On May 31, more than 80 organizations called on Congressional Appropriators to increase funding for Telehealth Resource Centers. This increase in funding would provide a critical boost to the TRCs, which have experienced a high of an 800% increase in demand for telehealth assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic across the nation, yet have been level-funded [...]
UT Southwestern Medical Center: Telemedicine, Continuous Glucose Monitoring Mitigated Effects of Pandemic on Children with Diabetes A recent study published in BMC Pediatrics found the rapid adoption of telemedicine and increased use of continuous glucose monitoring helped to attenuate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with Type 1 diabetes. The study analyzed patient characteristics including insurance status, [...]
United Press International: Telehealth Exams are Recommended for Older Adults with Blood Cancers A study assessing telehealth-based exams found telehealth to be a good substitute for frailty assessments, which are recommended for seniors undergoing systemic therapy, such as chemotherapy. The study included 185 blood cancer patients aged 73 and older between November 2020 and March 2022 who [...]
Government Accountability Office: National Strategy Needed to Guide Federal Efforts to Reduce Digital Divide The Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on broadband, which recommends the White House to develop and implement a national broadband strategy with clear roles, goals, objectives, and performance measures to support better management of fragmented, overlapping federal broadband programs [...]
AARP: Interest in Telehealth Services is Holding Steady Interest in using telehealth services is holding steady, with about one-third of U.S. adults age 50-plus reporting they are extremely or very interested in using telehealth services for themselves or for a loved one, a figure that is essentially unchanged since April 2020.
Medscape: Telemedicine in Cancer Care: Not All Patients Can Access Newly released study findings demonstrated that despite the increased use in telemedicine among patients across more than 20 cancer types, inequities in its usage remain. The largest disparity in telemedicine use was in people based on socioeconomic status —10.6% of patients living in the lowest socioeconomic status [...]
American Society of Hematology: Expanding telehealth possibilities: Performing virtual frailty exams in the home A new study finds that frailty assessments are both feasible and safe when conducted virtually, increasing health care access for older adults with blood cancers. This is the first study to measure the effectiveness of a telehealth-based frailty assessment that incorporates both patient-reported and [...]
JAMA Pediatrics: Association of Race and Socioeconomic Disadvantage with Missed Telemedicine Visits for Pediatric Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic A study in JAMA Pediatrics revealed that a patient’s level of economic disadvantage was associated with missed telehealth appointments among pediatric patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher probability of economic disadvantage was associated with higher no-show rates for [...]