2020 was a year of hard lessons and brilliant work of healthcare workers across the globe. Join us for a conversation with NODE.Health featuring leaders shaping healthcare innovation. We'll discuss challenges faced in 2020, share innovations that help the industry overcome these challenges, and showcase why evidence in digital medicine matters.
What were some of your biggest takeaways and what can we expect from next year?
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COVID19 has challenged global educational systems, both inside and outside of the medical world. For medical students and trainees, not only have health systems had to move much of their education virtually, but there have been distinct changes to clinical training on the wards as well. How have your health systems adapted to this? How are we making sure that students and trainees are still getting the comprehensive medical educations they need? One example that I studied and wrote about prior to the pandemic, is using virtual reality to democratize medical education (karger.com/Article/Fulltext/49...). I am curious to learn if anyone in this community has used extended reality MORE during the pandemic to make sure students continue to get the # of procedures, simulations, and anatomic lessons that they need to graduate from both med school and residency?
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He/Him/His
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AMA Team Member
· Physician
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Emergency Medicine Physician and Health Policy Advocacy Fellow
Agreed with Sarah. Virtual reality is an excellent supplement to traditional clinical education. There is a lot of research supporting its use to specifically increase skill acquisition in surgical specialties.
Adoption by other specialities have been slow and represent an area of growth. Targeting procedural based specialities such as emergency medicine, anesthesia, etc, may help to accelerate adoption and provide education in a time when in person simulation and cadaver labs are at a stand still.
Many patients face barriers to using telehealth such as devices that can't do two-way audio; broadband connections that are too slow for synchronous video; data caps or expensive data plans; and lack of skills to download apps, find a link in a spam filter, adjust cookie settings, use an unfamiliar browser, adjust a microphone or camera, etc.
So a few questions:
1) How many patients does your institution refer to audio-only ("cellehealth") telehealth because you lack resources and mechanisms to help patients get connected if needed? Are you looking at disparities in such referrals?
2) What proportion of your patients have failed attempts at virtual health? Are you looking at tech support calls regarding such barriers? What advice do they give?
3) Does your institution have partnerships with any local or national organizations that can help patients address these barriers?
4) Do you have any sort of training for patients to use virtual health (telehealth, portals, remote monitors)?
If you're interested in helping patients get connected, I recommend joining the National Digital Inclusion Alliance where you can find local and national organizations that can get people free or low cost devices and data plans, and free digital skill training. And contact me to learn how digital health navigators can promote digital health equity.
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Ok this one is for everyone - can each of you share your perspective of what needs to change - in the validation, in the implementation, or perhaps even in the ideation phases. What are the key areas you each see for opportunity as we move into 2021?
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She/Her/Hers
As a founding member of the Executive Advisory board, I have been the persistent voice at NODE.Health calling attention to the need to address equity in Digital Medicine. Brian and I co-authored a NODE.Health paper in 2018 that especially called for health systems to recognize large groups of patients who lacked devices, broadband subscriptions, and digital skills. So the silver lining of the pandemic has been that health systems are now paying attention. (see karger.com/Article/FullText/49...)
If a hospital’s Q3 results did NOT reveal unacceptable telehealth disparities, then I’m guessing that they did not look for them. This Tuesday, I’ll be leading a Workshop at the 2020 Digital Medicine Conference with Peter Pronovost and Adimika Arthur to look at how health systems can and should address digital equity. To learn more, PM me with “Workshop” in the subject line.
He/Him/His
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AMA Team Member
· Physician
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Emergency Medicine Physician and Health Policy Advocacy Fellow
Another silver lining of this pandemic was telemedicine education. During the pandemics peak here in New York City, there was a point where a large portion of residents were out sick secondary to exposures or true infections. Our system had to quickly adapt to this challenge and a large part of the response was to allow residents to perform telemedicine services. In a normal world, residents would have essentially zero education or opportunity in this area. The pandemic allowed us to have a glimpse into this world and many have found a passion for it. The GME system should shift resources to telemedicine education for residents as demand and interest has now been uncovered.
She/Her/Hers
It's great to hear that residents are engaging with telehealth and I heartily support the need to train them in telehealth. Let's hope that there are systems in place to help patients address their device, connectivity and skill barriers so that we don't also have to teach residents to perform tech support desk functions!
She/Her/Hers
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AMA Team Member
· Innovation Leader
· Patient or Patient Advocate
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Director, Digital Health & Operations
Agree with Chris! We also saw the need to focus on telehealth learning for medical students and practicing physicians!
Additionally, we saw a level of accelerated adoption of telehealth that we've not seen before when it comes to virtual care. This is something that likely would have taken many years had there not been an immediate need to still care for people while keeping them in their homes. The expanded coverage and policy changes around telehealth also supported the surge in use, which we further found as key to adoption and sustainable use of digital medicine. With that said, many physicians and patients want telehealth to stick around and I think that speaks to the impact digital health and virtual care can have on the industry. There is opportunity to approach other types of innovation in a new way that doesn't require the longer cycle of the past.
Agree with highlighting the accelerating and clarifying force of the pandemic for digital health at scale. During the NODE.Health conference this week leader after leader has spoken to it. John Brownstein, CINO at Boston Children's, said "We have done more in 6 months than we had in 6 years." I want to call this "coronacceleration" but I also resist a cute name that has taken so many and caused deep emotional and economic pain. The price has been too high but our responsibility now becomes --using our new found collaborations, urgency and speed-- to make the most out of this transformational moment so we may honor those who sacrificed everything.
I've created a design/pattern for many sizes of (and have made prototypes myself) a unique women's (men may use it also) medical exam gown. It provides modesty with comfortable design/fabric/easy closures and adjustments-- first designed this gown 20 y ago and was awarded a US patent in 7 weeks!
An illness kept me from double-checking on my charge to my attorney to pay the issue fee for the patent awarded.
Major US Store 6 m ago was going to produce the gown, but I found issue certificate number never was granted...Have update design (which is still unique & without competition).
I desire to provide the design to clothing manufacturers & initiate gown production & distribution.
--> How can I quickly move this into production and use?
Belle Heppard, MD. 303-290-8841 (Home line is best)
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She/Her/Hers
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Physician
Fabrics will be of soft material created with superior thread-count no-iron & non-irritating sources (even when washed w/strong anti-infective detergents) so "see through" factor is eliminate quality fabric created with designs from my original artwork, user friendly ties for jewelry in-case worn for imaging study and convenient placement of appropriately sized pocket for cardiac monitor or insulin pump are a few of the features beyond design for modesty during examination with flattering shape this unique gown.
Thanks all for joining this discussion! I'm excited to learn more about NODE.Health and the upcoming Digital Medicine Conference.
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He/Him/His
I'll kick it off here as both moderator and panelist! For NODE.Health, we've taken some obvious steps and some not so obviously steps! Clearly, all of our support has gone virtual like the rest of the world, but we also quickly turned our attention to supporting the fight against COVID. We did this in a few ways. First, we created an online repository on our website called the "COVID 19 Resource Stash", where people can find the latest articles, references or resources from credible authors supporting the preparation and management of COVID related initiatives. Second, we framed our gatherings (either conferences, work groups, or webinars) around practical topics so our member (and non-member) providers and health systems could learn from each other. Third, we began supporting technologies and companies through either virtual trials and studies or by providing input on COVID related solutions from our panels of experts. In short, like everything in this world, its changed....everything!
He/Him/His
And our Director of Research would be quick to remind me! We also dedicated our Writing and Research team to creating thought pieces and gathering research and references that could support the fight against COVID. Their articles are never to be missed, highly relevant, timely, and well researched thought pieces that balance research with perspective.