being tested ag...

The COVID-19 crisis has spurred all kinds of technical innovation, not just virtual visits. For United Methodist Communities in Neptune, New Jersey, the pandemic gave them the opportunity, and the necessity, to launch a remote monitoring program, starting with fall detection, that has led to an 80% reduction in falls. On today's episode host Jonah Comstock welcomes Larry Carlson, CEO of UMC,...

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse:  The Supreme Court appears favorable to keeping the Affordable Care Act after hearing arguments this week; Google launches a pair of AI tools. Plus: Epic and Cleveland Clinic partner on COVID risk model. Links to the stories: Supreme Court appears favorable to keeping Affordable Care Act Google Cloud unveils AI tools to help healthcare analyze unst...

On today's HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock and Healthcare Finance News Managing Editor Susan Morse welcome back Tom Leary, Jeff Coughlin, and David Gray, all from the HIMSS Government Relations team, to discuss what to expect in the lame duck session of Congress as well as when the Biden administration gets underway in 2021. We also delve into the recent extensions in the info blocking rules,...

In today's HIMSSCast we're once again looking at the COVID-19 telehealth boom, but this time through the lens of staffing and workforce. Host Jonah Comstock and MobiHealthNews Managing Editor Laura Lovett are joined by Michelle Davey, CEO of Wheel, to discuss how a rise in virtual care is changing how physicians work. This episode is brought to you by AmWell. Talking points: What Wheel d...

In this episode of Top Stories with Jonah Comstock: Under Armour sells off MyFitnessPal for $345 million; HHS unveils final five-year plan for Health IT. Plus: CMS approves controversial Georgia ACA waiver. Links to the stories: Under Armour sells off MyFitnessPal for $345M, will shut down Endomondo by 2021 HHS unveils new 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan CMS approves Georgia waiver to t...

Last week, HIMSS held Global Health Equity Week, a week of education and action around disparities in public health. Hundreds of participants around the world attended virtual webinars and virtual marches and wrote to their governmental representatives, while HIMSS announced grants to support industry diversity and a new tech challenge, all around the theme of maternal health. Host Jonah Comstock...

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Intelligence agencies warn of cybercriminals’ renewed push to target healthcare providers; President Trump’s claims of COVID-19 over-reporting draws backlack from hospital groups. Plus: A new digital eye health tool from CVS. Links to the stories: FBI, HHS warn of 'increased and imminent' cyber threat to hospitals Provider groups push bac...

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Experts agree that racial bias makes it more difficult for communities of color to combat COVID-19; Hospital admissions are down 10.5% this year due to the coronavirus. Plus: How Borderlands 3 is helping scientists map the microbiome. Links to the stories: COVID-19 hasn't just spotlighted healthcare inequity – it's made it worse Hospital...

HIMSSCast is out early this week to give you a chance to listen to our election edition before Thursday's presidential debate. In this episode, host Jonah Comstock and Healthcare Finance News Managing Editor Susan Morse break down the ways that healthcare is on the ballot in 2020, how the candidates' platforms, such as they are, differ, and how a new administration might handle COVID-19...

COVID-19 has accelerated a digital transformation that was already underway in hospitals across the United States. Now two healthcare experts — Paddy Padmanabhan, founder and CEO of Damo Consulting, a digital transformation advisory firm, and longtime healthcare CIO Ed Marx, now chief digital officer of HCI Group — have written a new playbook to help providers accelerate that transformation, while...

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: The federal government awards $481 million to a diagnostics startup to ramp up COVID-19 testing; Operational risks of owning a public hospital could compound fiscal challenges for counties. Plus: New concerns about CMS data reporting rules. Links to the stories: Cue Health awarded $481M from HHS, DoD to ramp up production of its app-connected COVID...

Within healthcare, virtual reality (VR) applications are currently being used to control pain, decrease anxiety, and reduce stress. New research has demonstrated a strong case for VR use in care both at home and in the hospital. How can this new, effective therapy be scaled to a broader population of patients? John Sharp will answer just that question as he speaks with Dr. Brennan Spiegel, Directo...

With its recent launch of the Digital Health Center for Excellence, the FDA has shown a new spotlight on its ongoing work of changing how the regulation of digital health and digital therapeutics works, to better match the realities of modern technology. But is the organization taking the right steps for the right reasons? Or is it heading into dangerous territory for developers and their end user...

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Hospitals must now include flu data along with their COVID-19 data; Mental health tops the list of preferred uses for telehealth. Plus: Clover Health goes public. Links to the stories: HHS will require hospitals to report flu information, in addition to COVID-19 Americans want mental healthcare via telehealth, but data security worries remain Clove...

The COVID-19 crisis thrust hospital supply chain issues into the national spotlight as we heard about shortages of personal protective equipment almost daily during the early days of the crisis. But the issues that lead to these shortages are only a few of the many challenges that hospital supply chain managers face every day. For this week’s episode, co-host, Rob Havasy is joined by Rich Kucera,...

On a very special episode of HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock welcomes HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf to talk about his experiences, HIMSS's experiences, and what he's observed in the industry more broadly in the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Talking points: What HIMSS is all about How COVID has spurred digital transformation in healthcare The Global Consortium for eHealth Interoperabil...

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Cyberattack hits Universal Health Services, forcing shutdown of user access to IT applications; Anthem reaches $40M settlement in in 2015 cyberattack. Plus: Is the Apple Watch causing unnecessary healthcare utilization? Links to the stories: UHS hospital chain hit with apparent ransomware attack So you've been hit with a ransomware attack. Wha...

This week's episode will feature co-host Indu Subaiya, President of Catalyst @ Health 2.0 and Senior Advisor to HIMSS speaking with Farzad Mostashari, Co-founder and CEO of Aledade and Former Head of the Office of the National Coordinator.   Dr. Farzad Mostashari will provide an expert perspective on what a 21st century public health system could look like including real-time disease surveill...

In this inaugural episode, Kerry Amato kicks off the Accelerate Health Podcast with Omkar Kulkarni, Chief Innovation Officer for Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Managing Director for KidsX, a new pediatric health accelerator. KidsX is a global ecosystem of pediatric innovators, anchored by a consortium of 30 children’s hospitals from North America, Europe and Australia motivated to partne...

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsurg’s absence on the Supreme Court throws the future of the ACA into question; Femtech companies bemoan advertising difficulties on social media. Plus: the emergence of 'social informatics'. Links to the stories: Death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could have ramifications for Affordable Care Act Femt...

It's a bit of a pot pourri this week as the MobiHealthNews team shares some of what they've heard at a variety of (virtual, of course) industry events. First host Jonah Comstock recaps what Apple announced at its product launch event last week, then Associate Editors Dave Muoio and Mallory Hackett discuss the Digital Therapeutics East event. Finally Managing Editor Laura Lovett and Jonah...

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Apple partners with VA to offer telehealth services for veterans – and announces new health-tracking functionality for its next Apple Watch. Plus: Hospital CEO changeover rates are dropping after a five-year hold. Links to the stories: Here's what primary care clinicians say they need to effectively implement telehealth VA working with Apple t...