Welcome to our Healthcare IT Today Weekly Roundup. Each week, we’ll be providing a look back at the articles we posted and why they’re important to the healthcare IT community. We hope this gives you a chance to catch up on anything you may have missed during the week.
Technology’s Role in Helping Us Achieve Health Equity. Technology can play a valuable role in making healthcare more convenient, but on if it’s affordable and accessible. That was the underling message when we asked the Healthcare IT Today community to talk about using technology to reduce inequity in healthcare. That means connecting patients to the right providers and giving them the right resources to better understand their care. Read more…
Data’s Role in Health Equity: Digging into the Root of the Problem. We also asked the Healthcare IT Today community to weigh in on how data analysis in particular can effectively address inequity in healthcare. Responses addressed challenges such as unstructured SDoH data, bias in algorithms, lack of diversity in clinical research, and limited access to necessary data sets. Read more…
For CVS, Enterprise Resilience Means Helping Communities During Disasters. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology helps CVS plan for and react to emergencies, the company’s Sean Horman told Colin Hung. Knowing in advance who may be affected in an emergency lets CVS reach out to patients who need prescriptions filled, along with rerouting supplies and offering aid to workers. Read more…
The Promise of ChatGPT Will Be Buried Inside Healthcare. Murray Brozinsky at Amwell told John Lynn that generative AI will automate peripheral aspects of communication rather than affect healthcare delivery directly. Technology like ChatGPT can offer guidance, but nearly every interaction will need to be mediated by human staff. Read more…
Hit or Miss on the Latest Healthcare IT Today Podcast. John and Colin offered their thoughts on whether ChatGPT, AmazonCare, and EHR APIs are here to stay or will fade away. On the heels of ViVE and HIMSS, they also discuss whether in-person conferences are back. Read more…
Preventing Genetic Testing Fraud: 5 Actions for Health Plans. Medicare payments for genetic testing quadrupled from 2016 to 2019, which has unfortunately led to a rise in a rise in fraud, waste, and abuse. Erin Rutzler at Cotiviti talked about how health plans can protect themselves by looking for repeat billers, billing codes outside a provider’s specialty, and other abnormalities. Read more…
Amid Rising Prices and Staffing Shortages, Patients Expect a Positive Experience. Two-thirds of patients say their doctors don’t pay attention to them during visits, according to Branden Neish at Weave. Investing in technology such as online scheduling, text communication, and flexible payment options can help practices retain patients – and employees. Read more…
Cuffless Blood Pressure Monitoring Isn’t for the Faint-of-Heart. Advances in wearable technology coupled with rising cases of hypertension have motivated research, but many scientific, regulatory, commercial and engineering risks stand in the way of a cuffless BP monitor gaining FDA approval, said Steven LeBoeuf, Ph.D., at Valencell. Read more…
An Innovative Technique to Addressing Clinicians’ Mental Health. A tech-heavy lifestyle can adversely impact mental health and cognition, noted William J. Hayes, M.D., at CPSI. That’s why the EHR vendor is making the stress-reducing app EQ Health free to its clients. Read more…
ChatGPT Isn’t Ready to Revolutionize Healthcare, But There’s Promise for the Future. AI-powered chatbots aren’t ready to replace doctors, but ChatGPT can break communication barriers and skim patient charts much faster than a person can, according to athenahealth’s Heather Lane. Read more…
Featured Health IT Job: EHR Applications Analyst at Boston-based Harbor Health Services posted to Healthcare IT Central.
Bonus Features for April 30, 2023: 68% of providers say improving patient collections is a high priority, while hospital expenses have increased 2x the Medicare IPPS reimbursement rate since 2019. Read more…
Funding and M&A Activity:
- LexisNexis Risk Solutions acquired Human API, a proprietary consumer data platform.
- Surgical collaboration platform Chiefy raised a $4.2 million seed round.
- Business process management service provider Sagility acquired Devlin Consulting.
- Care enablement platform Menora Health received a $30 million strategic investment.
Thanks for reading and be sure to check out our latest Healthcare IT Today Weekly Roundups.
