Telemedicine 2021: Special Report HIMSS 21

Telemedicine Sessions at HIMSS21

Search the HIMSS21 Schedule database and you’ll find there are over 50 sessions from which to choose during the conference. While all are bound to be informative and interesting, here is just a sampling of the telehealth topics to be discussed:

Caring for Astronauts in Space: NASA’s Experience with Telemedicine
While working from space astronauts can’t just pop in to see their local PCP so when they need advice from their doctors they turn to telemedicine! Who better to give tips on providing “out of this world” telemedicine care than the experts and doctors from NASA?  Examine NASA’s current use of telemedicine in the care of astronauts in orbit and learn what’s next for future exploration class missions. You won’t want to miss this exciting NASA-led session.

TikTok & Digital Health: Meeting Patients In Unlikely Places
Amongst all of the amazing uses for social media, one area that has not been fully explored is using it to better serve our health. In these changing times post-COVID, meeting patients where they are has become more important than ever before. 4th year doctors, Amanda d’Almeida and Dan Villavecer decided to take matters into their own hands and create Medicine Explained on TikTok. They will speak to the amazing innovated ways they have used unlikely platforms such as TikTok to reach patients and interested parties to better serve their communities.

COVID-19 Lessons Learned: The Invaluable Need for Virtual Care
The pandemic has changed how healthcare is delivered all over the country and the world. For the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), rapidly expanding virtual care required new policies, approaches, tools, training and ongoing support to clinicians and patients alike. This session will explore lessons learned across that rapid expansion as well as what worked and did not work for engaging clinicians and patients around the virtual care experience.

Improving Mental Health With Digital Tools
When the Froedtert & MCW health network instituted routine depression screenings with its patients, it needed options for providers to meet patients’ mental health needs. It expanded its ability to deliver behavioral health services by implementing a digital health app and platform that its primary care and behavioral health caregivers can prescribe as part of a treatment program directly from their EHR workflow. This digital health approach gives deeper insight into patient enrollment and severity. It has resulted in significant improvements in patient depression and anxiety markers.