States’ Fragmented Approaches To Contact-Tracing Apps Risk Making Efforts Less Effective
In absence of federal guidance on phone apps to trace viral outbreaks, tech giants Apple and Google are setting their own standards. But many states are rejecting those rules or abandoning the idea altogether, leading to a hodgepodge approach. In other health IT news: the challenges of permanent telehealth benefits; Europe's message to Google and Facebook; and HHS' electronic health record reporting program.
Politico:
Google And Apple’s Rules For Virus Tracking Apps Sow Division Among States
The global rush to halt the coronavirus led countries like Australia and South Korea to launch smartphone apps to track its spread, using the technology as a key part of their push to tamp down the pandemic and restart their economies. But U.S. efforts to do the same are running into an all-too-familiar problem that has plagued the pandemic response: a lack of national coordination. And Silicon Valley’s attempts to help aren’t resolving the confusion. (Overly and Ravindranath, 6/10)
Stat:
Telehealth Is A ‘Silver Lining’ Of The Pandemic, But Implementing It Permanently Won’t Be Easy
The coronavirus pandemic has stretched hospital resources beyond their capacity, disrupted the delivery of care, and drained providers of billions of dollars of revenue for canceled elective procedures, office visits, and tests. It may also have permanently changed U.S. health care for the better. (Ross, 6/11)
The Associated Press:
EU Wants Tech Giants To Do More To Counter Virus Fake News
A senior European Union official warned online platforms like Google and Facebook on Wednesday to step up the fight against fake news coming notably from countries like China and Russia, but she praised the approach of Twitter for fact-checking a tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump. Unveiling a plan to fight disinformation linked to the coronavirus, European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said she wants online tech companies to provide far more detailed reports each month than currently on the action they are taking to prevent a fake news “infodemic.” (Cook, 6/10)
Modern Healthcare:
ONC Seeks Comments On Draft Questionnaire For Evaluating EHRs
A Washington, D.C.-based think tank contracted to create HHS' electronic health record reporting program has released a draft questionnaire that clinicians, pharmacists and hospital information technology staff would use to evaluate software products. Under the 21st Century Cures Act, HHS is required to collect data on health IT software certified by the agency. The ultimate goal is to publish interoperability, usability and other data from software users and developers, so that users can compare products before purchasing them. (Cohen, 6/10)
