Healthcare is moving deeper into the value-based era. Metrics drive decisions, outcomes define quality, and performance data shapes reimbursement. Yet amid this transformation, inpatient psychiatry and behavioral healthcare remain the most notable outlier—excluded for a variety of reasons including stigmatization, subjectivity, and a high degree of variation in clinical operations from site to site.
Behavioral healthcare lacks the foundational standards and management models that have
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Health IT | News, Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Smokeless Tobacco and Oral Cancer: A Health System Unprepared
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., with cigarette use responsible for one out of every three cancer deaths in the country. The rising use of smokeless tobacco is adding to these numbers by introducing a new set of health risks, as these products contain over 28 cancer-causing compounds. Although many people are turning to smokeless tobacco in an attempt to quit smoking cigarettes, the International Agency for Research on Cancer warns that smokeless tobacco may pose risks
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Why Claims Data Alone Leave Gaps in Understanding the Patient Journey
In today’s precision medicine landscape, pharmaceutical companies and access teams face a critical challenge: understanding not just whether therapies work, but how they are accessed, adopted, and experienced by real-world patients. This requires going beyond traditional data sources, particularly claims data, which—while useful—often fails to capture the nuanced clinical and diagnostic steps that define the patient journey. To truly understand and improve therapy adoption, stakeholders need a
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Drug Shortages Cost Hospitals Nearly $900M Annually in Labor
What You Should Know:
- A new analysis from Vizient® reveals the staggering financial impact of drug shortages on U.S. hospitals, with labor costs for managing these disruptions more than doubling since 2019.
- The survey, "Beyond the Shortage: The Hidden Cost of Drug Supply Chain Disruptions," found that in 2023, hospitals spent roughly 20 million hours managing drug shortages, translating to nearly $900 million annually in labor costs.
The Hidden Costs Go Far Beyond
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PwC: Health Services M&A Remains Durable Despite Headwinds
What You Should Know:
- Health services M&A activity has demonstrated remarkable durability, weathering a complicated macroeconomic and political environment to remain well ahead of pre-COVID levels, according to PwC’s US Deals 2025 Mid-Year Outlook for both Health Services and Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences.
- Through May 15, 2025, the market saw 445 announced transactions, bringing the last-twelve-month (LTM) total to 1,265 deals with a disclosed value of approximately
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Cohere Health Launches AI Tool to Cut Medical Review Time by 50%
What You Should Know:
- Cohere Health®, the leader in clinical intelligence solutions for health plans and risk-bearing providers, today announced the launch of Review Assist, a breakthrough agentic AI solution that improves medical necessity review efficiency by up to 50% with over 99% precision.
- Designed to work seamlessly with health plans' existing utilization management (UM) workflows and technology stacks, Review Assist reduces review time, eases administrative burden, and improves
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Walmart and Soda Health Launch “Everyday Health Signals™” Program for Medicare and Medicaid Members
What You Should Know:
- Walmart and Soda Health, a health technology company focused on smarter health benefits administration announced a collaboration to launch the Walmart Everyday Health Signals™ program.
- The strategic initiative will be available to select Medicare Advantage and Medicaid members, providing personalized nutrition and wellness guidance based on retail shopping insights.
- The program is designed to support day-to-day decisions for better health and
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Keeping Patients Connected: Strategies to Reduce Attrition in a Competitive Healthcare Market
For many patients today, staying with a provider is about more than just the clinical care – it’s about feeling heard, supported and in control of their healthcare journey. As consumers grow more accustomed to on-demand, personalized experiences in every aspect of their lives, their expectations around healthcare have also evolved. They’re more likely to seek out providers who don’t just deliver quality care, but also create a positive experience through convenience and responsiveness.
For
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Erlanger Partners with Qventus to Drive Surgical Growth and Patient Access with AI
What You Should Know:
- Erlanger, a nationally-acclaimed, multi-hospital health system, today announced a strategic partnership with Qventus, the industry’s premier provider of AI-based care operations automation software. The collaboration is aimed at driving strategic surgical growth and increasing patient access to advanced, minimally invasive da Vinci procedures.
- The investment in Qventus’ Surgical Growth Solution is part of Erlanger’s commitment to leveraging the latest AI
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Xsolis GenAI Pilot at Beacon Health System Reduces Medical Necessity Review Time by 68%
What You Should Know:
- Xsolis, an AI-driven technology company announced the initial results of its new generative AI (GenAI) solution pilot, which dramatically streamlines medical necessity reviews. Beacon Health System, a not-for-profit health system, piloted the new Xsolis GenAI solution and saw a significant decrease in administrative burden, which helped optimize precious clinical resources and streamline payer interactions.
- The results from the three-month pilot
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