Telemedicine recommendations for Senate Finance — Consumers understand genetic tests — AAFP prez trashes lack of interoperability

With help from Darius Tahir (@DariusTahir ) and Arthur Allen ( @ArthurAllen202 )

TELEHEALTH AT CENTER OF CHRONIC CARE WORK: A Senate Finance Committee working group is sorting through comments that arrived before a Monday deadline for its bill on chronic care policy changes in Medicare. Many revolved around telemedicine. Seventeen stakeholders, including HIMSS, CHIME, the American Telemedicine Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association, signed off on a nine-page letter urging Congress and CMS to do a better job at paying for remote monitoring of chronically ill Medicare patients.

— The American Medical Association suggested that alternative payment models like accountable care organizations be free to use telemedicine regardless of the restrictions placed on the broader Medicare program. However, the AMA said that freedom should come with conditions to help alleviate the concerns of CMS, which has called wider adoption of telemedicine “untested or unproven.”

— Health IT Now said Congress should convene a task force of national experts to recommend coverage recommendations for telemedicine services. HIMSS said the Senate Finance Committee should encourage health insurers to provide patient portals that are interoperable with electronic health records as a means to incentivize patient engagement.

— “We are interested in any opportunities to remove barriers to telemedicine and to build better forms of care,” said Gary Capistrant, senior director of public policy at the American Telemedicine Association. “Some of the tools and benefits, such as remote monitoring, are particularly or solely for chronic care.”

— A spokesperson for the Senate Finance Committee said its goal was to introduce and mark up legislation later this year. The committee is first reviewing and analyzing the comments it receives.

eHealth tweet of the day: @rshawnm Good news, 70 days until college FB, bad news 100 days to ICD-10, good news AAFP has resources to help your practice http://www.aafp.org/practice-management/payment/coding/icd10-countdown.html#.VYh-uKoS9RU.twitter …

Welcome to Tuesday morning eHealth where we ask readers if it’s sad that beating a Candy Crush level you’ve been stuck on for more than a week makes your day. This has happened to me more than a few times in recent months. I’m now on level 560, though. Between your smartphone games, send us news at [email protected] and connect with us on Twitter @ David_Pittman, @ arthurallen202, @DariusTahir @ POLITICOPro, @ Morning_eHealth.

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STUDY: CUSTOMERS UNDERSTAND PERSONAL GENETIC TESTS PRETTY WELL: In one of the first large studies to measure customer understanding of test reports from personal genomic testing companies, an NIH-funded study found most people did comprehend them. The researchers presented sample genetic test reports to 1,030 customers of two companies, 23andMe and Pathway Genomics. Participants had high overall comprehension, with an average score of 79 percent correct answers across four hypothetical scenarios. “Some of the concerns that people won’t be able to handle the information on their own might be unfounded,” said senior author Scott Roberts of the University of Michigan. He noted that the relatively high education level of those taking the tests and the survey probably skewed results that might be expected from a general population. The FDA in 2013 cracked down on 23andMe’s testing reports, and the GAO, the American College of Medical Genetics and the American Society of Human Genetics have raised concerns that the reports could be misunderstood, leading to psychological harm as well as unnecessary medical tests and the waste of other health care resources. Read more here http://myumi.ch/Lqg9A

AAFP PREZ TRASHES LACK OF INTEROPERABILITY: “[T]he current electronic health record environment puts patients at risk because vital health information may not be available at the point of care when health information technology systems fail to communicate with one another,” Robert Wergin, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, wrote in an op-ed for The Hill. The Nebraska doctor spoke about the recent “information blocking” report from ONC and outlined the common reasons why roadblocks exist to exchanging information. “Health records should not be held hostage to the business interests of EHR manufacturers or health systems.” Wergin’s column: http://bit.ly/1GjRoqL

IOWA GOV. LAMENTS FRIDAY’S COURT RULING: Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican, said Monday he disagreed with Friday’s state Supreme Court decision that allows telemedicine-delivered abortions in Iowa. “I was very disappointed in the court decision, and we’re going to be reading, reviewing and analyzing that and determining what is the best course of action for us to take,” Branstad told his weekly news conference. “I do respect the fact that the courts are a separate branch of government from the executive branch of government, and I have not had the chance to review this is great detail.” Branstad appoints members of the Iowa Board of Medicine which in 2013 issued rules that would require a physician be present to examine and deliver abortion-inducing drugs. It was those rules that the state’s highest court overturned Friday, saying they placed an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to access abortion. The Quad-City Times has more: http://bit.ly/1Jfyd7s

MU BILL TO MOVE CLOSER TO LAW: The Senate Finance Committee will mark up a bill Wednesday that would exempt patient encounters that take place in ambulatory surgery centers from meaningful use requirements. A similar version of the Electronic Health Fairness Act, sponsored by Sen. Johnny Isakson, passed the House last week. Starting this year, physicians participating in the EHR incentive program must perform at least half of their outpatient encounters in a facility with a certified EHR or be subject to a penalty. However, there is no requirement that ambulatory surgery centers use EHRs, and ONC offers no certification program specifically for them, according to the bill. Isakson’s bill would exempt encounters in such centers from meaningful use until ONC develops these standards for EHR certification. The Senate Finance Committee will mark up 11 other health-related bills on Wednesday as well.

NATO WANTS TELEMED HUB IN U.S.: NATO is working to develop a telemedicine hub in South Dakota to deliver remote medical services during natural or manmade disasters, The Associated Press reports. “The goal of the NATO-funded research project is to increase survival rates in emergency situations, when immediate access to medical specialists is not always possible.” http://abcn.ws/1FxwfYo

DOCS OK WITH VIDEO VISITS: Nearly three-in-five doctors are willing to conduct a video visit with their patients, according to a nationwide survey of more than 2,000 primary care physicians released by American Well. In contrast, 12 percent were unwilling to see a patient over video and 31 percent were uncertain. The doctors in general said that video visits were well-suited for cases in which the need for in-person touch was less urgent, such as medication and chronic condition management, and behavioral health. Those surveyed were concerned about reimbursement and also about the unfamiliarity of caring for patients at a distance, for which they said training would be helpful. The report on the survey gave no details on how it was conducted or the response rate. http://bit.ly/1dbvBcc

NO KING RULING MONDAY: But the U.S. Supreme Court said it will issue opinions on Friday in addition to regularly scheduled releases Thursday and next Monday. Health wonks are eagerly anticipating the outcome of the case, which will decide the fate of Obamacare subsidies in federal exchanges.

CYBERSECURITY IN HEALTH PAPER: WEDI is out with a primer on cybersecurity challenges in health care. The document is meant to “briefly illustrate some of the challenges that healthcare organizations face in defending themselves from cyberattacks, and discusses some of the vectors in which they occur.” Topics discussed include the lifecycle of attacks and defense, the anatomy of an attack and building a culture of prevention. The primer is here: http://bit.ly/1GCAd5Q

ON THE MOVE: Retiring Geisinger Health System CEO and President Glenn Steele, Jr. is joining the board of Stratus Video Interpreting, which provides access to interpretation services crucial for health care providers. Kathy McElligott will become McKesson’s executive vice president and chief information (CIO) and chief technology officer (CTO) effective July 20. McElligott had been Emerson’s CIO since 2010.

WHAT WE’RE CLICKING:

Kaiser Health News tackles telemedicine’s convenience versus its costs: http://wapo.st/1K8w7q3

In the Washington Post, the importance of checking your own medical records: http://wapo.st/1H8IEHR

The struggle to make wearables more accurate: http://bit.ly/1H8fABY

Doctors key to mHealth adoption: http://bit.ly/1BwL2qY

Seven questions on personalized medicine: http://bit.ly/1H8GMyL

Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via email to our team: Arthur Allen ( [email protected] , @ArthurAllen202 ), David Pittman ( [email protected] , @ David_Pittman ), Darius Tahir ( [email protected] , (@DariusTahir ) and Aubree Eliza Weaver ( [email protected] , @AubreeEWeaver ).