May, 2024

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House committee takes aim at healthcare consolidation, eyes site-neutral payments

Healthcare Dive

Equalizing Medicare payment between sites of service to cut down on provider consolidation is a “no brainer,” one witness testified during the hearing.

Medicare 351
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AHA, H-ISAC warn hospitals about Black Basta following Ascension cyberattack

Healthcare It News

The Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center issued a threat alert Friday about the Russia-backed ransomware group Black Basta, warning of its accelerated attempted attacks against the healthcare sector. Prompted by H-ISAC, the American Hospital Association also sent a cybersecurity advisory with technical mitigation recommendations to its members.

Hospitals 327
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Telemedicine, enabled with responsible AI, can improve the patient experience

Healthcare IT News - Telehealth

In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, the integration of virtual care has become pivotal in reshaping patient experiences. Amanda Bury, chief commercial officer at Infermedica, a digital health company specializing in AI-powered systems for symptom analysis and patient triage, knows telehealth's potential to enhance and optimize patient experiences and outcomes while emphasizing convenience, affordability and empowerment – tying in responsible AI innovation and strategies for e

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Justice Department 'upping its game' on healthcare antitrust enforcement with new task force

Fierce Healthcare

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday it has established a new task force to take on healthcare monopolies and collusion. | The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday it has established a new task force to take on healthcare monopolies and collusion.

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Enhance Healthcare Efficiency With Top Payroll & HCM Services

Running a healthcare facility requires precision and care, not just for patients but also for your staff. Our guide, "A Buyer’s Guide to Payroll & HCM Services," helps healthcare providers choose the best provider. Efficient payroll management ensures timely, accurate payments, critical for maintaining staff morale and trust. Compliance support helps navigate complex healthcare regulations and avoid costly fines.

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5G Ushered Huge Advances in Healthcare Technology. What will 6G Offer?

Healthcare IT Today

The following is a guest article by John English, Director of Service Provider Marketing and Business Development at NETSCOUT Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, medical technology became essential for keeping healthcare running when other industries had to close. Cellular network technology, particularly 5G, has been a critical enabler in running medical services during and after the pandemic.

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Nearly 20% of donated organs go unused — here’s how we can fix it and honor donors

Healthcare Dive

The medical community needs to take “smart risks” to maximize organ donation use, according to the president of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations.

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Cedars-Sinai CIO's tips to ensure genAI is fair, appropriate, valid, effective and safe

Healthcare It News

Craig Kwiatkowski, senior vice president and CIO at Cedars-Sinai, and his team have been pushing the famous health system forward in the realm of artificial intelligence. Their most prominent accomplishment has been the AI-powered virtual primary care app Cedars-Sinai Connect. Launched in fall 2023, the app already has increased primary care capacity by 11% – the equivalent of building three new clinics.

Doctors 324
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New efforts try to balance nurse staffing ratios with access to care

Healthcare IT News - Telehealth

It's National Nurses Week 2024 , and it's time to celebrate the more than 5 million RNs nationwide who are so essential to care delivery. But overshadowing the celebration are many challenges impacting the nursing workforce. Chief among them: critical staffing challenges. Some federal and state legislators are seeking to mandate patient-caregiver ratios to help improve care and reduce nurse burnout.

Nurses 192
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Epic releases open-source AI validation tool for health systems

Fierce Healthcare

Epic launched an open-source tool on Wednesday to enable healthcare organizations to test and monitor artificial intelligence models. | Six weeks after announcing it was developing an AI validation software tool for healthcare, Epic has launched the open-source tool on Github to help health systems test and validate AI models.

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Provide Real Value in Your Applications with Data and Analytics

The complexity of financial data, the need for real-time insight, and the demand for user-friendly visualizations can seem daunting when it comes to analytics - but there is an easier way. With Logi Symphony, we aim to turn these challenges into opportunities. Our platform empowers you to seamlessly integrate advanced data analytics, generative AI, data visualization, and pixel-perfect reporting into your applications, transforming raw data into actionable insights.

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How Technology Drives Value-Based Care

Healthcare IT Today

The following is a guest article by Phyllis Wojtusik, Executive Vice President of Value-Based Care at Real Time Medical Systems. We all know that CMS is pushing hard towards value-based care. They’re goal is to have 100% of Medicare beneficiaries in a value-based care arrangement by 2030. We see a number of ACO approaches that make up these efforts, along with Medicare Advantage plans.

Medicare 129
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Healthcare leaders praise Ascension cyberattack response

Becker's Health IT

Healthcare leaders are praising St. Louis-based Ascension for its communications response to a recent cyberattack, pointing to the health system's transparency and speed in divulging information.

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Steward’s bankruptcy documents reveal sprawling debt, planned hospital fire sale

Healthcare Dive

Since filing for bankruptcy Monday, Steward Health Care revealed it's carrying more than $1 billion in debt and said its entire hospital portfolio is for sale.

Hospitals 340
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How a simple QR code can avoid 2,000 ED admissions

Healthcare It News

Gold Coast Health, a public health service in Queensland, has recently introduced a new digital front door for chronic disease patients. The General Medicine-Rapid Access Service (G-RAS) offers an alternative pathway for patient management. Through a scan of a take-home QR code, patients can reach their doctor for follow-ups via secure two-way messaging and voice or video calls.

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Best Practices for Sharing Protected Health Information (PHI)

Explore essential topics in this ebook, including what constitutes PHI and how to identify it using 18 indicators. Gain insights into the importance of safeguarding PHI to protect patient privacy and learn about the severe consequences of HIPAA violations. Discover practical strategies for securely exchanging PHI within your healthcare organization, including assessing risks and implementing effective safeguards.

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Putting patients at the heart of digital healthcare

Healthcare IT News - Telehealth

Crowded waiting rooms, stressed medical staff, and time pressure during diagnostic examinations—these are familiar challenges faced by many healthcare facilities and they require urgent attention. The Vinzenz Gruppe, one of the largest private operators of non-profit healthcare facilities in Austria, is committed to expanding its digital patient portal to meet the ever-increasing demands.

Doctors 185
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The race for healthcare AI models heats up as Google boasts Med-Gemini surpasses GPT-4

Fierce Healthcare

Google and DeepMind released an open access paper on their newest artificial intelligence tools intended for use in hea | Results released by Google on Med-Gemini's performance show that it outperforms existing AI/ML including GPT-4 on over a dozen industry benchmarks.

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Cutting Through the AI Hype: Deploying AI Now to Improve Patient Care

Healthcare IT Today

The following is a guest article by Bevey Miner, Executive Vice President, Healthcare Strategy and Policy at Consensus Cloud Solutions Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere, and with so much hype around it, healthcare organizations are rightfully cautious about deploying AI solutions. Although promising in its ability to transform healthcare through more efficient and accurate data capture and management, there is still much that we as an industry and society need to understand before scali

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US Government Invests $50M in Automating Hospital Cybersecurity Defense

HIT Consultant

What You Should Know: – The healthcare industry faces a growing threat: cyberattacks targeting hospital IT systems. In response, the US government’s Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has pledged over $50 million to fund a groundbreaking program called UPGRADE (Universal PatchinG and Remediation for Autonomous DEfense). – The success of UPGRADE has the potential to significantly improve hospital cybersecurity and protect patient care from cyber threats.

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Optimizing Medical Waste Management: A Guide to Best Practices

Feeling overwhelmed by medical waste regulations? This comprehensive guide unravels the complexities of medical waste disposal, ensuring you stay compliant and prioritize safety. Inside you'll find: Clear categorization: Learn to precisely classify medical waste for proper handling and disposal. Labeling & Storage: Discover best practices for clear labeling and secure storage of medical waste.

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CVS slashes 2024 outlook — again — as Medicare seniors drive spending

Healthcare Dive

Runaway inpatient spending in particular caused CVS’ insurance costs to snowball after returning “to patterns we have not seen since the start of the pandemic,” its CFO said.

Medicare 328
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The IT strategy behind a groundbreaking new $2B pediatric hospital

Healthcare It News

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital is scheduled to open this September. It was built from the ground up with the very latest healthcare information technology. It is one of the largest and most advanced pediatric hospitals in the world. It cost more than $2 billion. It is 19 stories tall, with nearly two million square feet.

Hospitals 323
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Geisinger saves $560K in pilot integrating video visits into Epic MyChart

Healthcare IT News - Telehealth

Over the course of the pandemic, demand for behavioral health services increased dramatically in the communities served by Geisinger, the Danville, Pennsylvania-based health system. With a large patient population in rural areas, Geisinger expanded its use of telemedicine to scale access and leverage a national workforce to serve them. Today, Geisinger Behavioral Health serves more than 45,000 unique patients annually, with more than 80% of services offered via telemedicine.

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Ascension reports systems, clinical operations disrupted amid apparent 'cybersecurity event'

Fierce Healthcare

Ascension disclosed Wednesday that it has detected “unusual activity” on some of its technology networks that it believes “is due to a cybersecurity event.” | The Catholic health giant said it detected "unusual activity" Wednesday and "immediately" activated remediation processes, including hiring a third-party cybersecurity firm.

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HIPAA Compliance: Can Your Organization Avoid Costly Government Penalties and Fines?

Colington Consulting was established in 2013 and helps organizations achieve HIPAA compliance and ensures clients stay current with the latest enforcement trends. We provide a full range of HIPAA compliance services and consulting. What separates us from our competitors is our knowledge of HIPAA compliance regulations and their application to each of our client’s particular scenarios and requirements.

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Novel Applications of AI and Its Future

Healthcare IT Today

When you go to implement new technology into your organization, it’s important to look at all of the ways that it can go wrong so that way you can ensure you have safeguards and procedures in place. However, it is equally important to look at all of the ways that it can benefit your organization. After all, the ways that new technology improves the care of our patients and improves the work life of our staff is the sole reason we implement it.

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Cyberattack disrupts clinical operations at Ascension

Becker's Health IT

"Ascension faces cyberattack disrupting clinical operations at St. Louis-based facilities. Investigation underway with cybersecurity firm Mandiant.

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Medicare Advantage unrest, Change Healthcare fallout and more big takeaways from insurers’ Q1

Healthcare Dive

All major payers saw elevated utilization but only an unprepared few struggled with the trend, the Change Healthcare cyberattack caused minimal financial fallout and a new D-SNP rule opens the door to a Medicare growth opportunity.

Medicare 324
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New workflow software boosts care experience at one psychiatric practice

Healthcare It News

Psychiatric Medical Care prides itself on delivering evidence-based care services. It wanted the ability to drive patient treatment through their responses to evidence-based testing. THE PROBLEM The healthcare provider organization is accredited by The Joint Commission, which requires patients' treatment plans be developed based on an evidence-based testing process.

Nurses 286
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Everything You Wanted to Know About FACIS, but Didn’t Know to Ask

Speaker: Amy Anderson

FACIS® helps organizations mitigate patient and organizational risk. Maintaining compliance and safeguarding against fraud and abuse in today’s changing healthcare landscape can be challenging. Most healthcare organizations screen and monitor providers against the OIG but that’s only ONE of FACIS®’ primary sources. FACIS® pulls data for every taxonomy from the lowest level employee to the highest level licensed professional.