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 December. You can also read previous month’s Top Ten Lists. Thank you for contributing and reading.
Most Played Episode from Healthcare NOW Radio in December
From Trending NOW, host Shahid Shah is joined by Scott Taylor, Director of Cyber Resilience and Field Solutions Architect for Pure Storage, a company that stores, manages, and protects the world’s data. Scott shares insights on the inevitability of breaches and why speed of recovery matters more than perfect prevention.
Most Read Posts from December
The Overlooked Cyber Risk in Healthcare AI: Protecting the Models Themselves
By Michael Gray, CTO, Thrive
LinkedIn: Michael Gray
LinkedIn: Thrive
The healthcare sector’s AI ambitions are accelerating, from augmented telehealth and diagnostics to streamlined billing, claims, and scheduling. But as health systems integrate AI deeper into their workflows, one critical question often gets overlooked: How secure are the models themselves? For CIOs and CISOs, the risk goes far beyond traditional data breaches. AI models fine-tuned on patient health information, imaging, electronic health records, or claims data can become open gateways to HIPAA-protected content. Continue reading…
It’s Time to Get Serious About Interoperability
By Nolan Kelly, Chief Customer Officer, 1upHealth
LinkedIn: Nolan Kelly
LinkedIn: 1upHealth, Inc.
There is a well-known Chinese Proverb that says “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” In January 2024, CMS published the 0057 Final Rule. That was the best time for health plans to get serious about interoperability. Now, nearly two years since the rule’s publishing and with many health plans only just beginning to grapple with meeting the January 1, 2027 deadline, the second best time is now. Continue reading…
AI Is Finally Fixing the Efficiency Crisis in Healthcare
By Anmol Madan, Founder and CEO, RadiantGraph
LinkedIn: Anmol Madan
LinkedIn: RadiantGraph
Healthcare is in a moment of reckoning. Regulatory shifts and the growing expectations of digital-native healthcare consumers are exposing inefficiencies the industry can no longer ignore. For many years, healthcare has tried to solve inefficiency by adding more people, more tools, more processes. It shows in the workforce mix. Out of 22 million healthcare professionals, only about 4 million are doctors or nurses, with the remaining people supporting administrative and operational roles, required just to keep the system moving. Continue reading…
An Agentic AI Innovation Lifecycle for Business Process Automation in Healthcare
By Andy Dé, Chief Marketing Officer, Lightbeam Health Solutions
LinkedIn: Andy Dé
LinkedIn: Lightbeam Health Solutions
Despite the hype and heavy investment, most organizations are discovering that generative AI is far harder to operationalize than imagined. MIT’s report, The Gen AI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025, reveals that 95% of Gen AI projects fail to reach meaningful production. That’s a staggering figure and means only 1 in 20 projects ever succeed. It’s time to face a harsh truth about Gen AI: Billions in capital and countless hours have yielded limited enterprise impact. Continue reading…
The ‘Smart Bandage’ Is Here. Is Your EHR Ready for the Data?
By Ellie Gabel, Associate Editor, Revolutionized
LinkedIn: Elle Rose
LinkedIn: Revolutionized
Even as industry professionals have infused digital functionality into countless medical devices, the bandage has remained virtually unchanged. Thanks to AI and the Internet of Things (IoT), it is finally entering the 21st century. With the smart bandage, physicians can continuously monitor wounds to identify complications early. Until now, technology has been too bulky and inefficient to make remote monitoring practical at this scale. Continue reading…
The Era of Modern Capacity Management: Real-Time Operations for a More Connected System
By Michelle Skinner, RN, BSN, MBA, Chief Clinical Executive, TeleTracking Technologies
LinkedIn: Michelle Skinner
LinkedIn: TeleTracking
Health systems are operating in a reality where demand for care continues to outpace available staffed beds, capital expansion is constrained, and patient needs are growing increasingly more complex. Capacity is no longer defined by square footage but rather by how effectively systems use the resources they already have across inpatient units, ambulatory clinics, virtual care, home-based programs, community partnerships, and more. Continue reading…
Balancing High Tech with Human Touch: A Sustainable Approach to Drug Diversion Prevention
By Russ Nix, Consulting Associate Director, Wolters Kluwer Health
LinkedIn: Russ Nix
LinkedIn: Wolters Kluwer Health
Drug diversion, when a healthcare worker diverts medication and misuses it, remains a longstanding challenge within healthcare. Each year, around 37,000 incidents occur across healthcare facilities. These events can create significant risks for healthcare organizations on both an operational and patient safety level, often leading to preventable incidents of harm such as unnecessary procedures and infection outbreaks. Continue reading…
Shortchanging Cybersecurity Could Cost You Your Behavioral Health Business
By Scott Anderson, CTO and GM of Managed Services, Cantata Health Solutions
LinkedIn: Scott Anderson
LinkedIn: Cantata Health Solutions
Many behavioral health agencies lack adequate controls to address and recover from a cybersecurity incident. What these agencies need are capabilities such as adequate backup and recovery, managed detection and response, security information and event management, data loss prevention and other key security elements. Without these tools, agency leaders cannot identify a security incident and remedy or recover their IT environment. Continue reading…
Cybercriminals Love the Holidays, Here’s Why
By Troy Cruzen, vCISO, Fortified Health Security
LinkedIn: Troy Cruzen, MSCS, MBA
LinkedIn: Fortified Health Security
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us and the holiday season is in full swing, this is the time of year when security teams start to worry, and for good reason. Attackers know people are distracted, short-staffed, and ready for some time off. They plan around that. Every year, we see it: Incidents tend to happen before or during holidays. Continue reading…
6 Considerations to Evaluate AI in Clinical Decision Support
By Gavin McNatt, Pharm.D., Clinical Consultant, Micromedex by Merative
LinkedIn: Gavin McNatt, Pharm.D.
LinkedIn: Merative
According to 2024 data from the American Medical Association, more physicians are using AI and recognize its benefits for documentation support and visit summaries, among other tasks. The research found nearly 66% of physicians surveyed now use AI, up from 38% in the 2023 report. Clinicians rely on clinical decision support systems for evidence-based information and expertly curated data, often using keyword searches to simplify the process. Continue reading…