Health IT Issues that Deserve a Second Read – November 2022

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 1st Talk Compliance, host Catherine Short welcomes Rachel V. Rose, JD, MBA, on the topic of “A Business Associate Agreement? Tell Me More!” Business Associate Agreements (BAA) are not new; however, some individuals are new to healthcare and others never understood what a BAA is exactly. A BAA is a contract that fundamentally gives assurances that the parties are complying with the Security Rule and Privacy Rule, setting parameters in the event of a reportable security incident or a breach, and states how the sensitive data will be returned and destroyed at the end of the relationship.

Most Read Thought Leader Posts in November

Healthcare IT’s Key Role in Patient Experience
By Bill Grana, CEO, HCTec
Twitter: @HCTecTN

Patient experience is increasingly top of mind for healthcare provider executives. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality defines patient experience as the full range of interactions patients have with the healthcare system, including interactions with health plans and care from doctors, nurses, and supporting staff. Patients’ experiences with technology are a vital part of the comprehensive set of interactions that either increase or decrease their satisfaction, the quality of care they receive, and their ability to build trust with providers. Continue reading…

Three Reasons the Cloud is Critical for Ensuring Patient-Centered Care
By Morris Panner, President, Intelerad
Twitter: @Intelerad
Twitter: @mpanner

As the healthcare sector embraces value-based care, the patient – not the procedure – is the central focus for providers. But the move to patient-centered care requires several significant deviations from the status quo. For example, more personalized treatment is required through information sharing and collaborative decision making among providers, patients and their families. Continue reading…

How Data Boosts Physician Satisfaction During Acquisition: Real World Lessons Learned
By Glenn Schweidler, RHIA, Partner and Chief Operations Officers, Intellis
Twitter: @IntellisIQ

Health system acquisition of physician practices and medical groups has steadily increased since 2012 with hospitals and other healthcare corporations now owning nearly half of all physicians. Most CIOs and IT teams within hospitals and health systems are well-aware of the ups and downs of physician practice acquisitions. Properly converting legacy data to ensure clinician access to information, satisfaction and quality care is paramount. Continue reading…

Digital Transformation Improving Healthcare Experience for Staff and Patients Alike
By Ed Shepherdson, Chief Growth Officer, Tr3Dent
Twitter: @tr3dent

Healthcare providers are operating in a changed world since the pandemic hit, and many are looking to adapt the way they do business to accommodate industry challenges and shifting stakeholder needs. No hospital or clinic can run in isolation from groups that are influencing a part of their business, so today’s healthcare decision-makers are wise to optimize and understand their entire ecosystem to ensure that every connection has value. Continue reading…

Israel Suits Up for Digital Health Success
By Goel Jasper, Managing Partner, Digital Health Innovation Leader, Finn Partners
Twitter: @FINNPartners
Twitter: @goeljasper

Israel is not so big on formality. In fact, when I moved here almost 18 years ago, I left my suits behind. I wouldn’t be needing them in this country, where even a jacket is a rare sight at a wedding, let alone a trade show or conference. And even though Israel is not big on formality, this small country in the Middle East – a country with both a population and land mass that are similar to New Jersey – hosted four health events, two of which are truly global in nature, simultaneously over the past two weeks. Continue reading…

The Most Profound Event in My Informatics Career? Unquestionably the HITECH Act
By William Hersh, MD, Professor and Chair, OHSU
Twitter: @williamhersh

I recently took part in a small workshop exploring the benefits and challenges for artificial intelligence in medicine. Many of the participants were innovative medical educators, and most of them were still practicing clinical medicine. Although the workshop covered a broad range of topics, one theme stood out to me, perhaps because of my role as an academic informatician. Continue reading…

You Are Not Going to Remain Competitive and Relevant Without Leveraging AI/ML in Clinical Trials
By Ben van der Schaaf, Partner, and Ben Enejo, Partner, Healthcare & Life Sciences Practice, Arthur D. Little
Twitter: @adlittle

Much has been written about the application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) in clinical development, and at first glance it is an obvious area of focus. Successful use of AI/ML capability requires vast amounts of data, and there have been more than 400,000 clinical studies registered globally since the beginning of the century. This number is growing at a good pace, generating a very considerable data set across many therapeutic areas and patient cohorts. In practice it has not been that straightforward. Continue reading…

Medicare Fines for High Hospital Readmissions Drop, but Nearly 2,300 Facilities Are Still Penalized
By Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News
Twitter: @KHNews
Twitter: @JordanRau

The federal government has eased its annual punishments for hospitals with higher-than-expected readmission rates in an acknowledgment of the upheaval the covid-19 pandemic has caused, resulting in the lightest penalties since 2014. The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program has been a mainstay of Medicare’s hospital payment system since it began in 2012. Continue reading…

Caring for What’s Been Coded
By Dr. Jay Anders, Chief Medical Officer, Medicomp Systems
Twitter: @MedicompSys
Twitter: @medicompdoc

In a Forbes Technology Council article earlier this year, my colleague Medicomp CEO Dave Lareau discussed how the industry was abuzz with talk about how providers and health plans can “optimize” risk-adjusted payments for Medicare Advantage, and the associated “upcoding” to qualify for higher risk scores. Dave maintained that it will not be enough to simply pick a code and be done with it. Continue reading…

Helping Healthcare Systems Reduce Carbon Pollution: A New Primer from AHRQ
By David Meyers, M.D., Deputy Director, AHRQ & Brent Sandmeyer, M.P.H., Healthcare & Climate Research Grants Program Officer
Twitter: @AHRQNews

Climate change is widely regarded as the number one threat to human health, increasing the destructive power of storms like Hurricane Ian and the frequency and duration of heatwaves, wildfires, and droughts. Healthcare systems and providers are increasingly working on the front lines in response to these emergencies. Continue reading…