With a small population distributed over a large geographical area, North Dakota doesn't lend itself to the easiest vaccine rollout. But the state has a secret weapon: a robust database called the North Dakota Immunization Information System (NDIIS).

NDIIS manager Mary Woinarowicz joins host Jonah Comstock to talk about the early days of the COVID rollout, and how having a robust data management system has helped the state to make the most of its allocated COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Talking points: 

• The NDIIS and its pre-COVID function
• How NDIIS is supporting the COVID-19 vaccine rollout
• Logistical challenges to vaccine administration, especially in rural areas
• The challenges of launching a state-level response that’s part of a national rollout
• How NDIIS has responded to strong vaccine demand
• Patient-facing tools to improve the vaccine rollout
• Additional challenges related to the second dose
• The NDIIS’s Immunization Forecasting tool
• The slip in non-COVID vaccination during the pandemic
• What still lies ahead for COVID-19 vaccination
• Should people who have had COVID get the vaccine?
• How to decide which vaccine patients get which vaccine

More about this episode:

NDIIS

Athenahealth developer creates COVID-19 vaccine website from maternity leave

How patient engagement tools can help ensure 2nd COVID-19 vaccine doses

How top EHR vendors are prepping their systems for COVID-19 vaccines

Epic, Cerner offer updates on COVID-19 vaccine rollout efforts

AI has advantages for COVID-19 vaccine rollout, but potential dangers too

Healthcare Finance News' latest updates on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution

California taps Blue Shield to oversee an equitable vaccine distribution plan

Hospitals need vaccine supply predictability 'all the way to the loading docks' 

6,500 pharmacies to get 1 million doses of COVID-19  vaccine

Apple requires COVID-19 vaccine passport developers to work with public health authorities

Google adds feature to help users find COVID-19 vaccination sites

Google Cloud launches vaccine distribution tool for local governments

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse:  Best practices for weathering the COVID-19 pandemic are emerging among hospital CEOs, while reimbursement restrictions for telehealth have been removed at a rapid pace. Plus: Fitbit introduces blood glucose monitoring.

Links to the stories:

The top 10 things CEOs got right during the pandemic

Report shows 'vast improvement' in state telehealth reimbursement policies

Fitbit adds blood glucose tracking to its connected app

Matthew Zachary — cancer survivor, patient advocate, influencer, pianist, and podcast DJ — joins host Jonah Comstock to tell his story and break down his patient's-eye view of the healthcare system and what needs to change for it to serve its consumers better. In a wide-ranging conversation with Matthew's irreverent style, they address topics like patient experience, financial incentives, socio-economic disparities, and more.

This podcast is brought to you by RingCentral.

Talking points:

• Matthew’s patient story
• Patient advocacy in a nutshell
• The beginnings of the modern patient-centered movement and the founding of Stupid Cancer
• Challenges in today’s healthcare system
• What can healthcare stakeholders do to make life better for patients?
• Aligning monetary incentives with patient needs and experiences
• Clinical trial databases as an example of profits over patients
• The challenge of bringing good care to minority and underserved groups
• The gaps between innovation, adoption, and patient awareness

More about this podcast:

A more active role for consumers will decelerate health spending over the next two decades

The role of health systems in empowering communities

3 patient experience trends that IT leaders should act on

Focus on Health Equity (our new collection page)

The Stupid Cancer Show (Matthew's previous podcast)

Out of Patients (Matthew's current podcast)

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Google Cloud joins the national COVID-19 vaccination effort with a new tool, while the feds plan on additional doses. Plus: A security breach at a New York health system.

Links to the stories:

Google Cloud launches vaccine distribution tool for local governments

One million COVID-19 vaccine doses are going to 6,500 pharmacies

EHR snooping at Montefiore leads to security breach

Omada CEO Sean Duffy and Chris Hogg, former COO at Propeller Health, join host Jonah Comstock to talk about virtual care, remote chronic condition management, and just what healthcare will look like into the next decade.

Talking points:

• What is virtual care?
• Virtual care in a post-COVID telehealth landscape
• Adoption curves: virtual visits vs virtual care
• Multi-modal provider-patient communication
• When the adoption curve lags against the innovation curve
• What’s the product? the transition from hardware to software to experience
• Using a jobs-to-be-done framework for healthcare
• How to integrate virtual care with traditional brick-and-mortar care
• Fitting virtual care into a patient-centric care ecosystem
• The changing concept of primary care
• What virtual care companies have to offer for telemedicine (Sean’s non-answer on American Well)
• The role of Amazon, Walmart, and other big players in the new provider ecosystem
• How traditional providers are reacting to the changing market
• Looking ahead

More about this episode:

MobiHealthNews' predictions for 2021: Price transparency tools will be a game changer, telemedicine use will even out

After COVID-19, telehealth's momentum will be sustained by younger consumers seeking convenience

Omada reports blood sugar, weight improvements after 12 months with its digital diabetes prevention program

Omada Health acquires Physera, adds virtual MSK therapy to its chronic care programs

Amazon dives deeper into health in 2020

Walmart snaps up digital health company CareZone's medication management tool

Amwell CEO reflects on year of unprecedented telehealth adoption and predicts more digital chronic care for the future

Rock Health's COO talks digital health funding, M&As and 'Teladongo'

Previously on HIMSSCast: The Teladongo episode

Right now, COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the United States is facing supply chain and volume problems. But there's another, thornier challenge lurking beneath the surface once those challenges are addressed: a significant portion of Americans who may choose not to get the vaccine.

In today's episode, host Jonah Comstock welcomes Shawna Butler, host of the See You Now podcast, and Melody Butler, founder of the nonprofit Nurses Who Vaccinate (no relation), two nurses who discuss vaccine resistance and vaccine hesitancy and how we can get ahead of them to address the current crisis. They also touch on the role of nurses in the healthcare  innovation ecosystem.

Talking points:

• Why Melody founded  “Nurses who Vaccinate”?
• Vaccine hesitancy vs vaccine resistance: reaching the people who can be reached
• What is (and isn’t) unique with the COVID vaccines
• mRNA vaccines aren’t a brand new technology
• Vaccine development was an optimized process — not a truncated one
• How COVID has worsened under-vaccination in other conditions
• How could innovators help address undervaccinization?
• Addressing hesitancy in communities of color
• What can you do to help the vaccination effort?
• The importance of including nurses in the conversation

More about this episode:

Overcoming vaccine hesitancy and skepticism, especially for those at higher risk for COVID-19

Here are the latest updates on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution

Google takes on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation

Epic, Cerner and other health IT heavy hitters join forces for Vaccine Credential Initiative

AHIP launches resource page dedicated to COVID-19 vaccines

Confusion about flu shot, efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines may slow adoption

Shawna Butler's SEE YOU NOW podcast

Two relevant episodes: Frontiers in Public Nursing and Nurses Who Vax

Nurses Who Vaccinate

Additional vaccine education resources from NWV

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: the House of Representatives seeks to safeguard telehealth access beyond the end of the COVID-19 pandemic; DarioHealth acquires Upright Technologies. Plus: the AHA pushes back on a new CMS rule.

Links to the stories:

U.S. lawmakers reintroduce House bill safeguarding access to telehealth

DarioHealth buys into MSK with Upright Technologies acquisition and announces $70M private placement

AHA condemns most favored nation model and asks CMS to withdraw it

On today's HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock and Healthcare IT News Senior Editor Kat Jercich welcome eMocha CEO Sebastian Seiguer to look ahead at the Biden administration and discuss what needs to happen next for telehealth. In particular, we look at vaccine distribution as a medication adherence problem, the important role of finance reform, and much more.

This podcast is brought to you by Kajeet.

Talking points:

• How 2020 changed healthcare
• Telehealth largely hasn’t addressed care disparities
• The importance of asynchronous care toward addressing chronic conditions
• How the COVID telehealth boom has and hasn’t affected asynchronous virtual care
• What regulators can do to make next-gen health tools accessible
• Changing incentives by moving to value-based care
• To make machine learning and AI work, we need better data
• The importance of continued federal COVID relief
• COVID-19’s affect on school-based health
• How can we use technology to support the vaccine rollout?
• Vaccine administration is a medication adherence problem
• Interstate licensure as a barrier to access
• Let’s redefine medication adherence

More about this podcast:

What's next for telehealth under the Biden administration?

Telehealth's digital divide is real, and members of Congress want to address it

MedPAC members weigh future of telehealth coverage

Patient engagement tools can speed, streamline COVID-19 vaccine rollout

As telehealth becomes the new normal, NCQA updates quality measures

Mayo Clinic uses $1M in FCC funds for connected devices to expand telehealth

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse, Joe Biden begins his presidency with an aggressive healthcare agenda, including new appointments and nominations for HHS and CMS positions. Plus: YouTube will push for higher quality medical content on its platform.

Links to the stories:

President Joe Biden's pan to control the COVID-19 pandemic on day one

Micky Tripathi named by Biden Administration to lead ONC

Biden nominates Dr. Rachel Levine as assistant secretary of health

YouTube taps Dr. Garth Graham to lead new health partnerships team

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse, Flo Health lands in hot water with the FTC for allegedly deceitful practices; Feds are no longer holding back on vaccine doses. Plus: a new coalition looking to improve the vaccine rollout infrastructure.

Links to the stories:

Fertility app Flo Health settles with FTC over sensitive data sharing complaint

Federal government tells states not to hold vaccine in reserve for second dose

Epic, Cerner and other health IT heavy hitters join forces for Vaccine Credential Initiative