Following up on our episode from a few weeks ago, host Jonah Comstock sits down (virtually of course) with Dr. Gustavo Kinrys, medical director and vice president of Mental Health Services at Teladoc Health to discuss findings from a recent survey on COVID-19 and behavioral health as well as his own experiences seeing patients via telehealth during the pandemic.

Here's a release from Teladoc about the survey.

In Harry Glorikian's MoneyBall Medicine, he writes about various interconnected trends that have been shaping healthcare for the past few years: value-based care, precision medicine, cost transparency, digital health and big data. Some of those trends have been accelerated by recent seismic shifts in healthcare, others could still be slowed down by regulatory and reimbursement barriers.

In today's episode, Glorikian joins host Jonah Comstock for a wide-ranging discussion of healthcare's future.

Be sure to check out the book and Glorikian's same-titled podcast.

Telehealth of all stripes has exploded since COVID-19, but one particular subset deserves further examination: telebehavioral health, an area in which the crisis has upended the norms of supply as well as demand as the crisis take's a toll on the world's collective mental health.

In this episode, host Jonah Comstock, Managing Editors Laura Lovett and Susan Morse and Associate Editor Dave Muoio discuss some recent trends and developments in this space.


Articles mentioned in this episode:

Heal kicks off telepsychology service for California residents

Optum reportedly finalizing $470M purchase of virtual behavioral care company AbleTo

Pear rolls out digital therapeutic for schizophrenia, after FDA loosens regulations in COVID-19 response

FDA: Devs can release digital products for psychiatric disorders without 510(k) submission during COVID-19 crisis

Akili's digital therapeutic launches early for housebound children with ADHD

Wellable acquires MeYou Health's Daily Challenge product, Omada's mental health program free for six months and more digital health news briefs

As healthcare systems around the world battle COVID-19, they haven't stopped fighting another battle: the constant struggle against hackers and other security threats. On this episode of HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock talks to Healthcare IT News Executive Editor Mike Miliard about cybersecurity in the age of COVID-19. They also catch up on the ONC info-blocking rules that dropped in March, and how the pandemic has illustrated the importance of those regulatory changes.

Articles referenced in this episode:

As COVID-19 cases increase, so do privacy concerns about EHR snooping

Cyberattack on Czech hospital forces tech shutdown during coronavirus outbreak

WHO, coronavirus testing lab hit by hackers as opportunistic attacks ramp up

Cyberattacks continue to mount during COVID-19 pandemic

Cyber-attacks on healthcare facilities 'growing threat' during coronavirus pandemic

Temporary hospitals are rife with cybersecurity vulnerabilities

Penn Medicine CISO offers tips for COVID-19 cybersecurity response

AMA, AHA partner on COVID-19 cyber threats guidance for hospitals, physicians

Google says it blocks 18 million COVID-19 related scam emails each day

And HIMSS's latest cybersecurity report.

Christopher Kerns, Advisory Board’s Vice President for Executive Insights, joins Jonah and the Healthcare Finance News team, Managing Editor Susan Morse and Associate Editor Jeff Lagasse, for a conversation about what this pandemic means for hospital bottom lines, how they're surviving, and how they should be preparing for a re-opening of elective and nonessential procedures.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

Hospitals furlough staff, reduce physician salaries waiting for CARES Act funds

Hospitals get additional $20 billion infusion of CARES Act funds

U.S. hospitals are suffering financial damage due to COVID-19 pandemic, Kaufman Hall finds

COVID-19 may permanently alter the telehealth landscape, from reimbursement to utilization

And be sure to check out Advisory Board's weekly webcast here.

Through its Healthbox subsidiary, HIMSS is facilitating peer-to-peer sharing of COVID-19 technology solutions and lessons learned on the COVID-19 Digital Think Tank. On today's HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock chats with Healthbox President Neil Patel about how to use the platform, how it came about, and what he's seen on it so far.

Neil and Jonah also get to talking about the effect the current crisis has had on telemedicine adoption, and how that might look when this is all over.

Check out the Think Tank for yourself here: https://www.himss.org/news/covid-19-digital-think-tank

Even before today's big announcement from Apple and Google, it was clear that phone-based contact tracking was going to be an important weapon in the war against COVID-19. But might that weapon be a double-edged sword? In today's HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock is joined by the MobiHealthNews team — Managing Editor Laura Lovett and Associate Editor Dave Muoio, to discuss the various companies, researchers, and governments working on COVID-19 contact tracking and population mapping, and what privacy concerns that may entail.

Articles mentioned in this podcast:

Apple, Google have teamed up to build system-level COVID-19 contact tracing, interoperable APIs for iOS, Android

Chinese government releases public app to gauge potential coronavirus exposures

Bahrain launches electronic bracelets to keep track of active COVID-19 cases

Facebook rolls out three new COVID-19 related health tracking maps

Google mobilizes location tracking data to help public health experts monitor COVID-19 spread

US military going on deployment told to leave wearable trackers at home (from 2018)

MIT's COVID-19 app uses smartphones' Bluetooth to anonymously spot disease contacts

It's been turbulent times for the FDA. On the one hand, the U.S. regulator has found itself carefully unravelling its guidances to bolster COVID-19 testing and treatment – sometimes leading to confusion for companies searching for new ways to combat the global epidemic. On the other, the agency continues to push forward with broader initiatives to remap its processes so that novel software treatments won't be gummed up in regulatory red tape.

Each of these challenges was on full display over the past couple weeks. In today's HIMSSCast, host Jonah Comstock and MobiHealthNews Associate Editor Dave Muoio recap two major FDA stories on at-home COVID-19 testing regulation and the first digital therapeutic product to pass through the Software Precertification Pilot Program.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

EverlyWell, Nurx to release at-home COVID-19 test kits within a week

Scanwell Health, myLAB Box unveil more at-home COVID-19 testing services

At-home COVID-19 testing services pump the brakes after FDA warns of 'fraudulent' kits

FDA expands use of vital sign monitors to enable remote care, modifications during COVID-19 emergency

FDA clears Pear's digital insomnia therapeutic through 510(k), Pre-Cert pilot pathways

Q&A: A firsthand account of FDA's Pre-Cert Program

Host Jonah Comstock talks to Dr. Steve Miff and Dr. Keith Kosel, authors of a new book from the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation.

"Building Connected Communities of Care: The Playbook for Streamlining Effective Coordination Between Medical and Community-Based Organizations”. With each chapter addressing a different stakeholder, the book is a practical guide for making digital health technology work for improved population health and community care.

Get the book here.

 The number of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 167, 515 globally, according to the World Health Organization. Cases in Europe and the United States are rising quickly. Health systems are looking for new ways to deal with the increase in cases. New initiatives including drive-thru testing, chatbot helpers and hotlines are among the solutions proposed. 

In today's HIMSSCast, we discuss how government and healthcare systems are responding to the pandemic, with host Laura Lovett from MobiHealthNews, and an international team of editors including Healthcare Finance News' Jeff Lagasse, and MobiHealthNews/Healthcare IT News AsiaPAC Editor Dean Koh (joining us by phone from Singapore) and MobiHealthNews/Healthcare IT News EU Associate Editor Leontina Postelnicu.