COVID-19 public health emergency extended

Extending the emergency allows several regulatory changes meant to help providers manage outbreaks of the novel coronavirus to continue, including the rollback of telehealth restrictions and Medicare add-on payments.

By Shannon Muchmore • July 23, 2020

Providers scramble for telehealth, pick Microsoft, Zoom and doxy.me in pandemic's early days

A little more than 80% of providers reported significant budget cuts in their organizations, but 74% of that group said they will invest more in technology moving forward, according to a recent Klas report.

By Hailey Mensik • July 23, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial intelligence

Amid mounting interest and investment in the space, it's clear AI’s applications in healthcare will only continue to grow.

By Healthcare Dive staff

M&A volume in health services for H1 was lowest since 2015, PwC finds

The subsector with the most deals in terms of volume was long-term care, continuing a trend since 2014, followed by other services, physician medical groups, hospitals and home health, according to the analysis.

By Shannon Muchmore • July 23, 2020

Women's health – Heart disease prevention

Women's heart attack symptoms may be different than those experienced by men. 

July 22, 2020

CVS launches spoken prescription tech for app users

Spoken Rx, an RFID-tagged prescription label, uses the CVS app to read customers' prescription information aloud. The service will be available across all the company's pharmacies in 2021.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • July 16, 2020

Public health officials blast COVID-19 data reporting change imposed on hospitals

"In the midst of the worst public health crisis in a century, it is counter-productive to create a new mechanism which will be extremely complicated to build and implement," one coalition said of the abrupt change.

By Shannon Muchmore • July 16, 2020

Digital health funding shatters records with $6.3B in 1st half of 2020

Telehealth received the most money as the COVID-19 pandemic drove unprecedented virtual care adoption, with $1.7 billion in funds.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 14, 2020

3 applications for RFID in the fight against COVID-19

Microchips embedded in RFID tags can track and authenticate vaccines, test kits, medical equipment and PPE from manufacturing to clinic sites.

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • July 10, 2020

As FCC taps out its coronavirus telehealth program, major nonprofits like Providence cash in

West Coast powerhouse Providence got almost $2 million, raising concerns the money went to systems "with the capacity to write an application for the money rather than the providers who needed it most," one health policy expert said.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 9, 2020

As lab giants 'push the frontiers' of capacity, Trump admin pegs hopes on POC tests

Brett Giroir, the administration's lead for coronavirus diagnostics, said the goal is for rapid point-of-care tests from Abbott, BD and Quidel, performed outside of lab settings, to alleviate commercial testing capacity constraints.

By Greg Slabodkin • July 9, 2020

'If the public knew:' Ripple20 shows medical device software cyber weakness

Last month's discovery that Baxter and B. Braun infusion pumps face risk of remote attacks by hackers comes as a medtech effort gains momentum to track third-party components in devices.

By Greg Slabodkin • July 9, 2020

Philips wins $100M teleICU contract from VA

The company said it's creating the world's largest system for providing remote access to critical care expertise, regardless of patient location.

By Nick Paul Taylor • July 9, 2020

Digital health funding defies expected pandemic-era slowdown

As COVID-19 roiled economies in the first half of 2020, investors poured $5.4 billion into digital health startups, the largest investment in the sector for the period over the past decade, according to Rock Health.

By Susan Kelly • July 7, 2020

Telehealth claim lines increased more than 8,335% in April: Fair Health

The newest analysis of insurance trends by the nonprofit found mental health diagnoses continue to drive the visits, followed by joint and soft tissue conditions and hypertension.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 6, 2020

Ransomware versus healthcare: How the pandemic added to a cyber crisis

Ransomware hit at least 26 U.S. healthcare providers between January and May, according to Recorded Future, and many attacks were initiated through COVID-19-themed phishing.

By Samantha Schwartz • July 2, 2020

Teladoc closes InTouch acquisition to round out provider offerings

Virtual care player Teladoc closed its acquisition of provider telehealth business InTouch Health for $150 million in cash and 4.6 million shares of common stock on Wednesday.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • July 1, 2020

With new funding, FCC rural healthcare program set to provide most money in its history

Nearly $200 million in unused funds from prior years are being carried over. The total amount now available to applicants is about $800 million.

By Shannon Muchmore • July 1, 2020

CMS wants to make home health telemedicine permanent

The Trump administration is also looking to change payment rates for home health providers that would increase Medicare payments by 2.6%, or roughly $540 million, for the 2021 calendar year.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 26, 2020

3 healthcare CISOs tackled telehealth at hyper speed — they wish they were faster

The hospital information security chiefs were dealing with a surge in virtual visits, more remote workers and increasing cybersecurity threats in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Samantha Schwartz • June 25, 2020

CVS launches return-to-work service, including in-house COVID-19 testing option

Questions about testing accuracy and hesitancy from employers haven't stopped big healthcare companies from jumping into the space with new products.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 24, 2020

BARDA backs study of Empatica's COVID-19 early warning platform

The system, which measures physiological data including blood volume pulse and electrodermal activity, is the latest in a growing list of wearables being primed to detect and monitor infections.

By Susan Kelly • June 23, 2020

Men's health awareness

Many men's health conditions are preventable with proper lifestyle adjustments and maintenance.

By Tom Pasquariello, PharmD • June 22, 2020

Virtual care at a virtual conference: Telehealth will remain post-pandemic, experts say at AHIP

"If I were trying to be controversial, of course I'd say, 'No, it's going to go away.' But of course no one believes that," Google Health CMO Karen DeSalvo said. 

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 19, 2020

Female, younger patients more likely to choose telehealth visit pre-pandemic, study finds

The JAMA Network Open study also found patients were more likely to choose a virtual visit with their own primary care clinician, as opposed to a new doctor.

By Hailey Mensik • June 18, 2020

Senators back sustaining telehealth momentum post pandemic

Top priorities are axing geographic restrictions and expanding Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for virtual care services, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • June 18, 2020