Healthcare staffing, an essential pillar of the U.S. healthcare system, involves a myriad of entities, including healthcare providers, facilities, staffing agencies, credentialing bodies and regulatory agencies. At the heart of this process lies the critical function of credentialing — the rigorous verification of clinician qualifications–and how the system is reimbursed. As the industry grapples with a profound staffing shortfall, all stakeholders in the healthcare industry need to focus on
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The Role of Qualified Medical Interpreters in Achieving Section 1557 Healthcare Compliance
For the last decade, Section 1557 has been at the center of many changes and today, it continues to be as the Biden administration is working to take giant steps towards restoring and strengthening some civil rights protections for people in many health-related programs and activities that receive funding from the federal government.
Section 1557, known as the “Health Care Rights Law,” is the main nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It prohibits discrimination in
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Digitizing and Streamlining Surgeon Preferences Improves Operational Efficiency and Patient Safety
In the dynamic world of healthcare, preference cards serve as crucial tools that capture a surgeon’s specific needs and preferences for each type of surgical procedure they perform. These cards typically outline the equipment, instruments, and supplies required for a particular procedure, providing a personalized roadmap for surgical teams to follow. By detailing these specifications, preference cards help streamline surgical planning, foster improved communication among the operating room (OR)
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Automation Fills Gaps Left by Revenue Cycle Talent Shortage
Healthcare providers are feeling the industry’s talent shortage in their administrative functions as well as clinical areas. One case in point: revenue cycle management. In a recent study, 63% of healthcare providers reported an inability to fill key revenue management roles. Reduced revenues and cash reserves are almost inevitable when providers don’t have sufficient staff to follow up on claims, manage appeals and help patients understand their financial responsibilities and
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Will Healthcare Let AI Fix The Slow-Motion Crisis of Physician Burnout?
When I ask primary care physicians about their biggest problems today, they share the excruciating pain they experience as the American healthcare system pushes them towards administrative work rather than letting them focus on true patient care and clinical excellence.
Some doctors described themselves as "square pegs in a round hole" for bridling under the system’s bureaucratic constraints. Others feel stuck in a "transactional world" of recordkeeping. They yearn to spend more time
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Making the Case for AI in Patient Experience and Education
As a physician, I’m captivated by artificial intelligence’s (AI) potential to revolutionize care, while simultaneously acknowledging the apprehensions that accompany such advancements — in particular the more topical large language models (LLMs) and generative AI.
Ready or not, there’s no question that AI will impact our industry; in fact, the market is expected to grow from $14.6 billion in 2023 to a staggering $102.7 billion in just five years.
An expanding array of use cases
In my
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How Healthcare Organizations Can Defend Against Ransomware
There’s no denying it - the need for stronger cyber defense is urgent. More ransomware attacks targeted healthcare in 2022 than any other critical infrastructure sector, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). With attacks on healthcare negatively impacting patient care – including increased mortality rates - healthcare organizations must adopt proactive approaches to better protect their patients and sensitive information.
In the spring, the Multi-State Information
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The Digital Dilemma: How Social Media Impacts Youth Mental Health and What We Can Do To Help
In the current digital landscape, the impact of social media on youth mental health is becoming an increasingly pressing concern. Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, recently issued a call to action, urging tech companies and lawmakers to take immediate steps to safeguard the mental well-being of our children and adolescents.
This timely request is certainly necessary, but it only scratches the surface of a complicated issue.
From my perspective as a
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5 Ways Federated Computing Can Reshape Public Health
Unlocking data silos using Federated Computing (FC) has the potential to achieve a positive impact across the healthcare industry, ranging from clinical care quality improvement and accreditation to population health management, precision public health and equitable drug development.
We define FC as the leverage of federated learning and edge computing technologies to enable federated data access, enabling analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), using linked, but not co-located, data. In
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Will Value-Based Care Finally Fix EHRs Too?
In theory, electronic health records (EHRs) have the potential to transform the healthcare landscape. They were expected to provide a digital hub that would enable seamless communication and information sharing between providers, boost efficiency, improve the quality of care, and foster optimal patient and clinician experiences.
The reality, unfortunately, has not matched the possibilities.
While well-intentioned, the Federal Government’s 2011 Meaningful Use Mandate program—to
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