Are RAP management talking to Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon IBM etc ???? If not why not ?
I believe RAP's patents are very protective – if its measuring based on a voice / cough signature to determine respiratory disease over a mobile device – can someone with more knowledge expand ?
Evidently the US Vice President Mike Pence Corona taskforce is asking for recommendations including Jared Kushner on his twitter account – so management twitter Jared Kushner.
Evidently President Trump was, as usual, a little over enthusiastic on what Google capabilities might be.
Hopefully we will be confirmed and mentioned in the Australian Government’s response as part of Coviue telehealth solution that will be adopted by other Australian telehealth companies.
In this Corona charged environment one sniff of an oily rag mentioning RAP as part of the corona virus solution and we will be off to the races – keep positive GLTA Thai
Congress waives telehealth restrictions for coronavirus screening
American Telemedicine Association cheers the $8 billion emergency funding legislation, which it says will expand the toolkits of healthcare professionals working to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
As was requested by several leading healthcare technology organizations this past week, Congress has included a provision that waives some restrictions for Medicare telehealth coverage as part of its new COVID-19 supplemental funding package.
The American Telemedicine Association, HIMSS, the eHealth Initiative, Health Innovation Alliance and Personal Connected Health Alliance wrote recently to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and other Congressional leaders, asking them make money from the COVID-19 supplemental appropriation available for telehealth services and give healthcare professionals "as many tools as possible" to combat spread of the novel corona virus.
Yesterday the Senate voted 96-1 for an $8 billion emergency spending package that was largely similar to the bill passed the day before by the House, making funds available to expand testing of the virus. The bill next goes to the White House for President Trump's signature.
ATA, HIMSS and the other groups had asked the legislators to consider the CONNECT for Health Act, which lifts restrictions on Medicare telehealth coverage during emergencies, as they drew up the supplemental spending.
Noting that telehealth and virtual care solutions can expand access to care and enable timely treatment, while also limiting the risk of person-to-person spread of the virus, ATA applauded the move.
"We are heartened by the swift actions being taken by Congress to put the right tools in the hands of healthcare professionals to effectively address the COVID-19 outbreak," said ATA CEO Ann Mond Johnson in a statement. "Many ATA members are providing solutions that are helping to keep people safe and out of hospitals and doctors' offices, map the virus and triage individuals needing medical care.
"The ATA and its members will continue to work with federal and state authorities, including HHS and the CDC, to address the COVID-19 outbreak and ensure resources are appropriately deployed for those individuals in need of care and help keep health care workers safe," she added. "We urge CMS to implement its waiver authority as soon as possible to ensure health care providers understand any requirements and help speed the deployment of virtual services."
Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN
Email the writer: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
4 things to know about Trump's emergency plan on coronavirus
The various policy moves have left many questions unanswered.
The various policy moves left many questions unanswered, among them whether a website Trump said Google is developing to screen and test patients could compromise their privacy.
Here are some key features:
Testing
The president said the administration is working with pharmacies and other retailers to make drive-thru testing available "at critical locations." And he announced a series of partnerships with private labs to boost testing capacity just one day after top federal infectious disease official Anthony Fauci told House lawmakers that the federal government’s current testing system had been a “failing.”
The president said there would be another 1.4 million tests available by next week and 5 million within the months, adding, “I doubt we’ll need anywhere near that.”
Public health experts would disagree: Multiple tests are often used on one person, and while federal officials have been hesitant to project case numbers, Fauci himself warned lawmakers that a complacent mitigation response could boost case numbers to the “many, many millions.”
Administration officials told lawmakers yesterday that 11,000 Americans had been tested. The FDA approved the first high-volume coronavirus test today.
Consumer screening website
The president also appeared to oversell an effort by an affiliate of Google to help develop a website that will aid the administration’s efforts to screen and test for people with the virus.
Trump suggested a sweeping effort, saying Google had 1,700 engineers working on the project and had made "tremendous progress" — and that the site will be able "to facilitate testing at a nearby convenient location. ... We have many, many locations."
But Verily, the life-sciences arm of Google's parent company Alphabet, later said in a statement that the website is in "the early stages of development" and would be initially tested in the Bay Area, "with the hope of expanding more broadly over time."
Vice President Mike Pence said the administration by Sunday evening will "be able to give specific guidance" on when the website will be available.
The announcement instantly raised red flags for patient privacy groups, which have pushed for greater scrutiny of Google’s use of health data. “It sounds like @google just figured out how to get the personal health data of every single American,” tweeted Kyle Plotkin, chief of staff for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), after Trump made the announcement.
Hospitals
Trump outlined emergency measures hospitals can take under the declaration, most of which would free up beds for a potential surge in coronavirus patients. “Critical access” hospitals that are limited to 25 beds and get higher Medicare rates can boost their capacity and extend patient stays now limited to 96 hours.
The order lifts rules for where hospitals can treat patients within their facilities and lets them add doctors as needed. The hospital industry supports these steps and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to release more detailed guidance later Friday that could expand on Trump’s list.
Telehealth
The declaration lets HHS Secretary Alex Azar waive certain laws to expand the use of telehealth, which public health experts say can help reduce risk of transmission. The new order appears to let Azar waive federal licensing requirements so out-of-state doctors can treat patients virtually in states with the greatest need.
The $8.3 billion coronavirus emergency funding package Trump signed last week also allows Azar to waive restrictions on Medicare payment for telehealth, as Congress has typically done for past emergencies. Telehealth groups and lawmakers, including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the committee overseeing Medicare, have encouraged Azar to activate that authority.
Trump in his Rose Garden remarks called telehealth a “fairly new and incredible thing," though health care providers have used the technology for over a decade.
Adriel Bettelheim, Sarah Owermohle, Susannah Luthi, Cristiano Lima and Mohana Ravindranath contributed to this report.
