Modern Technology and Maternal Healthcare – #HITsm Chat Topic

We’re excited to share the topic and questions for this week’s #HITsm chat happening Friday, 3/5 at Noon ET (9 AM PT). This week’s chat will be hosted by Hailey Froisland (@HaileyFroisland) on the topic “Modern Technology and Maternal Healthcare.

I had my baby in June of last year. The world was in full panic-mode because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I had gone from having every wonderful expectation about what my delivery day would be like, to begging for my husband to be allowed in the room with me. It was terrifying. So it’s been on my mind frequently since then.

While preparing to host this chat, my mind was first drawn to all the ways that COVID-19 has changed healthcare. Some of these changes have been to the benefit of both patients and providers. For example, telehealth has finally become a viable option for many people. Then, I thought back to my experience with maternal healthcare. Although my labor was relatively smooth and trauma-free, I was shocked by the lack of modern technology used in my appointments and delivery. Some things even seemed archaic. I kept thinking, “Really? It’s 2020, and this is how you’re going to do this?”

Thanks to a push from the COVID-19 pandemic, more innovative technology now exists and is being implemented for pregnant women–but it’s happening in very few places. I also discovered that U.S. healthcare has been in the limelight for its shockingly high maternal mortality rates and lack of standardization. It seems that moms in the United States may be getting the shaft. Now, I’m no healthcare expert, but I know that some of you are. So I’m really looking forward to discussing how technology might improve maternal healthcare and what it will take to get there.

Sources:

Join us for this week’s #HITsm chat where we’ll discuss the following questions.

Topics for this week’s #HITsm Chat:

T1: When it comes to technological innovation, do you believe that maternal care is ahead of or behind other healthcare sectors? Why do you think so? Have you seen first- or second-hand evidence? #HITsm

T2: The U.S. spends more $ per pregnancy than any other country, but has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world. What might be some reasons for this disparity? How might the widespread implementation of modern technology improve this? #HITsm

T3: Remote patient monitoring: scales, blood pressure cuffs, etc., linked to advanced wireless tech that transfers data to patient EMR. We have the tech, but a year into the pandemic, use of these methods are still uncommon. What is holding us back? #HITsm

T4: What risks do you foresee regarding the universal implementation of telehealth and self-monitoring among pregnant women? Do the benefits outweigh the risks? #HITsm

T5: U.S. maternal mortality rates show shocking racial disparities: (deaths/100k live births)
41.7 Black
28.3 American Indian/Alaska Native
13.8 Asian/Pacific Islander
13.4 White
11.6 Hispanic/Latina
Will the expansion of telemedicine increase or decrease these disparities? Why do you think so? #HITsm

Bonus: What is the first thing you would change in the U.S. maternal healthcare system if you were put in charge of it all? #HITsm

Upcoming #HITsm Chat Schedule

3/12 – How Can a Digital Workforce Address Healthcare’s Challenges?
Hosted by Linda Stotsky (@EMRAnswers) from @Bossoft

3/19 – TBD
Hosted by TBD

We look forward to learning from the #HITsm community! As always, let us know if you’d like to host a future #HITsm chat or if you know someone you think we should invite to host.

If you’re searching for the latest #HITsm chat, you can always find the latest #HITsm chat and schedule of chats here.

About the author

John Lynn

John Lynn is the Founder of HealthcareScene.com, a network of leading Healthcare IT resources. The flagship blog, Healthcare IT Today, contains over 13,000 articles with over half of the articles written by John. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 20 million times.

John manages Healthcare IT Central, the leading career Health IT job board. He also organizes the first of its kind conference and community focused on healthcare marketing, Healthcare and IT Marketing Conference, and a healthcare IT conference, EXPO.health, focused on practical healthcare IT innovation. John is an advisor to multiple healthcare IT companies. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can be found on Twitter: @techguy.

   

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