The Arizona Telemedicine Program Blog

In recent years there has been an increase in hacking in the general marketplace and in particular Healthcare because of legacy systems and established well known vulnerabilities.  There have been several large healthcare organizations over the last three years that have been affected by Ransomware attacks and it’s been widely publicized in the media.  One key reason for these attacks is that organizations do have the right tools and layered security in place. It is not known whether the potential for Ransomware and other security attacks is more prevalent or likely with increased use of telemedicine, but it certainly is a concern many have expressed and may contribute to unwillingness to engage in telehealth activities.

Interacting with patients while they are in their familiar home surroundings is much more common today than it was 2 years ago.  In fact, 70% of patients have the option for a telehealth visit as a criterion for selecting a primary care provider. The most common home telehealth encounter is done using videoconferencing technology.  Most commonly, the provider (or their staff) who has scheduled the meeting emails a link to the electronic meeting platform to the patient.  A tablet, smartphone, laptop or desktop computer can be used, but only if it has a camera. In the true sense of the word, the encounter is often a meeting and not an assessment.  However, in general, the purpose of the encounter is to assess the condition of the patient. There is a greater emphasis on using the visual capabilities of the camera and the skills of the provider to transform the meeting to into an assessment as necessary. 

Telepharmacy at a glance

As a transformative force in the recent telehealth frontier, pharmacists have contributed significantly to patient and public health outcomes using telecommunication technology.¹

Pharmacist adoption of telehealth models has greatly extended the impact of their services and has been associated with improved readmission rates, cost-savings, and medication safety.^2-4 Specifically, integration of telehealth into medication therapy management (MTM) care, and recently into new models of enhanced MTM, has further enabled pharmacists to identify and address access, cost, health literacy, and transportation barriers that affect medication adherence.^1,5-7

When patients are critically ill, the intensive care unit (ICU) is there to help pull them back from the brink. As a medical student in the midst of pre-clinical coursework, especially in the middle of a global pandemic, the role of telecommunications within our world is ever more apparent. So how does this relate to delivering quality critical care to patients that may lack access to such care? ICU telemedicine. Before and even during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has been an instrumental tool in being able to deliver care while mitigating risk to both patients and providers alike, all while bringing intensive care into the modern era. However, there is very little awareness of this emerging field of telehealth as it pertains to ICU services.

On May 5, 2021, legislation was signed by Arizona’s governor, Doug Ducey, affecting telemedicine use, and access to medical services. House Bill 2454 (HB2454) sponsored by Representatives Regina Cobb and Joanne Osborne, and Senator Nancy Barto, has been described as “the most forward looking and most comprehensive bill in the United States with respect to telemedicine,” by Dr. Elizabeth Krupinski, Associate Director for Evaluation, Arizona Telemedicine Program.  The real question is, how does this bill impact Arizona healthcare professionals?  The Arizona Telemedicine Program, partnering with the Maricopa County Medical Society and the Arizona Department of Health Services, hosted a webinar to help answer this very important question to Arizona’s healthcare workforce.