As previously noted in our Digital Health Mid-Year Review, 2018 has seen greater acceptance of telemedicine within the Medicare program. Both regulatory and statutory changes have expanded reimbursement opportunities and, consequentially, opportunities for the deployment of telemedicine technologies. As we noted then, however, improvement in the Medicare reimbursement environment for telemedicine services has been tied to a policy goal of not increasing utilization unnecessarily. Read more.

Companies looking to enter the digital health field face myriad legal implications unique to doing business in this sector. Whether emerging or established, companies exploring health care opportunities benefit from careful planning around complex issues such as pace of development, reimbursement systems, strategies for responsible data collection and use, and effective corporate compliance programs. Read more.

Lisa Schmitz Mazur and Bernadette Broccolo co-authored “The Law of Digital Health,” which offers an overview of the opportunities, challenges and strategies arising from digital health. “Our goal was to put together a book that would give business leaders and legal professionals a tool to explain the digital health legal and regulatory landscape, help them understand how this landscape will evolve as digital health solutions change and illustrate how the different digital health solutions play within the broader health care space,” Ms. Schmitz Mazur said. Read more.

IIn an effort to address the need for increased access to behavioral health services, Illinois has passed a series of bills that meaningfully expand the reimbursement of telehealth services delivered to its Medicaid patients. Read more. 

The interest in leveraging the value of big data in digital health has become a focus of health care industry mainstays and newcomers alike. Within a challenging regulatory landscape, it is critical for those looking to play in this space to be proactive in planning their data strategy, with an eye towards compliance planning and solid due diligence to maximize its value. Read more. 

As use cases like this continue to be integrated into health care delivery and familiarity builds around how telemedicine can be used effectively, expectations shift around the standard of care and new questions arise around the risks of integrating—or failing to integrate—telehealth programs. Read more.

As the health industry evolves to meet consumer expectations for better quality, lower-cost and more convenient health care options, the demand for technology-driven innovation is accelerating as is the level of interest and investment among stakeholders or all sorts. Read more.

Fortune’s April 2018 cover story, “Tech’s Next Big Wave: Big Data Meets Biology,” conveys loudly and clearly that technological innovation is transforming the health care continuum—changing the way care is delivered, as well as how patients manage their ongoing health—and as patient demand for health innovation increases, more companies seem eager to hop on the digital health bandwagon. Read more.

The digitization of health care and the proliferation of electronic medical records is happening rapidly, generating large quantities of data with potential to provide valuable insights into disease and wellness and help solve challenging public health problems. Read more.