Author Archives: Rebecca Vesely

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About Rebecca Vesely

Rebecca Vesely is AHCJ's topic leader on health information technology and a freelance writer. She has written about health, science and medicine for AFP, the Bay Area News Group, Modern Healthcare, Wired, Scientific American online and many other news outlets.

Politico reporter goes to Europe to discover EHR problems similar to home

Photo: Blake Facey via Flickr

There’s a lot of talk these days about European-style universal health care and what U.S. adoption of something similar would look like. But what happens when European countries implement U.S.-style health information technology?

That’s what Arthur Allen, a health care editor at Politico, uncovers in a two-part series that took him to Denmark and the United Kingdom.  Allen was one of four veteran journalists selected for the inaugural 2019 AHCJ International Health Study Fellowship, which provided funding and support for the series. Continue reading

EHRs aren’t entirely to blame for physician burnout: Study

Electronic health records (EHRs) are inextricably linked to physician burnout. But reporters should be careful about placing all the blame on EHRs for the widespread problem that affects as many as half of clinicians and costs the industry billions per year.

A new study published in JAMA Open Network indicated that EHR systems create “information overload.“ But other workplace factors may contribute even more to burnout, the study of 280 clinicians at three medical centers concluded.

Other drivers of clinician burnout cited in the study were: Continue reading

Democratic presidential candidates unveil broadband access, telehealth plans for rural America

Photo: Talk News Radio Service via Flickr

Last week kicked off the 11-day Iowa State Fair, drawing most of the top Democratic presidential candidates. A regular stop on the early state voting circuit, the Iowa State Fair offers the opportunity for face time with early-state voters – while also eating food on sticks and posing for selfies in front of a giant cow made out of butter.

In between, candidates have been releasing their plans for rural America. Many of these plans include details how they would expand broadband access and telehealth services. Continue reading

Report: Progress on telehealth adoption by states, but still wide variation

The American Telemedicine Association (ATA), a leading trade group for telehealth providers and advocates, this week released its first report since 2017 that tracks state policies on telehealth.

Telehealth adoption is growing, and more states are embracing policies that improve coverage and reimbursement for telehealth services, according to the report. Lack of reimbursement mechanisms has been one of the biggest barriers to telehealth adoption. Continue reading

FDA issues another reminder about the risks of connected medical devices to hacking

In recent years, as medical devices have become more connected, cybersecurity experts have sounded the alarm on their vulnerabilities.

A panel at Health Journalism 2018 covered the topic, with experts encouraging reporters to ask their local hospitals about plans to safeguard medical devices from cyber threats. Continue reading