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How AI and ML Can Manage Your Third Biggest Payer: Patients

ACOs, Features, Hospital Systems, Practices, Vendors

After Medicare, Medicaid, managed care and commercial health plans, the remainder of a hospital or health system’s revenue comes from patients. Those balances already comprise more than 30 percent of a large health system’s revenues and are rising rapidly. An analysis released last year found an 88 percent increase from 2012 to 2017 in total hospital revenue attributed to patient balances after insurance reimbursement.

What the Pharmaceutical Industry Can Learn from Peloton about Patient Retention and Engagement

ACOs, Features, Hospital Systems, Practices, Vendors

Today’s mostly paper-dependent clinical trials pose fundamental challenges to the pharmaceutical industry. Such trials can be prohibitively expensive, struggle to enroll and retain a sufficient number of participants, and have difficulty maintaining compliance and data reliability. But with the advent of virtual and partially virtual trials using digital tools and devices, we have the opportunity to substantially improve efficiency by deploying the same design principles that make consumer apps so successful.

To Prepare for a Digital Future, Healthcare Organizations Should Look to Cloud-Based Data Management

ACOs, Features, Hospital Systems, Vendors

A few years ago, a technologist in a healthcare organization’s IT group would view data in the cloud skeptically, if at all. Today, that position is fading fast, with data to support it: IDC estimates that the healthcare industry’s spending on cloud technologies would surge to $13.6 billion in 2019[1].

Solve Revenue Cycle Delays (and Make New Friends in IT) with Real-Time Provider Enrollment in EHRs

The health system revenue cycle is a complex process, starting with registration and scheduling, and ending with claims submitted and processed and payments received. Removing bottlenecks that prevent faster receivables has been a constant challenge facing revenue cycle leaders. Missing providers in EHRs is a major root cause of bottlenecks and rework. The advent of promising new digital provider enrollment workflows may, someday soon, eliminate them.

National Healthcare Leaders Embrace Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances

In October of 2018, President Trump signed into law the “SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act,” a comprehensive bill designed to address the opioid abuse epidemic. This landmark legislation presents a unique opportunity for the healthcare IT community: we now have a real chance to position electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) as a crucial technology component of the national fight against opioid abuse.

EHR Integration is Key to Patient Communications

The Electronic Health Record (EHR) has been positioned as the source of truth, delivering real-time patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users. The dirty little secret is that hospitals initially invested in EHR systems to primarily track billing and coding, helping them run their business (not necessarily improve their care) more efficiently.

Artificial Intelligence: Smart Enough for Healthcare?

Visionary pundits have already painted pictures of futuristic healthcare scenarios with robots strolling through hospital corridors in place of doctors – examining patients, making diagnoses, and prescribing medications. A lot of hype surrounds artificial intelligence (AI) and its application in healthcare resulting in questions about its usability, safety, and practical value– and for good reason. […]

What’s big in 2019? Value-based care, the patient experience and the digital workspace

Value-based care, the practice of compensating healthcare providers based on positive patient outcomes rather than on procedures executed, is rapidly becoming industry standard. To support it, healthcare organizations need to equip their staff with a new set of tools that enables them to streamline workflows and focus on patients. The best solution? A digital workspace, […]

How BI and Analytics Improve Clinical Care, Reduce Costs, and More

It may seem intuitive that business intelligence (BI) and analytics can help to improve clinical care, reduce costs and more. What may not be as intuitive is developing a strategy to achieve this in an efficient, scalable and sustainable way. According to HIMSS, “Clinical and business intelligence efforts empower members with practical guidance and unbiased […]

HHS Announces Next Steps in Advancing Interoperability of Health Information

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today issued for public comment draft 2 of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) that will support the full, network-to-network exchange of health information nationally. HHS also released a notice of funding opportunity to engage a non-profit, industry-based organization that will advance nationwide interoperability.

HHS Extends Comment Period for Proposed Rules to Improve the Interoperability of Electronic Health Information

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is extending the public comment period by 30 days for two proposed regulations aimed at promoting the interoperability of health information technology (health IT) and enabling patients to electronically access their health information. The new deadline for the submission of comments – June 3, 2019 – will allow additional time for the public to review the proposed regulations.

Sutter Health, UPMC, and DNAnexus Initiate Collaboration to Improve Personalized Treatments for People with Multiple Sclerosis

DNAnexus, and the not-for-profit Sutter Health network announced the first large-scale clinico-genomic multiple sclerosis (MS) research study conducted by a leading healthcare system.

Medication safety: Addressing barcode overrides at the bedside

How one community hospital addressed potential patient safety risks with a multidisciplinary quality improvement program.

Evolution of Patient Care Led by Virtual Care Services

There’s no question that value-based healthcare is revolutionizing how healthcare is delivered and paid for, and the need has never been greater. Studies show that 6 out of 10 adults in the U.S. have a chronic disease being treated, and 60% of those adults have two or more healthcare organizations addressing their needs. Additionally, healthcare organizations are expected to spend close to $6 billion on treatment and prevention of chronic illness.

CMS finalizes policies to bring innovative telehealth benefit to Medicare Advantage

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized policies that will increase plan choices and benefits, including allowing Medicare Advantage plans to include additional telehealth benefits. These policies continue the agency’s efforts to modernize the Medicare Advantage and Part D programs, unleash innovation and drive competition to improve quality among private Medicare health and […]