Digital health companies offering virtual diabetes prevention programs – in the form of app or web education and coaching to support weight loss and other healthy lifestyle behaviors – have already proven their worth, as evidenced by their increasing popularity with consumers, the growing number of efficacy studies, and their partnerships with providers. But, in the eyes of the Centers for...
Four years ago Congress created a new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation as part of its Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Innovation Center's purpose was “to test innovative payment and service delivery models to reduce program expenditures... while preserving or enhancing quality of care.” Congress has allotted $10 billion to support the Innovation Center for its first ten...
The Supreme Court's decision to uphold most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act certainly was stunning. Who really expected Chief Justice John Roberts to side with the liberal wing of the court? How many people thought that the reasoning would be that the individual mandate was a legal exercise of Congress' power to levy taxes?
Similarly, the decision was polarizing. Plenty of...
An article in the September issue of policy journal Health Affairs looked at a CMS demonstration project involving care coordination with Robert Bosch Healthcare's Health Buddy telehealth appliance. Researchers from Stanford University and economic consulting firm Analysis Group found that the Health Buddy system helped trim spending by 7.7 percent to 13.3 percent, or $312-$542 per person each...
A proving ground for mHealth reimbursement: No news here really, but it's now official: CMS has launched The New Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. CMMI Website
Health smartphones for newly announced medical MVNO? Cytta says it is now a medical mobile virtual network operator that will offer "health smartphones" on its network. Release
Stroke prediction: St. Jude study shows...
Adherence apps "unpleasant" to use: The New York Times has reviewed a handful of medication adherence apps (seemingly picked at random), choice quote: "I tried some apps that remind users to take their medications, including MedsLog, Medsy, MotionPHR Health Record Manager and others. Appropriately enough, the experience was like ingesting medicine — an unpleasant chore, but good for you." NYTimes...
Dr. Mohit Kaushal, director of Connected Health at the Federal Communications Commission, has joined the West Wireless Health Institute as its new Executive Vice President of Business Development and Chief Strategy Officer. Kaushal is tasked with identifying and pursuing opportunities that help the WWHI fulfill its mission to bring down healthcare costs. Kaushal's role also includes making...
We are holding Senate hearings to address reimbursement barriers for eCare and wireless health services, Dr. Mohit Kaushal, the director of healthcare at the FCC said during a presentation at the Wireless Life-Sciences Alliance here in La Jolla, CA.
The federal government is going to focus on cost cutting, Kaushal said, as it might has allocated $10 billion through 2019 for the creation of a CMS...
