The American Medical Association (AMA) has had an up and down relationship with telemedicine. This tension was palpable at the association's annual meeting in June.

By Aneel Irfan

In 1996, Sky Christopherson was one of the promising young cyclists in Project ’96, the ambitious development program built around Lance Armstrong and expected to redeem USA Cycling’s embarrassing performance at the ’88 and ‘92 Olympic games. In 2009, with his Olympic-level intensity now focused on building an Internet startup, he worked himself into the back of an ambulance with a tightness in his chest and pain in his shoulder. Two years later he broke a track cycling world record in the 200-meter sprint, a physiological coup made possible by an experimental program leveraging health tracking and data analytics.

In Conversation with Sky Christopherson
by John Tyler Allen

After entering the telemedicine arena in 1993 with a service called eConsult, Avera has grown to be one of the nation's most robust telemedicine hubs, servicing 31 hospitals through eight distinct service lines – including eEmergency. Telemedicine caught up with Dr. Brian Skow, executive medical director of the eCare hub in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to learn about Avera's operations. 

Interview by Logan Plaster

Millions of Americans live in areas – both rural and urban – void of pharmacies. Telepharmacy services are beginning to bridge the gap.

By Larry McClain

Before there were Fitbits and Teladocs there was Apollo 13 and Skylab. If you want to gain some perspective on the future of wearable health tracking, take a look back at the industry's high flying pioneers.

by Nicholas Genes, MD, PhD

Ten years from now, telehealth will be an integral part of every American’s health experience. Remote monitors will seamlessly collect our health information from home, routine check-ups will be as easy as a Facetime call, and rural health centers will simply patch-in the world’s best specialists for meaningful consultations as-needed.

By Unity Stoakes

In a world of software services and algorithm-driven applications, a few companies stand out as truly inventing the hardware that will redefine healthcare. In addition to the challenges of server space and flat UX design, these companies iron out the complexities of supply chain, custom factory build-outs and material shortages.
 

By Logan Plaster

A unique partnership seeks to bring telemedicine to one of America's most remote island communities. The biggest challenge so far has been supplying fast, reliable internet connectivity at a price a small town can afford.

By Michael Levin-Epstein

Sure signs of progress could be seen at the three 2016 TRC event stops on our first national tour. The CTN’s Summit in San Diego, the SWTRC’s provider showcase in Phoenix, and SCTRC’s Nashville forum all just about doubled in attendance this year. These organizations continue to be at the forefront of telehealth awareness, creating hubs for dialogue on change. Look for video interviews from these shows on our website, www.telemedmag.com. Keep up the good work, TRCs!  

Edited by Aneel Irfan

If you want your company to be the next big thing, pay as much attention to how your company operates as you do to the shiny product you provide to the world.  

by Bill Gordon

This past April Telemedicine Magazine teamed up with Weill Cornell and Health Solutions Africa to present a med tech workshop in Cape Town, South Africa. Our goal: Bring together about 100 physicians over two days to learn about healthcare innovation.

Writer Scott Jung

When we think of telemedicine we often think of speaking with a doctor over a video chat. But Joe Burton, CEO of Whil, has taken these concepts to a new arena: Mindfulness. Whil uses videos and mobile training programs to integrate mindfulness into every aspect of your life so you can pay attention to the present and fully engage in what is happening around you. If that sounds like soft science, you haven’t met Whil’s big data. Joe Burton explains the essence of Whil, and how a new level of data tracking is allowing employers like Google to prove the efficacy of mindfulness training.

Interview with Bill Gordon

The American Optometric Association (AOA) calls Opternative a ‘snake oil salesmen’, but is this just a classic case of turf warfare? 

By Rishi Madhok, MD

What if we could heal the 'wounds' of a cyber attack in the same way that our body's immune system handles vaccines?

by Graham Plaster

NODE health is the Network for Digital Evidence – a group of clinicians, researchers and developers who set themselves the task of evaluating digital health.  Brought together by Dr. Ashish Atreja, NODE holds that digital health devices and platforms are lacking the studies and evidence that we associate with other healthcare interventions.

A smartphone that measures lung sounds? Sure. But now, even dumbphones are getting in on the action.

by Lonnie Stoltzfoos

Just because you're using HIPAA-compliant telemedicine software doesn't mean that you aren't violating HIPAA. Here are six pitfalls to avoid.   

by Teresa Iafolla

As recently as last September, Theranos still seemed like an amazing Cinderella story. Nineteen-year-old Stanford dropout disrupts the laboratory testing industry and becomes America's youngest female billionaire. But as a lack of transparency gave way to unsettling reports about test accuracy, this Silicon Valley unicorn began to fall apart before our eyes.

The proposed CONNECT For Health Act may finally be hitting telemedicine’s legislative sweet spot.

by Aneel Irfan

In the century before Oculus Rift and Pokemon Go there were dozens of visually-immersive products, several of which focused on clinical applications. What can the history of VR teach us about the technology's future?

by Nicholas Genes, MD, PhD

Browse the homepage of any tech reporting website and you will learn that private tech companies are headline junkies.

By Tim Felz

In today's healthcare environment, what happens outside the hospital can be as important as what happens within its walls.

By Aneel Irfan

Children’s Healthcare of Dallas is a leader in the use of mHealth and Telemedicine for pediatric patients in the United States. While at SXSW we caught up with Julie Hall-Barrow, the Vice President of Telemedicine for Children’s, to learn more about their trend-setting program.

Interview by William Gordon

In this installment of our regional news, you will see reports on the heavy legislative activity across the country, the few provider requests for telehealth specific surveys and state wide telehealth studies that are kicking off this summer.

Gone are the days when testing pulmonary function means using expensive, specialized equipment. Cohero leads a new generation of mobile respiratory products that put lung testing in the palm of your hand, and are as simple as exhaling a puff of air.

Will the eventual subsuming of wearables into our being rescue us from our present numbed existence or finally snuff out those qualities that make us most human?

by John Tyler Allen

Can telemedicine save the soul of palliative care? Dr. Michael Fratkin tells us how virtually delivered palliative care lightens the load of dying patients, increases the effectiveness of pressured providers, and elevates the role of ‘healers’ in the healthcare of the future.