Telehealth

Google apparently thinks it’s time to ratchet up its efforts to get a piece of the U.S. healthcare marketplace, as it just entered into an agreement with virtual care vendor Pager. According to the announcement, Pager will serve as an integrated service provider and technology partner, and support Google Cloud’s Healthcare application programming interface (API), dialog flow, and data platform. In short, the partnership is intended to enhance Google Cloud’s healthcare application interface through Pager’s …

Telehealth has been celebrated for broadening access to healthcare for individuals who otherwise would go without, but also derided as an “environment” rich in risk for overprescribing, as well as a threat to the patient–provider relationship. What’s not in dispute is that many patients like it—and the situations in which they access telehealth may be surprising. According to research by KeyCare and as reported by Healthcare IT Today, 68% of patients “who needed urgent care …

A shortage of providers while patient visits climb due to flu, respiratory syncytial virus, and COVID-19 is having a negative impact on multiple practice settings. Compounding the challenge in urgent care is the fact that some patients turn to this setting when they’ve already experienced delays in getting care in primary care, specialty practices, or the emergency room. We’ve told you recently about one urgent care center that’s dealing with the traffic-flow problem by going …

Proponents of telehealth maintain that anything that gets more patients to see a healthcare provider is a step forward. Skeptics counter that there are just too many nuances and observations that can be missed when you’re chatting over electronic devices and not in the presence of the patient. New research published by JAMA Network Open seems to support the latter belief, at least when it comes to follow-up care after a visit to the emergency …

Historically, telehealth has had a difficult time getting a foothold in urgent care. Some operators have found ways to make it work to their advantage, while many have found it not profitable enough to be a viable component of their business. The COVID-19 pandemic changed that for many as in-person visits tailed off dramatically for a time. Now that COVID is not perceived as a threat on the same level it was, some are questioning …

First, ads for erectile dysfunction products available after a quick virtual “evaluation” flooded drivetime radio and social media platforms. Many took a humorous approach. Then spots started taking a darker turn to pitch the benefits of drugs—again, available for individuals specifically seeking a particular treatment—for mental health issues like anxiety and depression. As noted in a recent article from MedPage Today, the latest of those offers access to ketamine, a medication with proven benefits but …

Urgent care operators who offer telehealth services should be aware that the House of Representatives just passed the  Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act. As the name implies, the legislation extends policies initiated to help facilitate access to healthcare as many patients shied away from face-to-face encounters in medical facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those most applicable in the urgent care setting: Beneficiaries who fall under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services can receive …