Sara Horst, MD, MPH, FACG, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discussed the recent digital health developments most beneficial to both patients and providers, as well as considerations around using these tools wisely.
Sara Horst, MD, MPH, FACG, shares how recent digital health advancements could be best implemented by both clinicians and patients. Horst is an associate professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) within the division of gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition. She is also the ambulatory director of VUMC Telehealth and Specialty Pharmacy and associate vice chair of digital health operations of the Department of Medicine.
Transcript
What recent digital health developments do you feel will most benefit patients and providers?
I think there's a ton. I am really excited about telehealth. One of the hats that I wear at our institution is the ambulatory director of our telehealth program, and I've really seen it grow and be successful in certain areas. I think, increasingly, we also have asynchronous care options, such as things like e-visits, and things like that, that's exciting.
Then, when you just broaden out just beyond a hospital system, thinking about something like behavioral health digital therapeutics; that is exploding. I'm a gastroenterologist, that's what I practice, and 5 years ago, there really wasn't much. Now, there are tons of behavioral health applications. Some are FDA approved, things like gut hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, symptom monitoring, and so I think that's a really exciting area.
I think we have to think carefully about all of this. We shouldn't just send an app to a patient and expect them to get better. I think if we, as clinicians, are going to use these things, we need to have control over them, we need to have a plan. We need to think about them as a treatment and have a plan with a patient to think about how we would use them, how we would expect management with a medication, how we monitor improvement, and that kind of thing. I think that not only just thinking as a clinician about how we use these is going to be really important.
I think we really also need to think about digital health carefully so that we aren't inundating our clinicians simply with more data to try to evaluate. Our patients are increasingly engaging in medical care via things like patient portals and the electronic medical record. This is great for patient access, but it's really put a ton of pressure on clinicians and that is a point where I think, as hospital systems, as clinicians, and as patients, we need to think carefully how to utilize patient access portals better and streamline that information so it's high yield for our providers.
POSITIVE Trial Update on Patients With Breast Cancer Attempting Pregnancy
December 8th 2023At last year’s San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, POSITIVE trial primary outcome data were presented on breast cancer–free interval, with women who paused endocrine therapy to attempt pregnancy having a similarly small rate of recurrence vs external controls from the SOFT and TEXT trials: 8.9% vs 9.2%.
Read More
Emily Goldberg Shares Insights as a Genetic Counselor for Breast Cancer Risk Screening
October 30th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Emily Goldberg, MS, CGC, a genetic counselor at JScreen, breaks down how genetic screening for breast cancer works and why it is so important to increase awareness and education around these screening tools available to patients who may be at risk for cancer.
Listen
Examining Telehealth Uptake to Increase Equitable Care Access
January 26th 2023To mark the publication of The American Journal of Managed Care®’s 12th annual health IT issue, on this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Christopher M. Whaley, PhD, health care economist at the RAND Corporation, who focuses on health economics issues, including the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care delivery.
Listen
What We’re Reading: ChatGPT in Health Care; Menthol Ban Meeting; Health System Cyberattack Impact
November 30th 2023ChatGPT is changing health care while also raising questions about artificial intelligence's promises and limitations; 24 Biden officials met with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives to discuss the FDA’s proposal to ban menthol cigarettes; a recent hospital cyberattack shows how the vulnerability of health care systems can put patients at risk.
Read More
Provisional CDC data show that US babies gained roughly a year in life expectancy in 2022; study findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly raised the risk of preterm birth for expectant California mothers; New York Attorney General Letitia James said about 4 million New Yorkers were affected by a data breach of the medical transcription company Perry Johnson & Associates.
Read More
POSITIVE Trial Update on Patients With Breast Cancer Attempting Pregnancy
December 8th 2023At last year’s San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, POSITIVE trial primary outcome data were presented on breast cancer–free interval, with women who paused endocrine therapy to attempt pregnancy having a similarly small rate of recurrence vs external controls from the SOFT and TEXT trials: 8.9% vs 9.2%.
Read More
Emily Goldberg Shares Insights as a Genetic Counselor for Breast Cancer Risk Screening
October 30th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Emily Goldberg, MS, CGC, a genetic counselor at JScreen, breaks down how genetic screening for breast cancer works and why it is so important to increase awareness and education around these screening tools available to patients who may be at risk for cancer.
Listen
Examining Telehealth Uptake to Increase Equitable Care Access
January 26th 2023To mark the publication of The American Journal of Managed Care®’s 12th annual health IT issue, on this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Christopher M. Whaley, PhD, health care economist at the RAND Corporation, who focuses on health economics issues, including the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care delivery.
Listen
What We’re Reading: ChatGPT in Health Care; Menthol Ban Meeting; Health System Cyberattack Impact
November 30th 2023ChatGPT is changing health care while also raising questions about artificial intelligence's promises and limitations; 24 Biden officials met with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives to discuss the FDA’s proposal to ban menthol cigarettes; a recent hospital cyberattack shows how the vulnerability of health care systems can put patients at risk.
Read More
Provisional CDC data show that US babies gained roughly a year in life expectancy in 2022; study findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly raised the risk of preterm birth for expectant California mothers; New York Attorney General Letitia James said about 4 million New Yorkers were affected by a data breach of the medical transcription company Perry Johnson & Associates.
Read More
2 Clarke Drive
Cranbury, NJ 08512