India pilots digital universal vaccination platform

India pilots digital universal vaccination platform

India has started piloting a new digital platform that tracks the routine immunisation of mothers and newborn children across India. Called U-WIN, the online system digitises the government’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), which is providing protection against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases to around 26.7 million newborns and 29 million expectant mothers each year. 
Through this, records of all vaccinations of pregnant women and newborns and their delivery outcomes will be made. It will remind their upcoming vaccine shots and automatically follow up on dropouts. 
Digital registrations to the portal have been ongoing in pilot areas, which include two districts in each state and Union Territory. 
WHY IT MATTERS
U-WIN, which replicates the Co-WIN platform…

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Virtual care enables BrightView Health to increase outpatient access

Virtual care enables BrightView Health to increase outpatient access

BrightView Health, a behavioral health facility that specializes in addiction treatment and substance abuse, already was using telehealth when the COVID-19 pandemic and associated response happened. The organization mostly was using telehealth between its various locations.THE PROBLEM
However, BrightView did not have a secure communications platform to engage with patients either synchronously or asynchronously.
“So, the pandemic and the lockdowns created some potential gaps in access to care that we needed to predict and fill,” said Navdeep S. Kang, chief clinical officer at BrightView Health and a fellow with the Obama Foundation. “We looked at several platforms to implement secure communications.
“We were specifically interested…

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Bipartisan House bill proposes permanent telehealth benefits

Bipartisan House bill proposes permanent telehealth benefits

The Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act would amend the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers to treat benefits for telehealth services like excepted benefits.WHY IT MATTERS
The bill aims to keep stand-alone telehealth benefits separate, not as a replacement of medical plans, offering them under a group health plan or group health insurance coverage as excepted benefits.
An excepted benefit allows employers to finance additional medical care, like vision or dental coverage, according to theCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services FAQsfor insurance agents and brokers, requiring Congress…

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North Queensland GPs get access to Inca's care planning platform

North Queensland GPs get access to Inca’s care planning platform

The Northern Queensland Primary Health Network is deploying a shared care platform to GPs in North Queensland. The care planning platform, INCA, developed by the health IT company Precedence Health Care, enables health professionals to manage patient health data, create and monitor care plans, and share information digitally. 
This system allows the creation of Medicare-compliant GP management plans and team care arrangements, which can be automatically shared with the care team. It also enables GPs to allocate tasks and send automatic reminders for actions needing completion, track and monitor adherence to a plan, and store all approved and shared documentation in one record.
Moreover, INCA…

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Providence forges a new path with a virtual nursing unit

Providence forges a new path with a virtual nursing unit

Virtual nursing is gaining significant momentum as an effective way to redesign and redistribute nursing workload. Virtual models decrease the burden on nurses delivering direct bedside patient care and leverages nurses who want to continue practicing, but may not be able to practice at the bedside, by extending their nursing careers.THE PROBLEM
“The flexibility and various practice areas and models of care may appeal to nurses considering leaving the profession and who may not be able to work in a traditional setting,” said Sylvain Trepanier, RN, chief nursing officer at health system Providence. “Virtual nurses will become a new area of professional…

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FDA approves AI ultrasound application for musculoskeletal imaging

FDA approves AI ultrasound application for musculoskeletal imaging

Clarius Mobile Health, which first introduced wireless handheld imaging for medical specialties in 2016, says its third-generation device, HD3, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week, will also help improve MSK ultrasound training.WHY IT MATTERS
With clearance from the FDA, the new MSK AI model will be available with the Clarius L7 HD3 and Clarius L15 HD3 ultrasound scanners introduced last year, according to the announcement.
“AI automation is the new frontier and we’re excited to be the world’s first to receive FDA clearance to use AI for musculoskeletal ultrasound,” said Ohad Arazi, president and CEO, in the statement.
Upon…

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10 Pros and Cons of Being an Informatics Nurse

10 Pros and Cons of Being an Informatics Nurse

Every career has its perks and downsides, and working in nursing informatics is no exception. While the field is exciting, challenging, and diverse, being a nursing informatician can present a few road bumps along the way.
First, let’s run through five advantages when working as an informatics nurse.
Pro: Better Educational Methods
Even as you read this article, technology is changing the way people are taught and how they interact with one another. New software applications are constantly being introduced and improved upon to make education more convenient and accessible for the population.
Online nursing informatics programs are more favored than ever, with…

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NYU develops health metrics dashboard for all 435 U.S. Congressional Districts

NYU develops health metrics dashboard for all 435 U.S. Congressional Districts

Researchers at New York University Grossman School of Medicine say their new Congressional District Health Dashboard reveals stark geographic, racial and ethnic differences in health across the United States. They hope lawmakers and healthcare organizations can use the tool to better understand and address health inequities.WHY IT MATTERS
Incorporating health measures, such as deaths from cardiovascular disease and breast cancer, along with conditions that affect health like housing affordability and access to nutritious foods, has not been available at the congressional district level.
Offering a single publicly-accessible location, the Congressional District Health Dashboard was built to offer a comprehensive data view of persistent inequities across the…

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HCA uses AI to decrease time from cancer diagnosis to first treatment by almost a week

HCA uses AI to decrease time from cancer diagnosis to first treatment by almost a week

HCA Healthcare has 14 hospitals covering a radius of more than 300 miles. The staff members knew they had a large catchment area. However, caseloads were based on registry data that was delayed, and not a true reflection of the provider organization’s oncology program as a whole.THE PROBLEM
“With multiple points of entry, we relied on manual searches through pathology, physician schedules and referrals to identify newly diagnosed cancer cases and patients,” said Kristina Rua, RN, an oncology nurse, oncology nurse navigator and president of the Florida Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators, who previously was director of oncology navigation services in…

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