Becker's Hospital Review

85 CIO / HEALTH IT diagnostic health. "e healthcare industry and greater society stands to gain from wearable use; we're encouraged that this new competition will drive faster adoption and the development of higher quality data." Kristin Valdes, founder and CEO of b.well Connected Health con- curred. "We need to continue to leverage the technology of tomorrow to im- prove the healthcare experience so it's individualized to each person and their needs," she said. "Real-time data directly from the consumer will allow healthcare stakeholders to focus on preventive care, driving consumers to necessary services, instead of sick care." 5. Jeanette Numbers, co-founder and principal of user experience and product design studio Lo, said that wearables are about helping peo- ple feel normal and take action when symptoms arise. But the technol- ogy is potentially capable of much more. "Tracking and monitoring is yesterday's game. What if wearables of the future not only sensed the needs of the body, but acted on them? What if they provided more than a trend report and actually tapped into your senses to proactively encourage change, through haptics, thermal sensation and more? To give rather than take," she asked. "e healthcare industry is inherently focused on getting you back to 'OK' status, but what if we explored moving past just feeling OK to feeling like a better version of yourself today and in the future? at's what the next generation wearables are poised to do, and this one misses the mark." n Kaiser Permanente launches virtual healthcare plan: 6 details By Jackie Drees K aiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington un- veiled its healthcare plan for virtual care Sept. 10. Six details: 1. The Seattle-based insurer's Virtual Plus plan will be available starting Jan. 1, direct to consumers and employ- er groups. It will also be available on the health insurance exchange. 2. Under Virtual Plus, members will see the same physi- cians and clinicians as they would in-person at any Kaiser Permanente facility. Their member and patient data is also integrated with their EHR. 3. The plan also allows members to participate in virtual care via phone, online chat, video or email for non-urgent medical issues. 4. Virtual Plus members have access to Kaiser Permanente pharmacists through an online or video visit and can get medications delivered to their home. 5. The plan aims to provide members with affordable and predictable healthcare coverage. The health plan serves 12.4 million members in eight states and Washington, D.C. "Virtual care is the healthcare of today and tomorrow," Paul Minardi, MD, president and executive medical di- rector of Washington Permanente Medical Group, said in the news release. "The pandemic has reinforced the need to provide care in the most convenient, accessible, and safe way for our members, and that's what Virtual Plus does." 6. From March to September, the Oakland, Calif.-based health system delivered most of its care virtually, with about 65 percent of Kaiser Permanente appointments conduct- ed virtually, compared to about 20 percent pre-pandemic. n Epic CEO Judy Faulkner's 5 predictions for healthcare post- pandemic By Laura Dyrda E pic CEO Judy Faulkner made five key predictions about healthcare during an interview with Business Insider. 1. Ms. Faulkner expects more smaller providers will face extreme financial distress and bankruptcy due to the canceled elective surgeries and appointments due to COVID-19. The lost revenue will affect the staffing levels, capital expenditures and operating expenditures in the fu- ture, she said, noting that many Epic customers reported 35 percent to 55 percent revenue declines this year. 2. There will be more mergers and acquisitions due to the financial strain the pandemic placed on healthcare provid- ers, Ms. Faulkner conjectured. When organizations consol- idate, typically the smaller provider moves onto the larger provider's EHR platform, which bodes well for Epic. In 2018, all of U.S. News & World Report's 20 top hospitals used Epic. However, with some of the new interoperability rules set to take effect in late 2020, it will be easier for health systems to interoperate without switching systems. 3. Digital health has become more mainstream, and Epic reported between 50 and 100 times more video visits since the pandemic began, according to Ms. Faulkner. She also expects more remote patient monitoring from home. 4. Data definitions are a big problem, Ms. Faulkner said. Health systems are defining data differently, which makes it impossible to aggregate. Ms. Faulkner sees the potential for more data standardization efforts and a focus on public health surveillance as a lasting legacy of the pandemic. She noted some lawmakers use Epic data to decide when to reopen economies or make other public health decisions. 5. IT deployments at health systems will become more effi- cient due to the pandemic, Ms. Faulkner thinks. During the pandemic, her team worked with providers to redesign the deployment system to make it virtual and do the install in three days. n

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