In 2020, the Department of Justice estimated that fraudulent, wasteful, and abusive (FWA) billing practices account for more than $100 billion of the nation’s healthcare expenditures.1 Today, the National Healthcare Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) conservatively estimates that healthcare FWA costs the nation about $68 billion annually, representing 3% of the nation's $2.26 trillion in healthcare spending.2 FWA estimates from commercial health plans range as high as $230 billion annually, or
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Analysis: Sharecare Poised for Re-Acceleration, 1Q Results
What You Should Know:
On 5/10/23, BMO, Sharecare (SHCR) delivered what appear to be, good 1Q results. Revenue of $116.3M + 15.5% y/y, compares to BTIG / FactSet consensus of $111M / $110.9M and adjusted EBITDA of $2.1M compares to BTIG /consensus of $1.2M / $1.2M. 1Q revenue exceeded the guidance range of $111M- $113M.Given the top-line beat we are optimistic that revenue guidance is conservative. Management increased 2023 revenue guidance from $450-$460M to $452.5M-$460M and 2023 adjusted
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How Healthcare Providers Can Bolster Cybersecurity Defenses and Protect Patient Data
In IBM’s 2022 Cost of a Data Breach report, the company revealed that the global average cost of a data breach was $4.35 million. In the healthcare sector, however, that number skyrocketed to $10.1 million. Why is an attack on a healthcare organization so much more costly? While part of this comes down to the fact that healthcare organizations often have big budgets, and so might be able to pay big ransoms, the biggest part of the answer is consequences. In there, real lives are at stake. Downed
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Healthcare Considerations: Addressing Cyber Risk in the Healthcare Industry
In 2020, the Dental Care Alliance (DCA) experienced a significant cyberattack on its systems, which lasted approximately an entire month. This gave the threat actor an extended period to compromise the healthcare organization’s servers and extract the private and confidential information of around one million patients.
This is just another example of how vulnerable the healthcare industry is to cyber criminals looking to exploit security weaknesses. Healthcare organizations are prime targets
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4 Keys to Modernizing Public Health Data Collection and Analysis
The COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on the urgent need to modernize the nation’s public health system. Despite success in rapidly developing vaccines, the unprecedented public health emergency also exposed significant gaps in U.S. public health infectious disease data collection and analysis methods which are critical for identifying behavioral risk factors and preventive actions.
The Problem
Unfortunately, inefficiency remains a hallmark of the U.S. public health surveillance system
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The Next Era of Healthcare Will Be Built On These 3 Principles
The U.S. healthcare industry has hit an important inflection point. The global pandemic highlighted an increased need to deliver quality patient care. However, outdated, legacy technology is straining many health systems, and in some cases, exaggerating existing problems such as rising operational costs and high rates of attrition.
Health and hospital systems must take a purposeful approach to IT modernization — which includes embracing new technologies — to ensure success. And while each IT
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IT Infrastructure: Creating A Culture of Security In Your Hospital & Health System
It’s a fact: More than 80% of data breaches involve a human in some way. That could involve someone falling for a spear-phishing campaign designed to solicit credentials, clicking on a malicious link, or a simple error that leaves a security vulnerability open to bad actors. Creating a culture of security in your organization will keep security at the forefront of everything from operations to care delivery.
Monitoring and maintaining the security of IT infrastructure is often overemphasized
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The Importance of Decoding Health Data to Every Organization
To the observant onlooker, data is everywhere. From spending habits to hospital visits, humans are walking treasure troves of information. As technology has exponentially improved in the last 20 years, so has the collection of data. In 2010, a mere two zettabytes of data were created, captured, copied, or consumed. In 2020, estimates put that number at 79 zettabytes.
Data collection goes hand-in-hand with the revolution of the Information Age — since the 1970s, unprecedented digital
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Elevating Workplace Safety to Combat Healthcare Violence Against Workers
The healthcare workforce is in crisis. From devastating staffing shortages to unmanageable levels of stress and burnout, today’s healthcare workers are desperate for some relief. Unfortunately, exacerbating these already significant challenges is an increasing rate of workplace violence in healthcare.
According to the results of a study published recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, about one-third of public healthcare workers have experienced at least one incident
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Improving Non-Emergency Medical Transportation: Driving Better Outcomes for Patients and Health Plans
As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, there is a growing need for innovative solutions that not only improve the quality of care but also make care more accessible. Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) plays a crucial role in helping patients get to where care is delivered. As healthcare reform efforts continue to gain momentum, transportation benefits have become an increasingly critical component of providing equitable care to patients. NEMT helps close the health equity gap
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