One in five people over the age of 55 has at least one mental health concern, such as anxiety, or depression. As people age and their physical health declines, they can experience feelings of sadness, worry, and even panic. Moreover, debilitating chronic conditions can lead to less independence and more limited social interactions, which can exacerbate mental health challenges. If left untreated, negative thoughts and feelings can intensify, and in some cases lead to suicide attempts or
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Health IT & Digital Health-Opinion | Op-Eds | Guest Columns | Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
EMRs Are Outdated, but Big Tech Is Not The Answer
Over a decade ago, the “meaningful use” clause in the United States Affordable Care Act incentivized Electronic Medical Record (EMR) adoption. The purpose of this directive was to improve the transfer of laboratory data to point-of-care clinicians to help us make better, more informed decisions for our patients.
In the years that followed, EMR systems have proliferated globally; countries like New Zealand, Norway, and the Netherlands are reporting EMR usage rates above 90% for primary care
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3 Types of Data Are Transforming Clinical Care Through Cellular-based RPM
As the healthcare industry continues to embrace new technologies, remote patient monitoring (RPM) is becoming established as a way to help chronic patients remain in their homes with health supervision to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and visits to the emergency department, urgent care facility, or physician’s office.
RPM has been known for its ability to monitor a patient’s vital signs in near real-time and provide quantitative data to their care team over
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AI/ML Used for Clinical Trial-Site Identification Simultaneously Improves Enrollment Rates and Diversity
Ethnic and racial minorities are commonly underrepresented in clinical trials. This problem is so severe that in April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded upon existing guidance to further emphasize recommendations to sponsors developing treatments to increase enrollment from underrepresented populations in the U.S., including African-American, Hispanic, Asian and other persons of color, in clinical trials. In the updated guidance, the FDA provided details on what sponsors
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Minding the Gaps: 4 Traditionally Non-IT Roles Necessary for IT Success
As healthcare continues to digitally transform, integrating health data among various IT stakeholders demands much more collaboration than our predecessors could have imagined. Once focused intensely on preventing fraud, waste, and abuse and ensuring high-quality patient care, the compliance department is tasked with maintaining programs that meet the regulations and laws of numerous government bodies pertaining to various areas, especially electronic protected health information (ePHI).
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If You Are Not Using AI for Medical Coding, You Are Not Doing Your Job
A quick, efficient, and well-managed revenue cycle creates a solid foundation for a profitable medical organization. That’s why if you’re responsible for ensuring the health of your organization's revenue cycle and you are not using AI for medical coding, you are not doing your job.
Let me explain.
Some RCM professionals may see medical coding as a small portion of the revenue cycle; however, its reach is wide. The quality and accuracy of medical coding can either negatively or
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5 Behavioral Health Trends Coming Into Focus in 2023
For the past two years, behavioral health in the U.S. has taken center stage, but the true impact of COVID-19 on families is just now coming into focus. The lingering effect of the pandemic combined with social stressors on top of life’s daily pressures is all taking its toll on mental health. Instead of declining post-pandemic, as a nation, we’re continuing to see an increase in the number of people struggling with some form of anxiety and depression.Among some of the hardest hit are
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Inventory Management Systems Bolster Hospital Cost Savings Initiatives
For many hospitals and health systems, it’s been another challenging year. Increases in patient volume and modest revenue gains haven’t been enough to offset the impact of labor shortages and an inflation rate that reached a historic high in June. A recent Kaufman Hall report found most healthcare organizations had negative operating margins for the first half of 2022 due in large part to historically high expenses.
In the face of these ongoing operating losses, the industry has
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Protecting AI’s Boundless Potential in Healthcare
Artificial intelligence can do amazing things for patients, providers and the healthcare business — but only if the right cyber safeguards are in place.
For more than a decade, a cybercrime syndicate known as Evil Corp has tormented organizations around the world with malware and ransomware attacks. And now, it seems, the group has designs on healthcare companies.
“Evil Corp should be considered a significant threat to the U.S. health sector,” the Health Sector Cybersecurity
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3 Strategies for Benefit Administrators for a Successful Open Enrollment
Open enrollment season is here, and the stakes are high for organizations delivering employer benefit programs, especially as this year’s open enrollment period comes amidst the Great Reshuffle – a time when employees are transitioning jobs in large numbers. The Great Reshuffle has created a fiercely competitive labor market in which companies have to figure out new ways to attract and retain talent. This opens up a huge opportunity to rethink engaging talent-hungry employers.
Employees now
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