From the first artificial skin to driverless cars that navigate busy streets with ease, 2019 brought a dazzling array of artificial intelligence (AI) discovery. In 2020, the progress made toward AI-fueled collaboration will be as critical as AI innovation—especially in healthcare.
We’ve reached a point where AI has proven its utility. In radiology, for example, AI is well-oriented to interpret diagnostic imaging studies, with FDA approval given to AI algorithms that diagnose a collapsed lung or
Read More
Health IT & Digital Health-Opinion | Op-Eds | Guest Columns | Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Thinking Pink: The Case for Femtech in 2020 & Beyond
If health systems are going to retain and attract new customers, femtech is a critical starting place: it’s what women want.
In 2012, investments in female-specific health technology (femtech, as it has been coined) totaled $57M. By the close of 2019, they’re projected to reach $1B. That’s a 1651% increase in a mere seven years — and the numbers continue to climb.
The boom can be pinned to a multitude of causes, not least among them a growing (though still very much in the minority) number of
Read More
House Lifts Ban on Funding of NPI System: 7 Implications to Know
The House of Representatives recently voted to lift a ban prohibiting funding for a national patient identifier system (NPI) designed to improve patient matching.
So, what does that mean moving forward?
Let’s dive into the implications of the House’s vote.
What Will an NPI System Do?
Now that the House has lifted the ban on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) providing funding a national patient identifier, it’s important to become familiar with exactly what an NPI system
Read More
How Back-End Technologies Will Help Improve Patient Outcomes In 2020
For years, healthcare organizations have faced unique barriers to technological innovation. Enterprise-wide issues of disconnected systems and data, the slow speed of application creation, implementation, and maintenance, a lack of mobile capabilities, and the challenges of ensuring security, privacy, and compliance have made it difficult to innovate quickly to improve patient outcomes.
However, this paradigm is changing. In 2020, we will see big changes as healthcare organizations embrace the
Read More
Time’s Running Out: Why Providers Must Adopt Telehealth in 2020
Sometimes life just gets in the way. Work schedules, family obligations, and unforeseen circumstances can make going to the doctor an inconvenience rather than a helpful necessity. It’s not uncommon for patients to forget or intentionally skip appointments, cancel unexpectedly, or even put off scheduling necessary follow-up visits.
But patients don’t have to neglect their healthcare just because of a hectic work schedule or a last-minute meeting. Telehealth is emerging as a convenient
Read More
4 Ways to Make Security Training A Priority in Your Healthcare Organization
cc
Healthcare finally made the shift–it went digital. Overdue, perhaps – and maybe less rapid than the transition by other industries – but nonetheless notable. The age of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has dawned, and healthcare is riding the wave. You go, healthcare!
For healthcare organizations, the advent of IoMT means new technology tools like smart medical devices extending and streamlining care throughout the hospital. This gives clinicians more mobility and more efficiency
Read More
What Will It Take To Build The Uber of Medical Records? 3 Critical Steps to Consider
Our healthcare system has struggled with data silos and clumsy, antiquated data sharing practices forever and a variety of stakeholders will need to work together to achieve anything close to an “Uber of medical records.”
It’s well documented and understood that the healthcare industry has historically been slow to adopt new technology while other business sectors have welcomed it with ease. For example, while most industries abandoned the fax machine in the 1990s, as recently as 2017, fax
Read More
Youth Suicide & Depression Crisis: Can Health IT Make A Positive Impact?
Perhaps it’s because we live in an age of competing epidemics and crises—opioids, impeachment, homelessness, insulin—that youth suicide trends don’t warrant a front-page headline every week.The numbing, knee-bending statistics say they should.Per the CDC, suicide rates among young people 10-24 years old rose 56 percent between 2007 and 2017. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for that group after accidents like car crashes—paradoxical tragedies often caused by the excessive
Read More
Addressing Healthcare’s IT Security Oversight Challenges
Data theft within the healthcare sector continues to skyrocket, led by third-party data breaches and phishing attacks. Halfway through 2019, the number of patient records breached already exceeds the 2018 number by more than 10 million. Perhaps most concerning, many of the breaches lasted weeks or months before they were discovered.
Many health executives lack direct technology experience relevant to the healthcare industry, according to a Black Book Research survey of 308 executives. In
Read More
Can Digital Health Bridge The Low-Income Gap?
We’ve known for a few years that income correlates with health in a major way. From the length of life to stroke risk to self-reported health status, the more access, opportunity, and means of upward mobility a person has, the better their projected health outcomes.
Waves of organizations are stepping up to help put things on a better course. Accountable and managed care organizations like Upward Health are working with payers, providers, and local governments to bring doctors, nurses, and
Read More