Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Electronic Consults With Specialist Doctor Can Free Up Capacity In Crowded Health Systems
The New York Times: When Email Comes To The Doctor’s Office, Wait Times Decrease
The kind of thing we have done instinctively in our workplaces for two decades — sending a quick email instead of setting up a meeting — has until recently eluded many doctors. Electronic consultations, or eConsults (sometimes called eReferrals), are a growing way for primary care doctors and specialists to communicate with each other securely. They can help patients avoid additional visits to specialists and free up capacity in crowded health systems, reducing waiting times for others. (Frakt, 3/18)
In other health technology news —
Kaiser Health News: Death By A Thousand Clicks
The pain radiated from the top of Annette Monachelli’s head, and it got worse when she changed positions. It didn’t feel like her usual migraine. The 47-year-old Vermont attorney turned innkeeper visited her local doctor at the Stowe Family Practice twice about the problem in late November 2012, but got little relief. Two months later, Monachelli was dead of a brain aneurysm, a condition that, despite the symptoms and the appointments, had never been tested for or diagnosed until she turned up in the emergency room days before her death. (Schulte and Fry, 3/18)
Modern Healthcare: Two Million Affected By Healthcare Breaches Reported In February
Providers, health plans and their business associates reported 31 data breaches to HHS' Office for Civil Rights in February. All in all, these breaches compromised data from more than 2 million people. That's up more than 500% from the 309,644 people affected by healthcare breaches reported in February 2018. (Cohen, 3/15)
