Healthcare & Telemedicine

To fight the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, public health officials have implemented a range of social distancing measures aimed at reducing the risk of person‐to‐person transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). However, physical separation can be nearly impossible in confined spaces such as jails, prisons, and detention centers throughout the United States.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic, with over 720,000 cases reported in more than 203 countries as of 31 March.

California’s statewide mask mandate is set to expire on Feb. 15, and state health officials may not extend it in an endemic COVID strategy. California is approaching yet another pandemic inflection point — one that could mark the state’s transition to treating COVID like any other virus.

Within weeks, COVID-19 has transformed our practice of palliative care and clinical medicine as we know it. Telemedicine has emerged as a critical technology to bring medical care to patients while attempting to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 among patients, families, and clinicians.

Eric Wei, MD, MBA, senior vice president and chief quality officer of New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation says many health care workers were running on adrenaline during the surge in the city. “I think it was very scary to everyone,” he says. “And no matter how resilient you are, this was going to take a huge emotional and psychological toll for people.”

In a strong sign coronavirus is receding in California, the number of patients hospitalized with the virus fell over the weekend to levels not seen since weeks after shelter-at-home orders were enacted in spring, according to the California Department of Public Health.

As the COVID-19 virus quickly spreads around the world, unfortunately, misinformation related to COVID-19 also gets created and spreads like wild fire. Such misinformation has caused confusion among people, disruptions in society, and even deadly consequences in health problems.

As of 24 April 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has resulted in over 830,000 confirmed infections in the United States. The incidence of COVID-19, the disease associated with this new coronavirus, continues to rise.

Updated daily

The huge impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global healthcare systems has prompted search for novel tools to stem the tide. Attention has turned to the digital health community to provide possible health solutions in this time of unprecedented medical crisis to mitigate the impact of this pandemic.

Health officials say a key difference between this upcoming winter and the last two is the wider availability of COVID antivirals like Paxlovid. But many infected people aren’t aware of their availability or have difficulty accessing them

After a bit of last-minute legislative maneuvering, the list of propositions that California voters will be asked to weigh in on has been — more or less — finalized.

The global impact of COVID-19 has been profound, and the public health threat it represents is the
most serious seen in a respiratory virus since the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Here we present the
results of epidemiological modelling which has informed policymaking in the UK and other countries
in recent weeks.

In the COVID-19 pandemic, which affects the whole world, healthcare professionals (HCP) are at high risk of transmission due to their direct contact with patients with COVID-19. Therefore, how to ensure the triage of the patient with acute respiratory symptoms should be determined in advance, the contact distance should be arranged to be at least 2 m, COVID-19 suspect or diagnosed patient should be instructed to wear a surgical mask.

The development status of China’s healthcare sector is analyzed. The results of the questionnaire show that the probability of data analysis, medical treatment process, disease diagnosis process, lack of protective measures, and imperfect access system is all greater than 0.8 when medical care big data is oriented to cloud services.

The authors have had experience responding to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and H1N1 influenza, formulating a national medical recovery plan in Kuwait, responding to the 9/11 World Trade Center disaster, and developing peer support programs for health care. In this commentary, we summarize lessons learned from those experiences and provide consensus on best practices for fostering an organizational culture of resilience (2–4).

Few Californians have more severe health needs than people experiencing homelessness, but they’re also the least likely to get care. In a state where nearly 174,000 people experience homelessness, less than a third of unhoused people enrolled in the state’s free insurance program have ever seen their primary care provider

Modern healthcare systems are characterized as being highly complex and costly. However, this can be reduced through improved health record management, utilization of insurance agencies, and blockchain technology.

At the heart of the unparalleled crisis of COVID-19, healthcare workers (HCWs) face several challenges treating patients with COVID-19: reducing the spread of infection; developing suitable short-term strategies; and formulating long-term plans.

Work related stress can worsen existing conditions and crisis intervention might not suffice. Frontline medical workers are at risk of not just adverse physical outcomes from coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) but psychological ones too.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the media have repeatedly praised healthcare workers for their ‘heroic’ work. Although this gratitude is undoubtedly appreciated by many, we must be cautious about overuse of the term ‘hero’ in such discussions.

Although many workers may be exposed to the novel coronavirus, healthcare workers (HCWs) have an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 due to their close contact with patients affected by SARS-CoV-2.

Women's health report & interactive website with consideration for COVID-19

State health officials last year launched a first-ever competitive bidding process for its Medi-Cal insurance contracts, aiming to implement higher standards. But when the winners were announced, several insurers complained about the process and potential impact on patient care.

Health officials say a key difference between this upcoming winter and the last two is the wider availability of COVID antivirals like Paxlovid. But many infected people aren’t aware of their availability or have difficulty accessing them.

Covid-19 has further exposed how social determinants of health, such as housing, are crucial in shaping access to health care – and how housing insecurity can leave large portions of the population vulnerable to the disease.

The problem has morphed from inadequate testing capacity to inadequate numbers of people agreeing to be tested, said Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.

A vaccine candidate developed by Pfizer and BioNTech may be more than 90% effective in preventing covid-19 in participants without prior infection, the first interim analysis of the phase III trial shows.

Elizabeth Rourke is an internal medicine physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Executive Managing Editor of the Journal.

In our roles as directors of free clinics, we have become intimately involved with the complexity inherent to the care of underserved populations, including how seemingly innovative programs can sometimes not meet their intended goals.

Science and technology sector constituting of data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence are contributing towards COVID-19. The aim of the present study is to discuss the various aspects of modern technology used to fight against COVID-19 crisis at different scales, including medical image processing, disease tracking, prediction outcomes, computational biology and medicines.

Stollwood Convalescent Hospital, a Woodland skilled nursing facility devastated by 17 coronavirus deaths in the earlier months of the pandemic, will close permanently this fall.

Patient portals offer great potential to improve patient engagement and participation in their health care.² However, while use of portals has continued to rise in the aggregate, this growth has not been distributed evenly across Americans, with low-income, African American, rural, and older adults repeatedly showing lower rates of use of these technologies.

California lawmakers are returning to work Monday for a furious five-week sprint that will include contentious debates about police brutality, unemployment benefits, hospital mergers and a moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus pandemic.

The state announced a new tiered system that gives testing priority to patients hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms, and those linked to outbreaks.

Coronavirus testing in California has been a challenge since day one, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to announce a new testing strategy soon.

State health officials were caught off guard by the federal government’s plan, as the tests are less accurate and may be of limited use in California’s nursing homes.

California lawmakers are returning to work Monday for a furious five-week sprint that will include contentious debates about police brutality, unemployment benefits, hospital mergers and a moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Join NHMA and its partners for its first virtual briefing series on COVID-19.  Briefings will address lessons learned by physicians and healthcare providers from the COVID-19 pandemic on managing chronic care patients, mental health, the future of healthcare delivery, and elderly issues and terminal illness planning.

In a new, cruel way, the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has revealed limitations in medical capacity that amplify the challenges that clinicians already face in communicating with patients about serious illness.

Amid a continued surge in hospitalizations and ICU admissions, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday made public the coronavirus models California is using to inform its public health orders, calling on “citizen scientists,” “experts in artificial intelligence,” “Nobel laureates” and everyday people to help improve the models.

Months after advocates warned that the coronavirus pandemic could take a severe toll on LGBTQ people, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is telling health professionals to track the disease’s impact on the community.

The fastest supercomputer in the U.S. is being put to work in the search for a vaccine to prevent the coronavirus and treat those infected by it.

The Health Resources Services Administration defines telehealth as the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration. Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications.

Which California counties have the highest rates of coronavirus hospitalization? CalMatters is following confirmed and suspected cases. Some are a surprise.

This week, San Bernardino County canceled hundreds of appointments due to a shortage of materials. Five testing sites were shut down in Sacramento because UC Davis Health, which processes the tests, couldn’t procure enough kits. Unable to meet soaring demand, Los Angeles County asked residents to get tested only if they have symptoms, work in high-risk environments or were exposed to someone who tested positive. San Diego residents are waiting around a week to get a test.

If you’re having a medical emergency, you should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

During this coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the safest way to find out what medical care you may need is by phone or video while staying at home. This is called “telehealth.”

With outbreaks of COVID-19 among migrant farmworkers across the country, California needs to better protect these essential workers. Here are some recommendations.

Judy Bracken first heard it a few years ago from a hospital social worker: If Bracken wanted her adult son, who has schizoaffective disorder, to receive long-term mental health treatment, she should get him off her private insurance, UnitedHealthcare, and onto the public system for low-income people in Contra Costa County.

People experiencing homelessness are at risk for infection during community spread of COVID-19. This interim guidance is intended to support response planning by emergency management officials, public health authorities, and homeless service providers, including overnight emergency shelters, day shelters, and meal service providers.

California, with its multilingual populations and rural communities that lack medical care, is the perfect place to implement telehealth.

Patients with cancer have an increased risk of developing severe forms of coronavirus disease 2019, and patients with advanced cancer who are followed at home represent a particularly frail population.

Telehealth programs have long held promise for addressing rural health disparities perpetuated by inadequate healthcare access. The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying social distancing measures have hastened the implementation of telehealth programs in hospital systems around the globe.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has now spread across China for over a month. The National Health Commission has issued guidelines for emergency psychological crisis intervention for people affected by COVID-19.

Health officials in multiple California counties say the electronic system used by most local health departments statewide to report data on infectious diseases is currently experiencing “serious” technical issues, resulting in coronavirus cases being significantly undercounted.

These COVID-19-related materials are provided for use at no charge as part of Elsevier’s efforts to support healthcare providers and patients.

There is a wide consensus that the COVID-19 pandemic not only affects physical health, but also mental health and well-being. The current pandemic is changing priorities for the general population, but it is also challenging the agenda of health professionals, including that of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals.

A computer problem that caused California to underreport the number of new coronavirus cases has been fixed, but the backlog of tests results could result in thousands more positive cases being added to the state’s total, a top health official said Friday.

An increasing number of children are being infected with COVID-19 and more than 200 of them, including 29 patients in California, are suffering from severe inflammatory reactions that can be life threatening, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

The coronavirus was supposed to usher in the future of medicine, allowing people to see their doctor with a few clicks on their laptops from the comfort of home.

But after an initial surge, the wave in virtual visits is fading — especially with small medical practices that were less able to afford expensive software. On top of that, patients’ enthusiasm began to cool as stay-at-home orders expired and more people felt safer venturing out.

On a warm evening in late June, people flocked to alfresco tables set up along San Rafael's main drag to sip sauvignon blanc and eat wood-oven pizza for Dining Under the Lights, an event to welcome Marin County residents back to one of their favorite pastimes.

About a mile away, Crisalia Calderon was hunkered down in her apartment facing a sleepless night as she grappled with the early symptoms of COVID-19.