What You Should Know
The Launch: Epic has officially released AI Charting, a native feature that listens to patient visits and automatically drafts notes and orders. This is part of a broader suite called Art (for clinicians), Penny (for revenue cycle), and Emmie (for patients).The Integration: Unlike third-party tools that require separate logins or data bridges, Epic’s AI is "built-in." It draws context from the entire medical record to draft notes and allows clinicians to format them via
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Health IT | News, Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Optum Launches AI Platform to Erase Prior Auth Friction
What You Should Know
The Launch: Optum is rolling out a dual-sided AI strategy to modernize prior authorization: Digital Auth Complete for providers (powered by Humata Health) and InterQual® Auth Accelerator for payers.The Provider Impact: By embedding AI directly into the EHR, the provider-side tool has demonstrated a 96% first-pass approval rate in early deployments, aiming to reclaim the average 13 hours per week staff spend on these tasks.The Payer Impact: The payer-side solution focuses
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The “Push and Pull” of 2026: Why Healthcare AI Is Entering Its Most Dynamic Year
As AI continues to permeate the healthcare industry, 2026 will be a time of push and pull: well-designed and well-implemented AI scripts will pull the industry forward, while some stakeholders push back against the technology for a variety of reasons. The convergence of these trends should make for a dynamic year for payers, providers, and patients alike.
Expansion of AI for legal compliance in healthcare
Regulatory
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The Interoperability Bridge: How HIEs Secure CMS 2026 Compliance for Payers
As healthcare costs continue to increase and patients demand more from their insurance coverage, there’s rising pressure to provide higher-quality care more efficiently than ever before. The expectations for healthcare payers to achieve the Triple Aim objectives—that is, better patient experiences and improved population health at lower costs—demand that we all become more resourceful in our approach to care.
It's clear that health plans and hospital systems can’t achieve these ambitious
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The ‘Volume’ Era is Dead: Humana Data Proves Value-Based Care Cuts Admissions by 24%
What You Should Know
The Report: Humana’s newly released Value-Based Care By the Numbers Report, reveals that Medicare Advantage members in value-based care (VBC) arrangements are seeing significantly better outcomes than those in traditional models.The Data: The impact is measurable and massive: VBC patients experienced 24.3% fewer hospital admissions and 13.4% fewer emergency room visits in 2024.The Shift: The report validates the industry's transition from "reactive" fee-for-service
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Lotus Health AI Raises $35M to Make Doctor Visits Free
What You Should Know
The Funding: Lotus Health AI has raised a $35M Series A (totaling $41M) co-led by venture giants Kleiner Perkins and CRV, with backing from Joe Montana and the former U.S. CTO Aneesh Chopra.The Disruption: Lotus is attempting to break the insurance-fee cycle. The platform is free to patients (no insurance needed), monetized instead through "premium sponsorships" inside the app—a model designed to align incentives toward health rather than billing codes.The Tech: The
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AI-Enabled Digital Stethoscope Outperforms Traditional Exams in Valvular Heart Disease Screening
What You Should Know
The Breakthrough: A new study published in the European Heart Journal - Digital Health reveals that an AI-enabled digital stethoscope is twice as effective as a traditional stethoscope at detecting valvular heart disease (VHD).The Data: In a real-world trial of 357 patients over age 50, the AI tool achieved a 92.3% sensitivity rate, compared to just 46.2% for standard exams. This suggests that half of significant heart valve issues are currently being missed in primary
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Why Autonomous AI Is Failing and Hybrid Models Are Winning
Good AI is not good enough.
Healthcare leaders have largely moved past the belief that fully autonomous AI can solve their hardest problems. With an estimated 95% of generative-AI initiatives never progressing beyond the pilot stage, they’ve learned that simply “adding AI” does not translate into real-world impact.
Healthcare is no exception. AI is now deeply embedded across the health system, from documentation and scheduling to risk prediction and clinical decision support, forcing the
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2026 Best in KLAS Awards: The Full List of Software & Services Winners
What You Should Know
The Report: Today, KLAS Research released its 2026 Best in KLAS reports, and the message from the data is clear: The market rewards vendors that use technology to restore the human connection, not complicate it.The Dynasty: Epic has won "Overall Health System Suite" for the 16th consecutive year, winning 11 individual segments. athenahealth secured "Overall Independent Physician Practice Suite" for the third year in a row.The Services: Chartis (IT Services), Optimum
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HHS Launches 9 Pilots to Solve the Behavioral Health Data Crisis
What You Should Know
The Launch: HHS Secretary Kennedy has announced nine nationwide pilot programs across 9 states to test new data standards that bridge the gap between physical and behavioral healthcare.The Tech: The pilots will test the USCDI+ Behavioral Health dataset and FHIR® implementation guides in real-world settings, specifically addressing complex privacy rules like 42 C.F.R. Part 2.The Timeline: Funded by a $20M+ SAMHSA investment, these pilots will run through the end of 2026.
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