Few can miss the increasing role of AI in healthcare. In revenue cycle management (RCM), the last few years have seen the emergence of new technologies for coding and billing. These tools take advantage of natural language processing, deep learning, and other advancements that enable results far superior to the rules-based robotic process automation of the prior generation.
For example, take medical coding. Healthcare providers have historically relied on teams of medical coders – people
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Combating Hospital Waste to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
With the growing concern around the current climate crisis, industry leaders everywhere seek new ways to reduce their carbon footprint. The healthcare industry alone accounts for 8.5% of emissions in the United States, with medical devices and products contributing to a significant portion of the 5.9 million tons of healthcare waste each year. However, healthcare leaders are ready to make a change. In 2022, 61 of the largest U.S. hospital and health sector companies joined the Health Sector
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Why Innovation Management Matters in Healthcare
When we think of innovation in healthcare, what comes to mind? For many, it may be fancy diagnostic machines or breakthrough drug therapies. But sometimes, it can be as simple as a 3D-printed cover for an insulin pod. A product, or an improved process, that solves a need. While medical settings like hospitals and clinics are good at managing patient care, it can still be challenging to create and manage a culture of innovation.
According to Stanford
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Health Tech UX – Why We Must Keep Physicians Top-of-Mind
The shortage of physicians in America is a growing concern, with serious consequences for our nation’s hospitals. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates a shortage of between 21,000 and 77,100 non-primary care physicians by 2034, including surgical and other medical specialists. Already, 50% of hospitals are short coverage for three or more specialties, and 90% are short at least one. Half of the nation’s hospitals ended 2022 in the red, and for many Americans, getting
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With A Recession Looming, Here’s How Practices Can Ensure Minimal Revenue Loss
Healthcare systems driven by insurers fronting most of their members’ healthcare bills have allowed hospitals to be relatively immune to economic downturns in the past. However, this dynamic began to shift as consumer-directed health plans hit the mainstream. Exaggerated by the rise of the current consumer mentality, even more, patients will be vulnerable to healthcare financial responsibility due to the prevalence of high deductible plans (HDHPs) as consumers embark on the looming bust.
To
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Regulators Force Medical Device Manufacturers to Protect Against Cyberattacks
There is a fine line that connects the cars we drive and the medical devices we occasionally use. Both connect to the internet, and as such, are exposed to cyberattacks that could compromise consumers' safety. These are not theoretical risks: Bluetooth vulnerabilities exposed millions of vehicle users to cyberattacks; a 19-year-old teenager remotely infiltrated 25 Tesla vehicles in 13 countries switching the engines on and off; Medtronic insulin pumps were hacked remotely by Whitehat
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Lessons From Oncology – How We Can Better Utilize AI for GI
Oncology is seen as an early adopter of machine learning in healthcare, and as a doctor who has been working in medical oncology for over a decade, I have seen firsthand how technology has advanced the field. Now, I work at a computer vision company that is using artificial intelligence (AI) in gastroenterology and although these areas of medicine differ, I am struck by the similarities in opportunities that technology has to help advance care and improve outcomes for patients afflicted by
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Unleashing the Power of Protocols in Critical Care
Protocol Driven Care
Often proclaimed as the most effective method of reducing costs for hospitals, standardization is said to promote quality patient care at a cost-effective price. Standardization reduces waste, makes treatment predictable and controllable, and defines clear responsibilities for all team members. Standardization leads to more efficient, less costly care, and a more consistent patient experience — outcomes that become critical as the industry accelerates the
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CalAIM and How It Is Changing Medicaid’s Narrative
On December 29, 2021, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) received approval of the CalAIM Section 1115 demonstration waiver, CalAIM Section 1915(b) waiver, and Medi-Cal State Plan Amendments from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) through December 31, 2026.
California’s fresh approach to healthcare has been in the works for a while. In 2016, the Golden State began its Whole-Person Care (WPC) pilots at the county level integrating physical
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Healthcare Is Changing, Right? Here’s 5 Reasons It’s Not.
We hear it every day, right? Articles and headlines touting “the healthcare industry is constantly evolving and changing” to be more consumer-focused and patient-centric. But is that really all that true? While ideas of innovation, news articles of the next big thing, and healthcare conferences are more exciting than actual healthcare improvements, tangible change feels…. questionable.
We can all hope for a better future, but the reality is that a number of issues continue to hold back
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