What You Should Know
The Trend: According to the new 2026 KLAS Research report, ambulatory organizations are increasingly favoring comprehensive suites (all-in-one EHR and Practice Management) over piecemeal "best-of-breed" stacks to reduce complexity and improve data flow.The Leaders: Epic and athenahealth have emerged as the clear market leaders, delivering the most consistent outcomes. Their customers report high satisfaction with the "cohesive package" that supports both clinical and
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Health IT | News, Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
athenahealth and b.well Launch QR-Code Intake to End Paper Forms
What You Should Know
The Launch: athenahealth and b.well Connected Health have unveiled a new point-of-care workflow that allows patients to share health info via QR code, eliminating paper forms and faxes.The Goal: The project directly supports the CMS "Kill the Clipboard" initiative, a federal push to replace manual intake with patient-directed digital tools.The Tech: Patients aggregate their records (including wearable data) in the b.well app, generate a QR code, and practice staff scan it
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Tebra Report: 3 in 5 Staff Say ChatGPT Cuts Burnout—But 14% Admit They Can’t Function Emotionally Without It
What You Should Know
The Benefit: A new survey from Tebra reveals that 3 in 5 healthcare employees report ChatGPT has reduced burnout by streamlining documentation and communication. In private practices, 44% of staff now use AI daily.The Dependency: The efficiency comes with a psychological cost. 14% of respondents admit to feeling "emotionally dependent" on AI (checking it impulsively or feeling anxiety without it), and 47% have used it for emotional processing.The Risk: AI is now
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Accenture Federal Services Awarded 4.5-Year Contract for VA EHR Modernization
What You Should Know
The Deal: Accenture Federal Services (AFS) has won a pivotal 4.5-year contract to support the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program.The Mission: The project aims to replace aging legacy systems with a single, integrated Oracle Health platform, creating a seamless "lifetime health record" that follows a soldier from active duty into veteran status.The Strategy: Accenture will be serving as the "program management
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AI in Nursing Education: Strategies for Engagement and Curriculum Data Implementation
Today’s nurse education programs are facing mounting, unprecedented challenges: underprepared students, faculty shortages, and the growing pressures of accelerated programs. To bridge these gaps and help get nursing education programs back on a successful track, schools are turning to artificial intelligence (AI)—not as a replacement for educators, but as a powerful tool to personalize learning, enhance engagement, and improve NCLEX outcomes. This requires educators to think differently and
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The “Platform” Squeeze: Epic Releases Native AI Charting, Putting Venture-Backed Scribes on Notice
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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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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