Telemedicine News & Updates 3-28-2018

Philips enhances point-of-care ultrasound with Reacts platform for remote collaboration and virtual training
Royal Philips (@philips), a global leader in health technology, in partnership with Innovative Imaging Technologies, announced an industry-first integrated tele-ultrasound solution based on Philips’ Lumify portable ultrasound system and powered by IIT’s Reacts collaborative platform. This innovation connects clinicians around the globe in real time by turning a compatible smart device into an integrated tele-ultrasound solution, combining two-way audio-visual calls with live ultrasound streaming. This innovation in point-of-care ultrasound brings endless possibilities to its users both inside and outside hospital walls.

Startup Insider: 4 questions with swyMed CEO Stefano Migliorisi on rolling out telemedicine to remote areas
Five years ago, Stefano Migliorisi founded the telemedicine software company swyMed (@swyMed) to bring remote care to areas with limited broadband infrastructure. The Lexington, Mass.-based startup develops telemedicine equipment for rural and isolated areas that often face issues related to internet connectivity. Becker’s Hospital Review (@BeckersHRcaught up with Mr. Migliorisi to discuss barriers to telemedicine adoption in remote areas and his advice for other health IT companies working with rural communities.

ONE20 Announces Exclusive MDLIVE Offering, Launches Insurance Marketplace for Members
Access to affordable health care on the road is one of the trucking industry’s biggest challenges today. That’s why the nation’s largest free membership for professional truck drivers – ONE20 (@my_one20) – is teaming up with MDLIVE (@MDLIVEInc) to give members access to affordable virtual health care.

AI. Telemedicine. Quantum. New Novartis Boss Says Tech Will Finally Change The Drug Biz
According to Forbes, what does the youngest chief executive in Big Pharma want? A control room straight off the starship Enterprise. This tech-focused perspective, and the will to change the way things are done, landed Vas Narasimhan, an American, in the center seat at one of the world’s largest drug companies. He’s taking unprecedented steps to integrate artificial intelligence, telemedicine, automation and even quantum computing into the labor-intensive process of inventing new medicines and testing their efficacy and safety. The hope is that a young, charismatic chief executive can ignite Novartis shares, up just 12% in five years—underperforming rivals such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Merck, even as Novartis launched more new drugs than any of them.

Butterfly Network Announces the World’s First Augmented Reality Telemedicine Technology
Butterfly Network Inc. (@ButterflyNetInc) announced that it has developed a novel augmented reality telemedicine technology on Butterly iQ™, the world’s first whole-body ultrasound imager. Butterfly iQ is a personal ultrasound device and sells for less than $2,000. Using Butterfly Tele-Guidance™ technology, an ultrasound expert can remotely guide any user to acquire even the most challenging ultrasound scans, bringing medical expertise to wherever it’s needed most. Only a fraction of the 40 million healthcare workers worldwide have the expertise to capture and interpret ultrasound images. Butterfly Tele-Guidance will expand their reach and facilitate early diagnosis and preventive medicine.

Penn Medicine Virtual Urgent Care Hub Helping Patient And Doctors Connect Online
Medicine at your finger-tips with no need for in-person doctor visits is how virtual medicine is helping to make getting care quick and easy. Penn Medicine has opened a center for connected care, creating a big new telemedicine hub that is one of the largest in the country.

In State News:

Top Three Changes in Delaware’s New Proposed Telemedicine Rules
The National Law Review reports the Delaware Board of Medicine has issued proposed regulations clarifying certain statutory provisions pertaining to telemedicine and telehealth. As we previously reported, Delaware’s Medical Practice Act imposes certain practice standards for what constitutes an appropriate patient diagnosis and treatment via telemedicine, including the allowable modalities and when an in-person examination is required. The new proposed regulations are intended to clarify the language in the statute to further define the allowable modalities and address telemedicine prescribing of opioids. If enacted, the regulations would add a new Rule 19.0 to Chapter 1700 of the Code of Delaware Regulations

Telemedicine Company Deploys Cradlepoint for SD-WAN and SD-Perimeter Management
Nebraska-based telemedicine company Visio Health leveraged Cradlepoint hardware and technology for its diagnostic telemedicine carts. Specifically, the company used Cradlepoint to create a perimeter-secured overlay network with optimized WAN path selection. Visio Health is a value-added reseller for AMD Global Telemedicine, meaning that it takes AMD products and adds network strategies, consults on healthcare workflow design and clinical workflow design, and builds telemedicine hardware and software.

Pierce County, WA Named as the Latest Cohen Veterans Network Expansion Location
More than 110,000 post-9/11 Washington veterans will soon be able to receive customized life-saving mental health care at no or low-cost through The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Valley Cities. This new location is expected to open this fall and will also serve veterans and their families across Washington through CVN Telehealth Services.

Upcoming Events:

ATA 2018 Annual Conference & Tradeshow
What: ATA 2018 Annual Conference & Tradeshow
When: April 29 – May 1, 2018
Where: Chicago, IL
Event Hashtag: #ATA18

SPS 2018
What: Telemedicine & Telehealth Service Provider Summit (SPS)
When: October 8-9, 2018
Where: Glendale, AZ

CMS Covered Telehealth Services
You can download the list of services payable under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule when furnished via telehealth on the CMS website.

Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP)
The Center for Connected Health Policy (@CCHPCA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to maximize telehealth’s ability to improve health outcomes, care delivery, and cost effectiveness. Follow CCHP for the latest in telehealth policy and news.