Ohio telemedicine regulations outline expectations for prescribing
After months of squabbling between legislators and the medical community, Ohio’s State Medical Board approved regulations to clarify standards of care for the use of telemedicine to prescribe medication. Under the newly-approved rules, clinicians can write prescriptions for non-controlled medications to a patient even without having ever met them in person. Of course, that comes with some provisions, including proper confirmation of the patient’s identity and location as well as their informed consent.

Arkansas joint replacement patients can prepare for surgery digitally
Specialty medicine center Arkansas Surgical Hospital has tapped digital health company PeerWell to offer patients PreHab, PeerWell’s mobile surgery preparation platform. Arkansas Surgical Hospital, one of the country’s leading joint replacement centers, will give patients who are getting ready for hip or knee replacement surgery the option to use PreHab to mentally and physically prepare. 
“Being prepared for surgery is key to having great outcomes, but much of this preparation happens outside our doors. Using technology to expand our reach beyond the hospital walls is a natural step forward as we strive to improve patient care,” Arkansas Surgical Hospital CEO Carrie Helm said in a statement.

App for doctors adds sponsored content to drive revenue
Physician-facing app Figure 1, which doctors and medical professionals can use to share photos and research with each other, has embarked on a new revenue-building initiative. Now that the app has solid traction – it’s used in 190 countries today – Figure 1 will be featuring sponsored content and polling to its platform. The content will still be medicine-focused, and brands include everything from digital health startups to major pharma companies like Shire and Novartis.