Healthcare is undergoing dramatic shifts, including increasing demands on caregivers, changes in care settings (particularly after the pandemic), and technology advancements, to name a few. These changes are influencing the way clinical decision support (CDS) resources and tools are designed and delivered. Four systemic shifts that are fundamental to CDS resource development are: Changes in who is making care decisions.More choice and variety in how and where patients are being
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Health IT & Digital Health-Opinion | Op-Eds | Guest Columns | Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Hospitals Face Nursing Exodus as Contract Labor Band-Aid Fails
It is 2020. The world feels to be falling apart. Hospital leaders across the country face a daunting crisis. COVID-19 has put a strain on their care teams right at the moment when caregivers are needed most. The care team that is the most hands-on with care, which carries the brunt of direct care in hospitals, is the nursing staff. Many hospitals started the pandemic down 5-10% of their nurses. Then, during the pandemic, some nurses retired early. Some left care. Some died. Nursing
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CIO Perspective: The Crucial Role of a Trustworthy Consultant in Building a Sustainable Program
As a CIO with experience working with various consultants, I understand the importance of finding the right partner, especially in the realm of cybersecurity. Many consultants prioritize financial gains over personalized solutions, making it crucial to seek out ethical, committed and knowledgeable experts. In this article, I will highlight the key factors that make a good consultant, emphasizing the need for trust, a personal touch and a focus on tailored solutions. Seeking References and
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Edge Computing’s Role in Shaping the Future of Wearable Healthcare
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) has become an integral part of modern healthcare, utilizing wearable devices to track patients' conditions outside the clinic or hospital setting. Devices like these collect critical information from patients, such as their heart rate, activity levels, and temperature, which providers can use for real-time insights to guide treatment and identify conditions proactively. Due to the technology’s inherent advantages, providers and researchers have increasingly
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Game-Based Technology Keeps Seniors Happier and Healthier
If I told you to picture a gamer, what comes to mind? Likely a teenager or young adult sitting at a desk in their game room, which is outfitted with a multitude of monitors, gaming consoles, and other gadgets. The last image that would probably come to mind is that of a 70-year-old woman wearing a virtual reality headset and playing an interactive game. But you'd be surprised to learn that this is just as much of an accurate depiction of a "gamer" as the first example. Fifteen percent of
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The State of Digital Health Investment and What It Means for Health Organizations
Over the last several years there’s been significant investment in digital healthcare startups and growth-stage organizations, particularly those showing technical innovation that delivers improved health outcomes and more efficient care delivery models. Digital health organizations that translate investment dollars into quality outcomes will emerge as leaders by focusing on core challenges faced by major players across the healthcare industry. Recent trends shaping the digital health space will
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Biomaterial Technology Breakthrough: Addressing Immune Response Complications in Orthopedics
The last time we saw any meaningful advance in the development of biomaterial technology used in orthopedic implants, particularly in spinal implantation, was before Bill Clinton’s presidency. Since the 1990s, this field has remained relatively stagnant, with titanium and PEEK (polyetheretherketone) being the basis for virtually all spinal implants. However, both of these biomaterials have important limitations. Engineering historically has focused on the biomechanical aspects of spinal
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AI Empowers Healthcare: Streamlined Data, Supported Workers, Enhanced Patient Experiences
The healthcare industry is known for holding on to data – and for good reason. With valuable insights and patterns to be derived from patient information, more is more. Where healthcare IT departments run into issues is when this data becomes unmanageable: disorganized and siloed and partially stored in dusty offices with the rest sitting exposed on outdated legacy systems. My point? With more than 30 percent of the world’s data generated by healthcare systems, it’s growing impossible for
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Resisting M&As: 5 Steps to Retain Ownership for Mid-Size Healthcare Organizations
The healthcare landscape is continually evolving, and for mid-sized healthcare organizations, this evolution presents both challenges and opportunities. While larger healthcare systems may have more resources to tackle growth, smaller entities like medical groups, community hospitals, and rural hospitals often find it difficult to develop and implement growth strategies that can make a significant impact. For that reason, headlines are replete with news of medical group buyouts, acquisitions,
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Better Data for Better Health Among Medicaid Recipients
During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, over 10 million Americans enrolled in Medicaid – nearly a 14% increase from the beginning of 2020. A month before the public health emergency ended on May 11, 2023, 87 million individuals were enrolled in Medicaid. The increase was driven by multiple factors, including the pause of all periodic eligibility reviews during the public health emergency. Now, all Medicaid enrollees face the return of the redetermination process by state agencies – the process
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