Nexus 2024 Full Agenda

The New York Medication for Addiction Treatment and Electronic Referrals (MATTERs) network refers patients to clinics capable of providing medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD). MATTERs was created to refer patients from emergency departments (EDs) but has since expanded to include referrals from an emergency telemedicine program.

This study reviewed 19 telehealth bills introduced in Maine from 2009 to 2021 highlighting major debates with input from legislator interviews. The study then interviewed five physicians with different specialties across the state to identify how telehealth best fits into their practice and how the technology will move forward.

The ability to measure clinical visit length is critical for operational efficiency, patient experience, and
accurate billing. However, studies on visit length and schedule adherence in the telehealth setting are nonexistent in the literature. This study aims to demonstrate the use of videoconferencing data to measure telehealth visit length and schedule adherence.

The study explores the impacts of reduced telehealth flexibilities post-PHE, with a focus on audio-only visits. It evaluates the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a hybrid care model, combining in-person and telehealth visits, amidst uncertainties about the clinical adequacy of telehealth. The research aims to provide empirical support for this integrated approach in achieving optimal health outcome and at lower costs.

The Naturalistic Observation Diagnostic Assessment (NODA) established in 2015 by Behavior Imaging, in collaboration with the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC) and Georgia Institute of Technology.  NODA is a diagnostic tool that allows families to collect semi-structured videos in their home in 4 different situations, upload them to a secure web-based platform, and share them with a diagnostic professional who is trained to use NODA.  This investigative team has conducted several research projects on the validity of the NODA process and found, when used alone (that is, no other diagnostic procedures) it agrees with the in-person assessment process in 85% of cases (Smith et al., 2016). As NODA is asynchronous telehealth technology, it allows the behavior samples to be collected without the involvement of a clinician, which saves valuable clinician time.  

This descriptive study explores the application of implementation science best practices across a large portfolio of digital health solutions implemented by Mayo Clinic’s Center for Digital Health’s Practice Enablement teams since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A qualitative study was conducted to identify themes about the impact of telehealth medication for opioid use disorder treatment (teleMOUD) on a cohort of physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners who primarily provide teleMOUD care. Eighteen providers gave insights about the effects of teleMOUD on themselves and their patients.

Little data exists to date regarding effective interventions to improve emergency department (ED)-to-community care transitions for persons living with cognitive impairment (PLWCI) and their care partners. We have developed and pilot tested innovative artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital advisors as assistive technology to improve ED-to-community care transitions for PLWCI and their care partners.

To maintain high quality care in a post-pandemic world of elevated virtual care use, forward-leaning health systems must provide cost-efficient support infrastructure for virtual visits. This research aims to describe the development and composition of a Telehealth Centralized Support team supporting ambulatory care in a large academic medical center.

Digital healthcare utilization has increased significantly, prompting the need to develop additional educational opportunities on interprofessional skill development in virtual settings. Assessment measures evaluating such opportunities should be reflective of the shifting digital landscape and should include themes related to communication and teamwork specific to virtual environments.

Topic: Intermountain Health Re-imagined their Telehealth NewbornCritical Care (TNCC) program whichstarted in 2013, to a full-time dedicated Telehealth Newborn Critical Care service with a Neonatologist whose sole responsibility is telehealth consultations, resuscitation guidance, hospital load balancing, and transport control.Our purpose for optimization, centralization, operational efficiencies, and a dedicated service were realized withthe reduction ofthe burden on the in-unit Neonatologist, decreased connection time, reduced newborn patient transfers, and improvednewborn provider satisfaction at level 1 and level 2 nurseries.

Methods: The dedicated TNCC service was implemented September 2022. A central physican model was implemented. Providers call 801-321-BABY for rapid video and audio connection to the TNCC Neonatologist. Data on number of calls, connection time, number of transfers, and provider feedback were collected.

Results: In the first year, a total of 1,218 calls were made to TNCC. A 50% reduction in connection was achieved. A total of 220 transfers were initiated. An anticipated 118 transports were avoided. Only 40 calls (3%) were sent to an in-unit Neonatologist. Feedback from newborn providers was overwhelmingly positive.

Conclusions: Implementation of the dedicated TNCC service reduced the burden of telehealth consultation-increasing provider satisfaction, reduced connection times, reduced transfers keeping newborns closer to their mothers, and provided greater support to our newborn provider community. We speculate that implementation of a dedicated TNCC service may benefit other healthcare systems.

Clinicians and Patients Experience with Synchronous Remote Controlled Wearable Technology: Smart body-worn haptic devices ‘learn’ a movement and ‘teach’ it back to the wearer with vibratory and audio feedback.