The Rundown | Week of 6.19.2017

Healthcare is a rapidly evolving industry – it’s difficult to read up on everything that matters to you. But the success of your practice can depend on how knowledgeable you are about changes in the healthcare landscape. Privia has compiled a weekly list of important articles we are reading on healthcare industry trends, clinical best practices and legislative updates for your convenience. Here are some of the important articles and blogs on healthcare that stood out this week:

• Cash for Clunkers? Could it Work for Legacy Medical Devices?, Fierce Healthcare

>> “One reason healthcare is plagued with cyber security vulnerabilities is that the industry is built on a bedrock of legacy systems and devices in an increasingly connected environment. Many of these devices were never intended to be connected to the internet, and patching those systems can be difficult since the impact of a security patch on an older device is often unknown.’”

• American Health Care Tragedies Are Taking Over Crowdfunding, Bloomberg

>> “At industry leader GoFundMe, medical is one of the biggest fundraising categories. CEO Rob Solomon has said it’s what “helped define and put GoFundMe on the map” and has called the company, founded in 2010, “a digital safety net.”

• Apple is quietly working on turning your iPhone into the one-stop shop for all your medical info, CNBC  

>> “Imagine turning to your iPhone for all your health and medical information — every doctor’s visit, lab test result, prescription and other health information, all available in a snapshot on your phone and shared with your doctor on command. No more logging into hospital websites or having to call your previous doctor to get them to forward all that information to your new one. Apple is working on making that scenario a reality.”

• Should Doctors Play Along With the Uberization of Health Care?, Slate

>> “All around the Bay Area, technology companies are trying to Uberize health care: Use your smartphone to summon medical advice on demand. According to Rock Health, a health-tech venture fund, on-demand health care companies saw 300 percent year-over-year funding growth in 2014. There’s also growing interest on the part of consumers: In 2015, 1.25 million patients connected with a doctor using telemedicine (phone or video, for example).”

• How population health will benefit from the journey to precision medicine, MedCity

>> “As a doctor, I am torn about this. On one hand, health care needs (many would say is overdue for) disruption. There’s little to no incentive for us to take care of you by video, phone, or email. We don’t profit at all or as well as if you came to see us in person. This isn’t the fault of doctors so much as it is of the entire value chain of health care, which is locked up between employers and payers (i.e., insurers), which determine when and how much we get reimbursed. It also hamstrings improving a patient’s experience.”