Can Telemedicine Solve the Rural Healthcare Crisis?
The Salt Lake City-based health system, which has a footprint in several rural states, is joining forces with Microsoft, Epic, Gates Ventures and West Health to develop a hub-and-spoke telemedicine platform aimed at connecting small critical-access and large hospitals in a network that facilitates virtual care and reduces transfers and travel.
Experts: Bird Flu Outbreak Spreading, But Not Expected to Become Pandemic
In a January 10 media briefing, experts from the Infectious Diseases Society of America said that despite a recent death attributed to the H5N1 bird flu, the virus poses a low public health risk and is not expected to become a pandemic.
Patient Safety Predictions for 2025, Part 1
PSQH reached out to experts throughout healthcare to get their predictions for what will happen in patient safety and healthcare quality in 2025. We received so many predictions this time around that we’re breaking it up into two parts. Here’s Part 1 of what they had to say.
Virtual Care: Helping Through Winter Surges and Beyond
Virtual care seems poised to stay and may be an opportunity to deal with not just urgent care issues and surges in healthcare needs, but also managing chronic conditions, annual wellness visits, or alternatives for patients with travel or transportation issues to brick-and-mortar healthcare centers.
IHI Forum: Dr. Fauci Reflects on the Challenges from a Distinguished Career
As he reflected on his work during the HIV/AIDS crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci urged attendees at the IHI Forum to continue the hard work of patient safety and healthcare quality despite the current environment of mistrust.
Can the Last Mile Delivery Movement Make Services More Accessible to an Aging Population?
The “last mile delivery” movement in healthcare seeks to bridge the gap between healthcare facilities and their clients by situating medical buildings strategically near residential areas.
‘We Need to Say That This Is a Crisis’: How CMOs Can Address Obesity
According to the journal article, which was published by The Lancet, nearly three-quarters of the U.S. population aged 25 and older were overweight or obese in 2021. “Without immediate action,” 80% of the adult U.S. population will be overweight or obese by 2050, the journal article’s co-authors wrote.
VA Forges Ahead With Expanded Telehealth Access for Veterans
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Veterans Day that it aims to amend the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Healthcare Improvement Act of 2019 to end all copayment obligations for veterans, greatly expanding a decision earlier this year to waive copayments for a veteran’s first three outpatient mental healthcare visits per year through 2027.
How To Ensure that Medical Teams Can Access Interpreters in Rare Languages
Failing to provide interpreters to patients who speak rare or indigenous languages can worsen health disparities, particularly for populations such as refugees and asylum-seekers. This only compounds the barriers many already face when accessing healthcare.
The Effectiveness and Cost-Savings of Addressing SDoH
In 2024, CMS is also introducing two new inpatient quality reporting measures: SDoH screening and the positive rate for SDoH screening to assess how many patients aged 18 and older were screened for the required social risk drivers.