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Maternal Fetal Medicine via Telehealth

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maternal-fetal medicine

Dr. C. Anne Patterson

maternal-fetal medicine

Tanya Mack

Maternal Fetal Medicine via Telehealth

Women’s Telehealth’s Tanya Mack, interviews the company’s CEO and Medical Director, Dr. C. Anne Patterson, discussing maternal-fetal medicine as a specialty, and how they are now able to capitalize on telemedicine technology to deliver high-risk maternity care to a wider patient population.

Maternal fetal medicine is rare sub-specialty of obstetrics which delivers high risk obstetric care. These
specialists manage complex complications of pregnancy such as: multiple gestations, chronic medical
conditions during pregnancy, gestational diabetes and fetal abnormalities. The CDC and March of Dimes both estimate that in 2015 in the US, approximately 1:10 babies in the US are born prematurely.

GA ranks 50/50 for maternal death and 42/50 for infant mortality. Getting access to maternal fetal medicine services is often difficult as there are only about 1200 MFM physicians in the US and most are not located in rural areas.

Clearly, there is a need for many physicians of different specialties in rural areas and maternal-fetal medicine is one of them.  OB practices and hospitals in these areas can engage with Womens Telehealth to be able to help these patients avoid having to spend long travel times in cars to be seen by these needed specialists.  This allows them to stay closer to home and receive care in their local community.

But this solution has value for urban practices as well.  There are very few maternal-fetal specialists nationwide—only ~20 or so in Georgia.  By deploying the Womens Telehealth solution, these city-based groups and hospitals can also provide access to this specialty care for their patients, preventing potential loss of the patient to other facilities/groups in the community that do have maternal-fetal specialists on campus.

Special Guest:

Dr. C. Anne Patterson, CEO/Medical Director, Womens Telehealth

Adopting Innovation

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adopting innovation

Jim Bross

Adopting Innovation

I sat down with Jim Bross, a long-time healthcare executive who has held leadership roles over hospitals, brings experience/expertise in regulatory compliance, and finance.  He is bringing that knowledge to RevenueSphere, a consultancy focused on helping healthcare organizations navigate successful adoption of technology to solve their most pressing challenges with the most appropriate technology.

Check back soon for more info!

 

Pre-pregnancy and Prenatal Genetic Testing

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genetic testing

Tanya Mack of Women’s Telehealth

Pre-pregnancy and Prenatal Genetic Testing

We continue our twice-monthly series with Women’s Telehealth’s Tanya Mack.  She caught up with Certified Genetic Counselor, Rachel Klein, of GenPath Diagnostics.  The topic of discussion was focused on pre-pregnancy and prenatal genetic testing, when it makes sense, the difference between screening and diagnostic tests, how to deal with results, and more.

Women are routinely offered a variety of genetic tests during the first three months of pregnancy in the US.  Every woman wants to believe their baby is normal and uncomplicated. However, the CDC reports that 1:33 babies born in the US will have a birth defect. Genetic tests, both screening and diagnostic, show the likelihood that a developing baby has a genetic condition that may cause problems with growth, development and bodily functions.

Information from genetic testing plus the mother’s age, the couple’s ethnic background and a family history of a genetic disorder can help calculate the odds that the fetus might have a defect such as Cystic Fibrosis, Tay-Sach’s Disease, Sickle Cell Anemia, Down’s Syndrome or neural tube defects. Joining us for this segment of Top Docs is Rachel Klein, a Certified Genetic Counselor from one of the nation’s leading prenatal genetic testing labs, GenPath.

Special Guest:

Rachel Klein, Genetic Counseling Program Manager, GenPath Diagnostics  linkedin_small1  twitter_logo_small-e1403698475314  facebook_logo_small3  

genetic testing

 

Adopting Innovation

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innovation

Judy Mod

Adopting Innovation

I sat down with Judy Mod and Trent McEwan of RevenueSphere.  We are in the midst of a significant business transformation – as organizations are redefining their own path to adoption – from recognition of pain through problem resolution. What’s broken?

The fundamental shift in the way buyers are now adopting technology is increasing the complexity surrounding the decisions being made about what strategic business problems to adopt – what operational approaches to adopt to fix the problem – and ultimately technically what to buy.

innovation

Trent McEwan

The rule of thumb is the more complex the organization, the more disruptive your innovation, the more difficult your market development; the bigger drag this adoption problem is likely having on your business growth. The more disruptive the innovation = The more complex the adoption.

One critical effect – 80% of sales today are being lost – not to the competition – but to “non-decision”; RevenueSphere, LLC, the problem we solve is the process of adoption across the entire life cycle (problem, operational, technical, and financial), bridging the widening gap between buyers and sellers.

Special Guests:

Judy Mod, CEO, Chief Adoption Officer, RevenueSphere

 

Trent McEwan, COO/CTO, RevenueSphere

Telemedicine

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Sidney Welch

Healthcare attorney, Sidney Welch

Telemedicine

We sat down with legal expert on healthcare matters, attorney, Sidney Welch, of the Polsinelli law firm on our monthly episode with Medical Association of Georgia.  What is it?  How is it utilized?  And, what are the licensing, regulatory, and legal concerns around it?

Georgia Composite Medical Board (GCMB) has stressed that it is essential for telemedicine patients in the state to receive the same high standard of care they would in a traditional office setting.  GCMB adopted a number of telemedicine rules in 2014 that “allow the Composite Board to take disciplinary action against licensed physicians and allied health professionals who practice telemedicine if they do not provide the minimum standard of care.”

Georgia’s rules require physicians and other allied health care professionals who deliver care by way of telemedicine to…

  • Be the ones who provide all of the treatment and/or consultations via telehealth.
  • Have access to the patient’s medical history if they are providing the services.
  • Have personally seen and examined the patient if they are referring the patient to a telehealth provider.
  • Maintain records on the patient’s evaluation and treatment if they are providing a service via telehealth and to provide a copy of those records to the referring physician.
  • Provide telehealth services only within their specialty.
  • Give their name, credentials and emergency contact information to the patient when they provide a telehealth treatment or consultation.
  • Provide the patient with “clear, appropriate, accurate instructions” on follow-up care.

Controlled substances for pain or chronic pain treatment cannot be prescribed through telehealth – but a physician or a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant can order appropriate labs or other diagnostic tests.

The physician who provides the care via telemedicine must make a “diligent” effort to ensure that the patient is seen and examined in person at least once a year by a Georgia-licensed physician or other appropriate health care professional.

Special Guest:

Sidney Welch, JD, of Polsinelli  linkedin_small1  twitter_logo_small-e1403698475314  facebook_logo_small3  

Sidney Welch

Health IT and Accelerating Innovation

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Healthcare technology

Harvey Shuster, Osama Hashmi

mPoweredIT

John Mamon talks mPowered IT

Health IT and Accelerating Innovation

This week I sat down with experts from the healthcare IT sector.  John Mamon is the CEO of mPoweredIT, an outsourced IT company that devotes expertise to the small to mid-sized medical practice, helping them manage their computer hardware, infrastructure, and software needs for far less than it typically costs to employ someone dedicated to these functions within the practice.

John talked about how often, in an effort to save money, small practices place responsibility for managing these facets on a practice manager, a clinician within the office, or even the doctors themselves.  Clearly this can take away from the core function of the office—taking care of more patients.

He shared a number of important concerns that can expose these offices to risk such as HIPAA requirements, downtime of equipment, ACA compliance, and others.  Each of these can create significant cost or loss of productivity when small offices attempt to handle things on their own.

mPoweredIT is able to scale their services to the needs of the practice, providing the full suite of IT management or taking over particular elements on behalf of the practice.  The company also partners with several other health experts who can provide additional support in areas such as billing/revenue cycle management, EMR selection, and others, to allow their clients to maximize productivity and profitability at the same time.

John introduced us to Harvey Shuster, of Emergence, a Georgia Medical Accelerator.  Harvey, a multiple-time entrepreneur, was one of the founders of Peachtree Software among others.  He and his team work with emerging healthcare technology companies, helping them to commercialize and bring to market their devices/technologies more quickly.

Harvey brought along Osama Hashmi, CEO/Founder of VitaminC.  This company adds an additional layer of automation and engagement to EMR systems.  Their software allows providers to contact patients and encourage follow-up visits where appropriate to facilitate care/outcomes while at the same time helping the practice to maximize its potential for seeing patients in need.

VitaminC integrates well with numerous EMR systems and has proven valuable to primary care doctors and specialists such as dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and others.

Special Guests:

John Mamon, CEO/Founder, mPoweredIT  linkedin_small1  google-plus-logo-red-265px

mPoweredIT

  • Associates Degree, Information Technology, Bryant and Stratton College
  • Previous VP, Professional Services, BMC Solutions
  • Former Executive VP, CDI Managed Services

Harvey Shuster, COO, of Emergence Georgia Medical Accelerator  twitter_logo_small-e1403698475314  facebook_logo_small3

Emergence

  • MBA, Finance, Drexell University LeBow College of Business
  • Bronze Star Recipient, US Army
  • Published Author
  • Co-founder, Southeast Medical Device Association

Osama Hashmi, CEO/Chief Product Officer, of VitaminC  github  linkedin_small1  twitter_logo_small-e1403698475314  facebook_logo_small3

VitaminC

  • Doctor of Medicine, College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University
  • Master of Public Health, University of Georgia
  • Previous Policy Director, Roosevelt Institute, University of Georgia
  • Former Research Assistant, Stanford University

 

AirWatch

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IMG_0267

AirWatch by vmware

This week on TopDocsRADIO we sat down with Paul McRae of AirWatch by vmware. Healthcare is evolving. As information technology advances and our health laws change, greater importance is being placed on electronic health records.  Today, digital data is flowing between departments in a hospital, to physician offices, to practitioners in the patients’ homes.  The result is greater efficiency in coordination of care, easier collaboration across multi-specialty teams, and an increased risk of compromise of sensitive HIPAA-protected information.

AirWatch by vmware provides technology that allows healthcare organizations to protect sensitive data across their enterprise, including mobile devices and laptops that may be in use outside the confines of the building or campus of the health company.  With their solution, the enterprise can determine whether certain data elements can be accessed by a given device (including BYOD), attachments can be included in outbound emails, and more.

If your organization is working to take advantage of the benefits of digital platforms and mobile devices then get to know AirWatch by vmware.  You’ll give your company the strengths that come with digitized information coupled with the confidence your information will meet compliance requirements and stay safe in the hands of those its meant to be seen by.

Special Guests:

Paul McRae, Director of Business Development – Healthcare Solutions, AirWatch by vmware  twitter_logo_small  youtube logo  google-plus-logo-red-265px  linkedin_small1  facebook_logo_small3

AirWatch by vmware

  • BA Economics, Cornell University
  • Board Member, Warrick Dunn
  • Presenter, Georgia Healthcare Trade Faire & Regional Conference 2013
  • Former SCVP of Healthcare Emerging Technology, AT&T

 

 

ShareWIK, Bioscape Digital, and ER Express

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ShareWIK, Bioscape Digital, and ER Express

This week I sat down with the CEO’s of ShareWIK, Bioscape Digital, and ER Express.  With the recent implementation of the Affordable Care Act, new requirements came into effect that placed emphasis on patient satisfaction as a component of reimbursement.  As it happens, these innovative companies had been developing and implementing their innovative platforms that dramatically improve patient experience and engagement before the law came into effect.  That positions them as leaders in the space and I was pleased to have them join us to talk about what they’re doing.

ShareWIK.com provides licensed health information to a wide variety of organizations seeking to provide useful health content to their website and social media visitors.  The writers who contribute to the ShareWIK content are journalists who have a true understanding of the topics they are covering.  Content is vetted for accuracy before distribution.  That means companies and healthcare organizations seeking to control health costs through helping employees and patients make better choices in their daily lives now have an effective, engaging tool to do just that.  The team at ShareWIK is also collaborating with the Bioscape Digital platform to provide content that will be served to their patient-users.

ER Express is an application/platform that enables participating ER’s and Urgent Care centers to post an estimated time they can expect to be seen at their location.  This means a prospective patient can register and hold their place in line and do much of their wait time at home, work, etc.  The application uses IP address and Geo-tagging for users on mobile devices to display nearby area care centers and their estimated Time To Be Seen.  In this way patients can reduce their overall wait time as well as optimize ER versus Urgent Care utilization for non-life-threatening problems.  The service is free for patients to use and is currently available for numerous major health facilities in the Atlanta metro (and elsewhere in the country).

Bioscape Digital is a tablet-based platform for use in the emergency department and urgent care settings. The platform is simple to use with a simple, intuitive point-click interface.  It serves the patient with professionally-produced health content provided by ShareWIK that covers a variety of topics from what to expect with a given type of study or procedure to information about available services within the hospital.  The platform provides an engaging way for patients to occupy their time spent waiting for care that improves their awareness of useful health information at the same time.  Patients can use the platform to communicate positive and negative feedback in real time to hospital personnel, giving the staff the opportunity to potentially address and correct issues of concern.  Their platform is already showing a dramatic improvement in patient satisfaction scores as well as staff morale in their client-user facilities.

These Atlanta-based companies are helping to improve the way care is delivered and the way the experience is perceived by patients.  It’s exciting to get to introduce them to a wider audience and help them expand adoption of these helpful, innovative technology platforms.

Special Guests:

Diana Keough, CEO/Founder of ShareWIK.com  facebook_logo_small3  twitter_logo_small  linkedin_small1  Pinterest-logo  google-plus-logo-red-265px  

ShareWIK.com

  • Journalism Instructor/Guest Lecturer, Emory University
  • Member, Koles College of Business Advisory Board, Kennsaw State University
  • Former Front Page Series Writer, The Plain Dealer
  • Former Reporter/Commentator, WKSU
  • Co-author, “Building a Business, Building a Life: The Incredible Life of a Woman Business Owner”

Sahil Patel, President of ER Express  linkedin_small1  twitter_logo_small  facebook_logo_small3

ER Express

  • Former VP Decision Support, MedAssets
  • Former Independent Consultant, CodeRyte
  • BBA, Emory University Goizueta Business School
  • MBA, Harvard Business School

Stuart Bracken, CEO of Bioscape Digital  linkedin_small1  facebook_logo_small3  twitter_logo_small  google-plus-logo-red-265px

Bioscape Digital

  • MBA, Finance, Emory Goizueta Business School
  • Co-Founder, Knowledge2Work
  • Co-Founder, Phoenix Holdings
  • President, Goizueta Alumni Entrepreneur Network