HIMSSCast

HIMSSCast is out early this week to give you a chance to listen to our election edition before Thursday's presidential debate. In this episode, host Jonah Comstock and Healthcare Finance News Managing Editor Susan Morse break down the ways that healthcare is on the ballot in 2020, how the candidates' platforms, such as they are, differ, and how a new administration might handle COVID-19 differently. Talking points:The state and fate of the Affordable Care ActDoes HIPAA really protect pre-existing conditions?Trump’s healthcare plan (for lack thereof)What’s left on the ballot of Medicare for All?Trump and Biden’s ideological divide on health careBiden’s plans to make health insurance more accessible and affordableForces pushing the industry toward value-based careTrump’s price transparency and drug price agendasCould we see Obamacare 2.0?How much has COVID-19 shaped the election?How would President Biden handle COVID?What to listen for in Thursday’s debateMore about this episode:Trump has no specific plan to replace ACA, despite grilling by Savannah Guthrie5 Charts About Public Opinion on the Affordable Care Act and the Supreme CourtIn chaotic debate, Trump, Biden clash on future of ACA, COVID-19 handlingTwo-thirds of Americans say candidates' healthcare plans, COVID-19 strategy are "very important"Vice presidential debate will likely spotlight divergent views on healthcare Civil vice presidential debate short on answers as VP Pence evades question on Trump's plan to replace ACAAmerica's response to COVID-19: 'A tale of two countries'

COVID-19 has accelerated a digital transformation that was already underway in hospitals across the United States. Now two healthcare experts — Paddy Padmanabhan, founder and CEO of Damo Consulting, a digital transformation advisory firm, and longtime healthcare CIO Ed Marx, now chief digital officer of HCI Group — have written a new playbook to help providers accelerate that transformation, while developing what they call a 'digital roadmap' to help ensure lasting value from IT investments."Healthcare IT News Executive Editor Mike Miliard sat down with Padmanabhan this week to discuss the book, the lessons therein, and other trends in healthcare including patient engagement and the evolving role of the electronic health record. Enjoy the conversation."Talking points:Who should lead digital transformation in healthcare? The digital transformation roadmapTelehealth’s role in digital transformationHow the pandemic is changing the landscape of virtual careThe growing importance of patient loyalty and patient choiceHow the EHR is evolvingAI, machine learning, voice recognition, and other promising new technologiesThoughts on the new info blocking rulesMore about this episode:The book: "Healthcare Digital Transformation: How Consumerism, Technology and Pandemic are Accelerating the Future"COVID-19 digital transformation update, with Hal WolfONC officials offer update on information blocking rules complianceHITN's Technology Optimization Best Practices series

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: The federal government awards $481 million to a diagnostics startup to ramp up COVID-19 testing; Operational risks of owning a public hospital could compound fiscal challenges for counties. Plus: New concerns about CMS data reporting rules.Links to the stories:Cue Health awarded $481M from HHS, DoD to ramp up production of its app-connected COVID-19 rapid diagnosticPublic hospitals are compounding COVID-19 budget risks for large urban counties, Moody's findsTrump administration crackdown 'couldn't come at a worse time' for hospitals

Within healthcare, virtual reality (VR) applications are currently being used to control pain, decrease anxiety, and reduce stress. New research has demonstrated a strong case for VR use in care both at home and in the hospital. How can this new, effective therapy be scaled to a broader population of patients? John Sharp will answer just that question as he speaks with Dr. Brennan Spiegel, Director of Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai & Author of the upcoming book: How Virtual Therapeutics Will Revolutionize Medicine.Subscribe to the Accelerate Health podcast here.Check out our previous HIMSSCast interview with Brennan here.

With its recent launch of the Digital Health Center for Excellence, the FDA has shown a new spotlight on its ongoing work of changing how the regulation of digital health and digital therapeutics works, to better match the realities of modern technology. But is the organization taking the right steps for the right reasons? Or is it heading into dangerous territory for developers and their end users — the patients?Host Jonah Comstock and MobiHealthNews Associate Editor Dave Muoio discuss this pivotal question with Bradley Merrill Thompson, a Member of the Firm at Epstein Becker Green, founder of the AI Startups in Health Coalition (AISHC), and occasional MobiHealthNews contributor.Talking points:The FDA’s new Center for ExcellenceWhy launch the Center now?What’s going on with Pre-Cert?The risk of FDA surveillance overreachData subjectivity in post-market surveillanceHow should FDA regulate AI?FDA time is money — the importance of prioritizationMore about this episode:FDA establishes Digital Health Center of ExcellenceQ&A: A firsthand account of FDA's Pre-Cert ProgramThe AISHC's position paper

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Hospitals must now include flu data along with their COVID-19 data; Mental health tops the list of preferred uses for telehealth. Plus: Clover Health goes public.Links to the stories:HHS will require hospitals to report flu information, in addition to COVID-19Americans want mental healthcare via telehealth, but data security worries remainClover Health will join the public market by merging with Social Capital SPAC

The COVID-19 crisis thrust hospital supply chain issues into the national spotlight as we heard about shortages of personal protective equipment almost daily during the early days of the crisis. But the issues that lead to these shortages are only a few of the many challenges that hospital supply chain managers face every day. For this week’s episode, co-host, Rob Havasy is joined by Rich Kucera, Principal of Symmetric Health Solutions and the winner of the 2019 SCAN Health Design Competition to discuss their innovative solution to the supply chain problem. For more information about the SCAN Health Design Challenge, click here. Learn more about how Accelerate Health is redefining health at HIMSS here.

On a very special episode of HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock welcomes HIMSS CEO Hal Wolf to talk about his experiences, HIMSS's experiences, and what he's observed in the industry more broadly in the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic.Talking points:What HIMSS is all aboutHow COVID has spurred digital transformation in healthcareThe Global Consortium for eHealth InteroperabilityThe Global Health Equity Network How HIMSS is working to make sure no one’s left behindWhat we’ve learned about healthcare regulationHealth beyond bordersThe importance of just-in-time informationPreparing for the next pandemicSupply chain managementEnvisioning change through people, processes, and technologyMore about this episode:How health systems worldwide can build and benchmark their digital maturityHIMSS, in statement on racial inequity, pledges to 'drive meaningful change'Responding to COVID-19 with innovation, cultural change, redesigning healthcare strategies'Global standards with local implementations'Global Health Equity NetworkGlobal Consortium for eHealth Interoperability

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Cyberattack hits Universal Health Services, forcing shutdown of user access to IT applications; Anthem reaches $40M settlement in in 2015 cyberattack. Plus: Is the Apple Watch causing unnecessary healthcare utilization?Links to the stories:UHS hospital chain hit with apparent ransomware attackSo you've been hit with a ransomware attack. What now?Anthem settles 2015 cybersecurity breach for $39.5 millionApple Watch's abnormal pulse feature driving many unnecessary healthcare visits, Mayo Clinic researchers say

This week's episode will feature co-host Indu Subaiya, President of Catalyst @ Health 2.0 and Senior Advisor to HIMSS speaking with Farzad Mostashari, Co-founder and CEO of Aledade and Former Head of the Office of the National Coordinator.  Dr. Farzad Mostashari will provide an expert perspective on what a 21st century public health system could look like including real-time disease surveillance, targeted prevention and the smart allocation of resources. He will discuss how healthcare providers can effectively partner using new technology and data-enabled primary care models.Learn more about how Accelerate Health is redefining health at HIMSS here.Subscribe to the Accelerate Health podcast here.