The Office of the White House recently issued a Proclamation marking October as Cyber Security Awareness Month and shared this year’s theme: “Do Your Part. Be Cyber Smart.” Threats are indeed on the rise, posing a significant risk to private businesses, public infrastructure, and national security, especially as the nation has increasingly adapted to a remote environment in the continuing battle against COVID. As businesses look to “do their part” to combat cybersecurity threats, they will need
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4 Best Practices to Foster Virtual Care Transformation for Providers
Telehealth’s meteoric rise began just as the pandemic took off, and all indications suggest it’s here to stay. States that were once unwilling to reimburse for virtual visits are now onboard. Some have even passed parity legislation requiring insurers to reimburse equally for in-person visits and virtual visits.
So why, with all that momentum behind telehealth, are some providers still reluctant to use it?
Common reasons cited by providers reluctant to jump into telehealth include
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3 Ways to Instantly Improve the Referral-to-Appointment Ratio of Your Practice
It’s no secret that access to healthcare is a challenge for patients. And it’s becoming harder and harder for patients to get appointments with their PCP or the specialists they have been referred to for advanced care. Now more than ever providers and their staff are faced with a growing number of challenges that prevent or delay them from doing what they are all there to do: get patients in front of a doctor to determine how to get them well. One of the biggest villains in this story is the old
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Healthcare Data & Analytics Platforms: Shifting from Siloed Capabilities
Historically, analytics capabilities for healthcare organizations have been offered in siloed solutions. These solutions provide quick insights but not the longitudinal patient, financial, and operational views organizations need to truly move the needle in their efforts to improve care and reduce costs. The good news is that as organizations’ analytics needs have expanded, so have vendor offerings. A number of vendors now offer consolidated, end-to-end platforms that provide a wide variety of
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How Employee-Focused Tech Can Help Hospitals Endure the Latest COVID Surge
For hospitals and the people who staff them, it was exactly the déjà vu they were hoping to avoid: another surge in COVID-19 cases, with the now all-too-familiar strains and stressors that accompany it.
The rapid spread of the Delta variant in the U.S. and elsewhere brought reports of fresh spikes in hospital admission numbers and shortages of ICU beds. Hospitals were forced to increase overtime demands on staff, recall contingent workers and in some cases, hastily establish temporary
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10 Tips for Improving COVID-19 Employee Immunization Initiatives
Within the past 18 months, what used to be a relatively simple process for organizations providing healthcare services – ensuring their employees had required and recommended vaccines – has gotten contentious and complicated – to say the least.
The rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant and new immunization mandates creates concerns and complexities for hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care and other providers. As of early October, the CDC has approved Pfizer booster
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3 Ways Decentralized Clinical Trials Can Expand Diversity & Improve Participation Rates
I consider myself living proof of the American dream. In 1888, my great, great grandfather purchased a farm, Coleman Crest, that is still in our family today. Understanding his story and what he had to overcome during that period in history has given me such a great foundation and what still inspires me today.
My passion for chemistry began when I was a child. At a young age, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness and when things got tough, it was my pharmacist who gave me hope and
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Fraud-Proofing Your Telehealth Strategy
By now, you’ve likely read hundreds, if not thousands, of stories about telehealth and its precipitous rise sparked by the pandemic. While telehealth usage has dipped from its peak in April 2020, overall utilization is still 38 times higher than before the pandemic. The numbers lend credence to the numerous benefits touted throughout the public health emergency, most notably serving as a vital lifeline for high-risk patients, reducing the risk of exposure for staff, alleviating patient demand on
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Commercializing Digital Therapeutic Solutions: Key Lessons Learned to Watch
The pandemic has set ablaze the white-hot market for Digital Therapeutics (DTx), which “deliver medical interventions directly to patients using evidence-based, clinically evaluated software to treat, manage, and prevent a broad spectrum of diseases and disorders1.” In 2020, a digital research firm projected the global DTx market to hit nearly $9 billion by 2025; a year later, its 2025 DTx forecast had increased to $56 billion2.
One of the few bright spots of 2020 was how quickly and
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Can Predictive AI Fully Inform Patient Care Decisions?
In recent years, the healthcare industry has fully embraced the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to transform healthcare practice and delivery. From the advent of big data to the arrival of EHRs, the industry is familiar with the hype that accompanies technology advancements. While these innovations have certainly been useful in many regards, healthcare remains deeply fragmented, inefficient, and prone to waste.
Many experts believe that AI will deliver on the long-promised
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