Health IT Issues that Deserve a Second Read – November 2024
One of the ways that Answers Media is different from other media sites is the sense of community. The thought leaders in our community are good about sharing their thoughts on the issues of today. We publish at least eight guest posts a week now, so in case you missed some, here are the top ten read and shared guest posts in the month of November. You can also read previous month’s Top Ten Lists. Thank you for contributing and reading.
Most Played Radio Episode in November
From Selling to Healthcare, host Lisa Miller discusses navigating centralized versus decentralized decision-making and addressing budget constraints and supply disruptions. She provides insights on strategic positioning in competitive situations and highlights the significance of respect, empathy, and authentic communication. Lisa details essential tools for internal buy-in, including surveys, ROI calculators, and case studies, demonstrating their effectiveness in gaining stakeholder support.
Most Read Thought Leader Posts in November
Why Accurate Provider Data Can No Longer Be Overlooked in Value-Based Care
By Eric Demers, CEO, Madaket Health
LinkedIn: Eric Demers
LinkedIn: Madaket Health
In Spring 2023, AMA President Dr. Jack Resneck, Jr. sat before the Senate Finance Committee and discussed the critical state of physician directories, which are, by all accounts, riddled with inaccurate data. To demonstrate, on the morning of the hearing, the committee’s chair, Senator Ron Wyden, released the results of a study in which phone calls were made to 120 provider listings across 12 different health plans. The data revealed that 33% of those listings were inaccurate, had nonworking numbers, or had unreturned calls. Continue reading…
Optimizing Patient Access Services
By Matt Bridge, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Solutions, AGS Health
LinkedIn: Matt Bridge
LinkedIn: AGS Health
Efficient patient access operations are paramount for healthcare provider organizations to thrive in today’s tumultuous financial landscape. Inefficiencies created by outdated, time-consuming, and cost-intensive patient access and financial clearance operations create delays in the patient’s journey from initial contact to care access—which in turn contribute to revenue leakage that chip away at the bottom line and put an organization’s financial stability at greater risk. Continue reading…
Seven Insider Insights Heard at AHIMA24: New Energy for Coding, Data, and Exchange
By Beth Friedman, Sr. Partner, FINN Partners
LinkedIn: Beth Friedman
LinkedIn: FINN Partners
AHIMA was founded in 1928 to improve the collection and organization of health information for medical professionals to improve public health. Fast forward nearly 100 years and the association’s new president, Dr. Kevin Klauer, modernized this vision to reiterate health information (HI) professionals’ essential roles: collect, analyze, share, and protect patient information. Continue reading…
The State of HIOs & Plans to Participate in TEFCA
By Kim Boyd, Regulatory Resource Center Lead & Senior Consultant, Point-of-Care Partners
LinkedIn: Kim Boyd
LinkedIn: Point-of-Care Partners
A recent study published in Health Affairs examined the current state of Health Information Organizations (HIOs) and their engagement with the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). TEFCA represents a major leap toward creating a unified federal health information exchange (HIE), but the study reveals a mix of optimism and hesitancy across the industry. Continue reading…
Radical Reinvention: How Health Systems Are Transforming for the Future
By Linda Finkel, CEO, AVIA
LinkedIn: Linda Finkel
LinkedIn: AVIA
The United States healthcare system is at a crossroads. One in five Americans will be 65 or older by 2030, while Gen Z is reshaping expectations for healthcare access. The U.S. is projected to face a shortage of 86,000 physicians by 2036, alongside a decline in nurses, home health aides, and other essential care providers. Additionally, the financial pressures for both the health system and consumers are growing, with the expected cost of healthcare in the US to surpass $370 billion by 2027. Continue reading…
Generative AI in My Teaching – The Final Shoe Drops
By William Hersh, MD, Professor and Chair, OHSU
LinkedIn: William Hersh, MD
X: @williamhersh
I recently published a paper in the journal npj Digital Medicine looking at how well generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems perform in my well-known introductory biomedical and health informatics course. This online course is taught to three audiences: graduate students (required in our graduate program and taken as an elective by students in several others, including public health, basic sciences, and nursing), continuing education students (the well-known 10×10 course), and medical students at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Continue reading…
Ignore OCR at Your Own Risk
By Matt Fisher, Healthcare Attorney
LinkedIn: Matthew Fisher
X: @matt_r_fisher
The Office for Civil Rights announced the latest in its ongoing series of settlements or penalties stemming from individual right of access issues under HIPAA on October 17, 2024, which also happens to be the fiftieth such settlement. While the focus on right of access has been continuous for a number of years now, the opportunity to fully understand what happened before the resulting settlement or penalty is still very infrequent. Continue reading…
Best Places for AI Tools in Provider Revenue Cycle Management
By Noel Felipe, SVP and Revenue Cycle Practice Leader, Firstsource
LinkedIn: Noel Felipe
LinkedIn: Firstsource
With high labor costs, low margins and claims denial rates averaging almost 15%, according to the American Hospital Association, providers need new approaches to effective revenue cycle management. Automation and AI tools can increase productivity, reduce the cost to collect and accelerate revenues. The keys to success today are agentic workflows and generative AI. Continue reading…
Using AI to Enhance Payment Integrity
By Matthew Hawley, Executive Vice President of Payment Integrity, Cotiviti
LinkedIn: Matthew Hawley
LinkedIn: Cotiviti
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been touted as a “solution” to modernize many payers’ processes and functions, including their traditional payment integrity programs. Yet seeing AI as the answer to health plans’ administrative burdens is overly simplistic. Instead, payers would be better served viewing AI as a tool that they should use strategically to reap greater value from their payment integrity programs and improve the member and provider experience. Continue reading…
The Power of Shared Governance in Driving Healthcare’s Digital Transformation
By Ali Morin, MSN, RN, NI-BC, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer, symplr
LinkedIn: Allison Morin, MSN, RN, NI-BC
LinkedIn: symplr
As healthcare undergoes what many deem a digital revolution, it’s clear that technological advances alone aren’t enough to drive meaningful change. Success hinges upon how well organizations integrate these new tools into their operations—and more importantly, how they ensure that the voices of frontline workers are heard. Enter the idea of shared governance, where involving the bedside staff in the decision-making process around policies, procedures, and technology helps with staff retention and empowers them with more control over their environment. Continue reading…
