News

2017 has been a busy year for the Connected Health Initiative (CHI). As we reflect on the first half of the year, we’ve pulled together highlights of what we have done, and what lies ahead in our mission to foster a robust connected health ecosystem. No post could fully encapsulate all the work that we do, but below we provide a broad outline of our work and accomplishments this year.

04/21/2017 – Connected Health Initiative Comments to AHRQ on Telehealth for Acute and Chronic Care

05/24/2017 – Connected Health Initiative Comments to the Federal Communications Commission on the Connect2Health Task Force

The nation’s healthcare system is in the middle of a major transition – one that, if done well, will have an incredible impact on the lives of millions Americans who rely on Medicare.

The $900 billion federal program provides health insurance for Americans over 65 and others who suffer from certain conditions and diseases. For a long time, Medicare has had a reputation for being bureaucratic, lethargic, wasteful, and outdated.

Further, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which administers Medicare, has been slow to incorporate advances in advanced health technology in the program. In 2014, the agency allocated barely 2 percent of its nearly $1 billion Medicare budget to support telehealth.

Everything about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), even its name, seems unwieldy and complex, especially for health tech startups. First time health tech entrepreneurs usually begin rethinking their life choices after we start discussing "covered entities" and "business associates," but in reality you can comply with the law relatively easily once you know the rules. That's why we built the HIPAA Check tool to help health tech entrepreneurs understand whether they need to comply with HIPAA and, if so, how to comply.