One doctor has been working to scale up virtual visits since 2016. 'In the last four weeks, we’ve accomplished more than in the last four years on this topic,' he says. commonhealth
issued an order on Monday requiring private insurers to cover virtual visits the same way they cover in-person visits. Though Massachusetts is seen as a leader both in health care and in technology, its adoption of telemedicine has lagged.
"We’re 50th out of 50 states for adoption," says Dr. Joseph Kvedar, the president-elect of the American Telemedicine Association.out this month finds the rate of telehealth usage doubled in Massachusetts between 2015 and 2017 but still remained 39% lower than the national rate. At the Kenmore Square operations center of the Atrius Health medical network on Wednesday, Dr. Philip Ciampa ran a staff training on how to do a virtual visit with a possible coronavirus patient. As he spoke to a mock patient who'd had fever and chills for a day or so, he could took a virtual look at her via video. "I can tell that your respiratory rate is normal right now," he said,"and I can also tell that you’re not using any accessory muscles to breathe and that your breath is comfortable." Patients can be asked to tap out their pulse rate, he explained, and to take their own blood pressure and temperature if they have the tools. Ciampa is the chief innovation engineer for Atrius Health, and has been working to scale up virtual visits since 2016. "In the last four weeks, we’ve accomplished more than in the last four years on this topic," he says. At Atrius, virtual care is being used to triage patients concerned about possible coronavirus, and Ciampa says it’s also being ramped up for non-coronavirus concerns to let other patients avoid office visits as well.patients who may have the coronavirus, Lee Schwamm says. That lets nurses communicate with them without having to risk infection by going into the room. And work is under way on a chatbot to help patients figure out if they may have the virus and what to do next. "We’re getting swamped by requests for advice and help, which is totally understandable," and which technology can help alleviate, he says.Dr. Kvedar of the president-elect of the American Telemedicine Association, says face-to-face visits won’t go away — they can be uniquely valuable — but virtual visits should be part of routine care. "What I speculate on," he says,"is: after the dust settles, and we know it will, will patients want to go back? Will they sort of say, 'Hey, you know I had that, I don’t know why we can’t keep doing it that way?’"
Please follow us on Google to support usUnited States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Latest: UK urges no visits to Mom on Mother's DayMOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 307,200 people and killed more than 13,000. The COVID-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people,...
Read more »
Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and More Stars Join D-Nice's Live Dance PartyOver 100,000 viewers tuned in to D-Nice's virtual dance party on Saturday night.
Read more »
Goldman makes bold upgrade of Boeing shares, saying it has enough cash and air travel will returnNew for subscribers: Goldman makes bold upgrade of Boeing shares, saying it has enough cash and air travel will return Check out CNBCPro and get your first 30 days free.
Read more »
‘We’re scared’: Cancer patient describes hospital visits amid coronavirus outbreakSheetal Sheth describes undergoing breast cancer treatment amidst the COVID-19 outbreak: 'We're having to decide what's worse for us, coronavirus or the cancer, every time we go into the hospital...we're immunocompromised, and we're possibly being exposed'
Read more »
Taliban-Afghan government Skype call breathes life into peace processThe Taliban and the Afghan government held a 'virtual' meeting on pris...
Read more »
Tour Buckingham Palace Without Ever Leaving the StatesYou can tour Buckingham Palace without ever leaving your couch
Read more »