Add Digital Divide to the List of SDOH; House Bill Might Address Divide with Broadband Access
Efforts are underway to address the digital divide in healthcare, while CMS reviews value-based care models and the public makes HIPAA rule comments.
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By Sara Heath
- Healthcare professionals may be preparing for a post-pandemic world, but they are taking some of the key lessons from COVID-19 with them. Front and center are health equity issues, which have manifested themselves as a steep digital divide made apparent by the rise in telehealth and other consumer-facing health technologies for remote care.
Add Digital Divide to the List of SDOH
The healthcare and patient experience are increasingly becoming defined by technology, with the COVID-19 pandemic putting tools like telehealth, the patient portal, and online resources at the forefront. But with industry leaders simultaneously zeroing in on the social determinants of health and health equity, they are lamenting a digital divide. Policy efforts and digital health literacy programs are working to close the gap between those with ready access to digital technology and those without. READ MORE
VT Lawmaker Looks to Boost Broadband for Telehealth
A US congressman from Vermont has introduced legislation to the House of Representatives that would provide close to $80 billion to improve broadband access across the country, something experts say could improve telehealth access and equity.
“The digital divide is real and has only widened since the start of the COVID pandemic,” Representative Peter Welch said in a statement about his legislation, which he introduced this week. “There is no disputing that fast, reliable broadband service is essential in our modern economy. After a year of remote schooling, online medical appointments, and family Zoom calls, the need for high-speed internet for all Americans is even more clear. This bill will include enough resources to make sure that all Americans, no matter their zip code, have access to a ‘future proof’ broadband connection.” READ MORE
Biden Admin Hits Pause on Some Value-Based Reimbursement Models
The administration has hit pause to review some key value-based reimbursement models that came out of the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI). Models under review include Geographic Direct Contracting Model, Primary Care First Model’s Seriously Ill Population option, and the Kidney Care Choices Model.
READ MORE: Preparing Healthcare CFOs for Business During a Biden Presidency
The Biden administration has also provided an update for the Medicare Shared Savings Program, stating that the application process timeline for interested accountable care organizations (ACOs) has been pushed to Jan. 1, 2022.
This does not necessarily mean the models are in peril of going away.
Michael Abrams, co-founder and managing partner at Numerof & Associates.
“It's natural for the administration to want to take a close look at the programs that are on the verge of being implemented to satisfy for themselves that this is not a disaster in the making where they’ll be left holding the bag for something they did not conceptualize nor approve on their own,” Michael Abrams, co-founder and managing partner at Numerof & Associates, told RevCycleIntelligence. READ MORE
Disruptive Payer Orgs Look to IPO in 2021
Oscar Health and Alignment Healthcare have each separately filed for an IPO in 2021, giving further credence to these disruptive health payers that focus on key growth opportunities in the healthcare industries.
In the case of Oscar Health, the February IPO will ideally let it zero in on telehealth, care concierge, claims management, and population health.
And for Alignment Healthcare, an IPO will further its efforts to provide Medicare Advantage plans with an emphasis on virtual solutions. READ MORE
Deploying Genomic Data at the Point of Care
Genomic data has added to the long list of patient information that helps medical providers do their jobs and provide better care. Genomic data helps clinicians better understand disease risk, and therefore introduce care interventions that can ultimately improve patient health and prevent high-acuity issues.
But this type of patient health information has also introduced an analytics problem, as medical professionals have had to sift through and manage vast amounts of data.
“Genomics is moving rapidly and the technology is changing quickly, so agility is very important. We decided we needed to build a solution internally to have competency in this area,” Kamalakar Gulukota, PhD, Director of the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at NorthShore, told HealthITAnalytics. READ MORE
HHS Gives More Time for HIPAA Change Comments
HHS has issued a 45-day extension for the comment period on certain proposed HIPAA changes. The changes, proposed in December 2020, would expand patient right of access.
HHS said it extended the comment period due to high interest. Comments are now due by May 6, 2021.
“OCR anticipates a high degree of public interest in providing input on the proposals because the HIPAA Privacy Rule affects nearly anyone who interacts with the healthcare system,” said Acting OCR Director Robinsue Frohboese, in a statement.
“The 45-day extension of the comment period to May 6, 2021, will give the public a full opportunity to consider the proposals and submit comments to inform future policy,” she added. READ MORE
High-Quality Speakers Can Detect Human Heartbeats
A team at the University of Washington has developed smart speakers that send out soundwaves to detect regular and irregular heartbeats.
The sound system is able to detect patterns in the way in which those soundwaves are reflected back to them. In other words, the soundwaves can bounce of the patients, echoing back their heartbeats. This presents an opportunity to detect heartbeats without physical contact, the team wrote in Communications Biology. This could be a game-changer for at-home care. READ MORE
