The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for healthcare. Telehealth and other innovative technologies are helping connect patients with medical professionals from anywhere, at any time. Telehealth visits are removing barriers to care and creating more equitable access to healthcare services, improving efficiencies and processes for providers, reducing costs for patients and medical professionals, and helping ease the strain on hospitals and emergency rooms. A recent study found that approximately 14 percent of telehealth patients said their virtual visit prevented a trip to the emergency room. In this week’s Tech At Work, learn how telehealth is improving access to quality medical care.

Verizon Streamlines Patient Care with Advances to BlueJeans Telehealth

Verizon Business announced that BlueJeans Telehealth, a purpose-built, HIPAA-ready virtual care solution, now includes new features and integrations to further enhance virtual encounters with a more rounded view of the patient’s health.  The new Televisit Tile and integration with the Apple Health app empowers patients to share specific categories of health data with their provider during telehealth appointments for more informed conversations.

Salesforce is Improving Access to Care and Deepening Relationships Between Patients and Providers

Salesforce’s new care from anywhere innovations are helping empower providers, payers, care coordinators, and pharmaceutical companies to deliver the right care for patients, at the right time, from wherever they are.  Salesforce is unveiling Remote Patient Exception Monitoring, Intelligent Appointment Management, HIPAA Compliance for Salesforce Order Management, and Medication Management tools available on the Health Cloud.

Google Examines Acceleration of Innovation in Healthcare

New data from Google Cloud examines COVID-19’s acceleration of innovation in healthcare.  The research shows how critical data interoperability is in improving patient outcomes.  After a year shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, the data shows that telehealth usage saw substantial growth, jumping from 32 percent in February 2020 to 90 percent this year.  45 percent of physicians say the pandemic accelerated the pace of their organization’s adoption of technology.

Zoom is Making it Easier for Patients and Providers to Virtually Connect

Zoom’s new mobile browser client allows patients to join telehealth appointments in a secure setting without the need to download the Zoom app. Zoom commissioned a study that showed that 72 percent of U.S. patients, if given the choice, would prefer to access healthcare through a combination of in-person and virtual appointments. Zoom is providing patients greater access to telehealth services and plans to continue innovating to improve the patient-physician virtual experience.

CDW Helps Make Clinical Communication Collaboration Technologies More Efficient

CDW is making it easier for clinicians to communicate with patients, streamline workflows, and improve patient outcomes. CDW’s solutions are allowing for the quick exchange of information between clinicians, which is helping them spend more time with patients and increase the speed of care. CDW’s technology is combining the multiple tools and applications clinicians previously accessed into one platform that is improving efficiencies of healthcare workers.

Silicon Valley Bank Discusses Why Investments in Healthcare Innovation Are up 30 Percent

JC2 Ventures Provides Key Funding for Artificial Intelligence Company That’s Making it Easier to Read Clinical Notes

CLEAR Empowers Users to Create a Digital Vaccine Card

Teladoc Health Helps Create a Unified Practice Experience for Clinician

Nasdaq Podcast: Technology and Innovation are Needed to Transform Healthcare

What’s New in Tech

Hims Launches Online Therapy Sessions

Hims, building off the success of its virtual group therapy offerings, is now providing patients with personalized mental health services with licensed professionals through one-on-one 50-minute therapy sessions. Patients have maximum flexibility and affordability by not being required to pay for a subscription. This new virtual feature allows patients to focus on improving their mental health while working within a budget, around their schedule, and toward tailored wellness goals.

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Before You Start Your Weekend

HP is helping teachers in Susquehanna Township, PA stay connected with their students by providing technology to implement hybrid synchronous learning for remote and in-person students.