When I ask primary care physicians about their biggest problems today, they share the excruciating pain they experience as the American healthcare system pushes them towards administrative work rather than letting them focus on true patient care and clinical excellence.
Some doctors described themselves as "square pegs in a round hole" for bridling under the system’s bureaucratic constraints. Others feel stuck in a "transactional world" of recordkeeping. They yearn to spend more time
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Health IT & Digital Health-Opinion | Op-Eds | Guest Columns | Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Making the Case for AI in Patient Experience and Education
As a physician, I’m captivated by artificial intelligence’s (AI) potential to revolutionize care, while simultaneously acknowledging the apprehensions that accompany such advancements — in particular the more topical large language models (LLMs) and generative AI.
Ready or not, there’s no question that AI will impact our industry; in fact, the market is expected to grow from $14.6 billion in 2023 to a staggering $102.7 billion in just five years.
An expanding array of use cases
In my
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How Healthcare Organizations Can Defend Against Ransomware
There’s no denying it - the need for stronger cyber defense is urgent. More ransomware attacks targeted healthcare in 2022 than any other critical infrastructure sector, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). With attacks on healthcare negatively impacting patient care – including increased mortality rates - healthcare organizations must adopt proactive approaches to better protect their patients and sensitive information.
In the spring, the Multi-State Information
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Will Value-Based Care Finally Fix EHRs Too?
In theory, electronic health records (EHRs) have the potential to transform the healthcare landscape. They were expected to provide a digital hub that would enable seamless communication and information sharing between providers, boost efficiency, improve the quality of care, and foster optimal patient and clinician experiences.
The reality, unfortunately, has not matched the possibilities.
While well-intentioned, the Federal Government’s 2011 Meaningful Use Mandate program—to
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How Facial Blood Flow Patterns Can Usher a New Era of Health Vital Monitoring
Those of us old enough to recall the 1960s TV series “Star Trek” were fascinated by Dr. McCoy when he would simply point a scanner at his patients and analyze their condition. What was once science fiction has now become a reality and the potential future state of medical device technology for the coming decades. This future state has been made possible since the advent of “Transdermal Optical Imaging” or “TOITM”. This novel form of remote photoplethysmography was the first globally to
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Chatbot Care Managers? Why ACOs Should Be Cautious in AI Adoption
Given Artificial Intelligence’s potential to improve patient care and reduce costs, it’s no surprise that AI applications are gaining momentum in health care. As your organization explores the benefits of AI in your journey towards Value-Based Care, however, you need to carefully assess the implications, for better and worse.
Evaluating AI implications can be tricky. Healthcare AI varies widely, with clinical technology paving the way for advancements in diagnostics and treatment. But
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Anxiety Screening For Adults Under 65 – What About 65+?
The alarm bells sounded when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force ( USPSTF) put out guidance that all adults under age 65 be screened for anxiety, but not those over age 65.
So 15 million Americans will not be screened for a potentially devastating condition, left undiagnosed and overlooked for treatment with the effective tools currently available now – needlessly unable to live full, rich lives.
Similarly, in the future, they won’t sufficiently benefit from exciting
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Addressing The Root Causes of Clinical/Non-Clinical Staff Burnout
It’s widely recognized that working in the healthcare sector is often exhausting, emotionally draining, and highly pressured.
The sheer volume and complexity of the daily workload, coupled with inefficient working practices and shortages of staff, are currently causing members of healthcare teams to be at particularly high risk of burnout. Approximately, one in three physicians is experiencing burnout at any given time, according to research.This is a condition that can have serious
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Why Companies Should Offer Direct Primary Care Benefits
While the Great Resignation may be ending, the Great Retention is in full swing. During the pandemic, Americans got comfortable with the flexibility workplaces provided - not just in terms of working remotely, but in flexible and convenient benefits as well. While employees are quitting less than the historic high recorded in 2022, employees are demanding better benefits from their employers. In fact, 78% of employees said they’d stay with their employer based on the benefits they
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How Digital Health Tools Can Help Promote Vaccine Adherence
A so-called “tripledemic” — the convergence of flu, RSV and COVID-19 — led to significant morbidity and mortality, and it also forced the cancellation or delay of numerous medical procedures at overwhelmed health systems. This year, there’s an RSV vaccine joining flu and COVID-19 vaccines, and it could help Americans avoid repeating history — but only if patients get recommended vaccines.
The events over the last several years have impacted the way many people view vaccines, sometimes
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