Policy, Change, and AI – Oh My!
Dr. Michael Blackman, Chief Medical Officer at Greenway Health always has his finger on the pulse of healthcare. Right now, he is keeping his eye on the HTI-1 rule from the ONC, the pace of change in healthcare, and how AI is deployed.
Healthcare IT Today caught up with Dr. Blackman at the 2023 MGMA Leaders Conference in Nashville. We wanted to get his thoughts on the top challenges facing healthcare right now.
Smaller and More Frequent Policy Changes
One of the things Dr. Blackman is keeping a close eye on is the upcoming changes to the HTI-1 rule by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC). The HTI-1 proposed rule pr...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - November 28, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Colin Hung Tags: AI/Machine Learning Ambulatory EMR-EHR Healthcare IT Dr Michael Blackman EHR Regulations Greenway Health Healthcare AI Healthcare Workflow HTI-1 Information Blocking MGMA23 ONC Physician Burnout Source Type: blogs
Patient Engagement through Communication Platforms
With the increase in digital health, remote care, and patient access, the need for a reliable platform to conduct everything has also increased. But while we all need reliable communication platforms, properly utilizing them is an entirely different story. There is already so much to consider in terms of what works best for your organization, but then you need to rethink everything in terms of what is best for the patient. You might be reassured that it is safe and easy to use on the administrator end, but is it that way on the user end for the patients?
For some insights on patient engagement in communication platforms we...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - November 17, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Grayson Miller Tags: Ambulatory C-Suite Leadership Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System LTPAC Cassie Choi Communication Platform David Wright hc1 Insights HSBlox John Moyer Kathy Ford Kel Pul Source Type: blogs
The Ins and Outs of Healthcare Communication Platforms
Communication is the key to making anything work – including your organization. But when dealing with all of the many things that providers do and the highly important health information about patients, something as simple as selecting a communication platform becomes a very tricky situation. What’s the best way for providers to coordinate the many different areas and people they have to handle? How many communication platforms do you even need to accomplish the goals of your organization without making it overcomplicated? How do you maintain the security and privacy of your patient’s health information a...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - November 8, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Grayson Miller Tags: C-Suite Leadership Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System IT Infrastructure and Dev Ops Security and Privacy Abhi Sharma Ali Davis Amit Phadnis Care Coordination Communication Pl Source Type: blogs
What Tools are Needed to Better Handle Cloud in Healthcare?
There are a lot of amazing things that the cloud is capable of doing in healthcare. But as a newer technology, there are still some areas that it falls behind. So as we are looking into the cloud and possibly adding it to our organizations, we need to be looking at some additional tools that can help you better manage your cloud efforts in healthcare.
To get a starting point on what tools we need to get a better handle on the cloud in healthcare, we reached out to our wickedly smart Healthcare IT Today Community. The following is their recommendations on the necessary tools.
Vladimir Dabić, Tech Lead at Inviggo
Any Infras...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - November 1, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Grayson Miller Tags: Ambulatory C-Suite Leadership Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System IT Infrastructure and Dev Ops LTPAC Ajaya Loya athenahealth Cloud CloudWave Doug Parent Edifecs Healthcare Cloud Inviggo Jay Ackerman Le Source Type: blogs
Turning Increased Ambulatory Volumes into Financial Strength: 4 Moves for RCM
The following is a guest article by Pete Heydt, President at Patient Pay
Ninety-five percent of healthcare leaders expect outpatient volumes to increase, with many anticipating increases of 10% or more this year, a recent survey found. However, capitalizing on increased activity demands that leaders streamline their operations—including around patient financial engagement and payment—so they can make the investments needed to set themselves apart from the competition.
For example, as outpatient services such as infusions outpace projections, and as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services open the door to mor...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - October 23, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Administration Ambulatory C-Suite Leadership Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System Revenue Cycle Management Bill Notification Outpatient Care Patient Communication Patient Pay Source Type: blogs
AI Will Help Bridge Gaps in Canadian Healthcare
This study will look for practical ways that AI can be deployed in various healthcare settings and may include pilot implementations that will put AI theory into action.
Robert Fox, Chief Executive Officer of OntarioMD, shared details of this study in an interview with Healthcare IT Today (interview coming!)
AI Prominently on Display at OntarioMD Conference
The exhibit hall at the OntarioMD Conference featured many interesting startups alongside digital health veterans. Most of the exhibitors were touting their use of AI technology.
AI powered chatbots and patient automation was on display by Phelix
Ambient voice for cli...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - October 4, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Colin Hung Tags: AI/Machine Learning C-Suite Leadership Clinical Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System #OMDDHC23 Ambient Clinical Voice Andre Picard DoctorCare Healthcare AI Healthcare Billing OntarioMD patient communications Source Type: blogs
5 Must-Haves in a Patient Financial Communication Platform
The following is a guest article by Steven Dubner, Vice President of Product Management at Nordis Technologies
No matter how exemplary the clinical care, overall patient experience and satisfaction often hinge on the last interactions with providers—billing and payments. But many patients are, in fact, unhappy with the current state: 49% of all adults and 74% of millennials would consider switching providers for a better payment experience, according to InstaMed’s 2021 annual consumer survey on healthcare payments.
To improve this critical financial experience, healthcare technology and revenue cycle leaders are digita...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - September 25, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Communication and Patient Experience Healthcare IT Revenue Cycle Management Anne Goodwill Pritchett CCM Hackensack Meridian Health Healthcare Costs InstaMed Nordis Technologies Patient Billing Patient Communication Patient Satisfacti Source Type: blogs
The Unexpected Virtual Solution Elevating the Patient Experience
The following is a guest article by Holly Miller, President at Collette Health (formerly MedSitter)
Amid the many challenges in healthcare, an emerging central theme is how to balance technological innovation with a compassionate human touch. Luckily, the advent of AI-enabled virtual care and machine learning has introduced a whole new world of virtual clinical observation. This not only bridges the gap between empathy and technology but goes beyond mere observation, offering a tech-assisted safety net that enhances the overall patient experience.
The patient experience has always been a top concern, but health systems con...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - September 20, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: AI/Machine Learning C-Suite Leadership Clinical Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System LTPAC Telemedicine and Remote Monitoring Collette Health Holly Miller MedSitter NLP Nurse Sitting Patient Communication Pa Source Type: blogs
3 Ways to Achieve HIPAA-Compliant Communication for Behavioral Health
The following is a guest article by Ram Krishnan, CEO at Valant
Communicating with patients – in a compliant manner – is essential for behavioral health practices. All practices must comply with HIPAA, as well as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). To protect patient privacy and respect patient communication preferences, these laws require certain guidelines to be followed. A few examples are obtaining permission to share information with third parties, having patients “opt-in” to communications, and putting the right data security measures in place. Technology plays a crucial role in HIPAA-compliant comm...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - September 11, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Communication and Patient Experience EMR-EHR Health IT Company Healthcare IT behavioral health HIPAA compliant mental health Patient Communication Patient Portal PHI Protected Health Information Ram Krishnan Secure Patient Messagin Source Type: blogs
The impact of assumptions on patient communication in medical training
At one of the medical schools where I am a standardized patient (SP), a student recently failed a portion of the exam because he did not ask his SP questions that were integral to her medical care. When asked by his faculty preceptors why he didn’t ask the SP key questions about her background (she
Read more…
The impact of assumptions on patient communication in medical training originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 2, 2023 Category: General Medicine Authors: Esther Covington Tags: Education Medical school Source Type: blogs
Finding Balance in Patient-Centric RCM
The following is a guest article by Laxmi Patel, Chief Strategy Officer at Savista
Achieving a delicate equilibrium between automation and human engagement is critical. In the world of healthcare, this balance not only enhances the patient experience but also enables systems to effectively manage patient communication and financial obligations while delivering optimal clinical care. As the industry shifts focus to automation and processes to lower cost-to-collect, it is vital to ensure that these efforts remain patient-centric.
Instead of being seen as just a series of numbers, financial statements, and outcomes, a s...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - September 1, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Administration Ambulatory Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System Revenue Cycle Management Care Journey Healthcare Costs Laxmi Patel Patient Communication Patient Education Pati Source Type: blogs
Demand Grows for Advancements in Healthcare ’s Digital Front Door
The following is a guest article by Clarissa Riggins, Chief Product Officer at Experian Health
Patients have increasingly high expectations for easy and efficient tech-enabled solutions when it comes to accessing healthcare services. They seek convenient self-scheduling options, accurate cost estimates, and the ability to pre-register through their smartphones, among other modern services. Experian Health’s recent report, “The State of Patient Access: The Digital Front Door,” explores the overall digital experience from both the patient and provider perspectives.
It’s no surprise that a significant 76% of patie...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - July 13, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Administration Ambulatory C-Suite Leadership Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System Revenue Cycle Management Appointment Scheduling Clarissa Riggins Digital Front Door Experian H Source Type: blogs
Weekly Roundup – July 8, 2023
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.
What Aren’t Enough People Talking About in Healthcare? With so much happening in healthcare, it’s easy for some topics to get lost in the weeds. We asked the Healthcare IT Today community to tell us what topics need more attention, and answers included maintaining visibility into healthcare operations, making sense of the data deluge, improvi...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - July 8, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Brian Eastwood Tags: Healthcare IT Healthcare IT Today Weekly Roundup Source Type: blogs
What ’ s Something Not Enough People are Talking About in Healthcare?
The world of healthcare is already so huge and yet it keeps expanding. Every day we see new faces trying to make a name for themselves with new ideas or new takes on old ideas. Technology continues to advance, allowing us to finally accomplish things we had previously only dreamed of. And we continue to grow and learn and fight to be more inclusive in our practices. But with so much out there to work on and talk about, it’s easy for some topics to get lost in the weeds.
In order to help remedy this, we gathered a bunch of the most amazing health IT experts to get their insights on what isn’t being talked about ...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - July 7, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Grayson Miller Tags: AI/Machine Learning Ambulatory C-Suite Leadership Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System Interoperability IT Infrastructure and Dev Ops Regulations Amwell Andrew Meadow Avel eCare Bandwidth Caitlin Long Caroly Source Type: blogs
The Best Patient Communications Begins with Listening
The following is a guest article by Kristen Jacobsen, Vice President of Marketing and OmniChannel Engagement at RevSpring
“Although we live in an information technology age, we often find ourselves in failure to communicate situations.” – Johnny Tan
That quote is referring to interpersonal relationships, but it’s equally apt in healthcare. There’s no shortage of channels at our disposal, but real connections are made with patients when these channels are used in the right ways at the right times. Understanding how technology can best facilitate patient communication means knowing how patients prefer to engage.
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Source: EMR and HIPAA - June 12, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Administration Ambulatory Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Revenue Cycle Management 2023 Voice of the Patient Survey Communication Consistency Healthcare Self-Service Improving Patient Communication Source Type: blogs
