What You Should Know
The Affordability Crisis: According to the newly released 2026 Physician Sentiment Survey from athenahealth’s research hub, athenaInstitute, access to affordable healthcare has surged to become the #1 policy concern among physicians (52%, up a massive 14 points over the last three years), indicating that patient financial strain is now directly impacting clinical delivery.The Technology Paradox: While overall optimism about the U.S. healthcare system remains stagnant at
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Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare | News, Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Overlake Medical Center Deploys Hyro’s AI Agents to Automate MyChart Access
What You Should Know
The Partnership: Hyro, a Responsible AI Agent Platform, has partnered with Seattle-region nonprofit Overlake Medical Center & Clinics to modernize patient access and contact center operations.The Target: The initial deployment targeted a massive operational friction point: MyChart password reset requests. Previously, these requests required an average of seven minutes per call and cost the health system approximately $11.65 per interaction.The ROI: Within four months
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AI in Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management: Moving from Automation to Prediction
Revenue Cycle Feels Different Now
There was a time when revenue cycle performance was judged mostly by operational benchmarks. Claims processed. Days in accounts receivable. Staffing ratios. Those measures still matter, but they no longer tell the full story.
Over the past several years, something has shifted. Denials feel less predictable. Payer interpretations vary more widely. Documentation requirements seem to tighten without much notice. Revenue cycle leaders spend more time managing
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Third Way Health Secures $15M for AI-Enabled Operations
What You Should Know
The Funding: Third Way Health has raised an oversubscribed $15M Series A led by Health Velocity Capital (bringing total funding to $22.5M). This follows strategic 2025 investments from Astrana Health and MedPOINT Management.The Model: The company tackles healthcare's administrative crisis not just with software, but with an AI-enabled services model. They provide a hybrid front-office solution—combining AI automation with dedicated human teams—to handle scheduling, prior
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ARC Launches SmartER Ambient AI Platform at Sheba Medical Center Emergency Department
What You Should Know
The Launch: ARC (the innovation arm of Israel's Sheba Medical Center) has officially launched SmartER, a new ambient artificial intelligence platform deployed directly into its emergency department (ED).The Tech: Built in collaboration with the AI Center at Sheba and external partner ScribeMD, SmartER uses ambient listening to transcribe patient-physician conversations and automatically generate structured clinical summaries without manual typing.The Workflow Shift: The
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Qventus Launches AI-Powered Care Gap and Coding Automation Suite for EHR Workflows
What You Should Know
The Launch: Qventus has launched the Care Gap and Coding Automation Suite, an AI-powered platform embedded directly into the EHR to identify missed diagnoses, orchestrate clinical interventions, and complete documentation in real time.The First Module: The suite is debuting with Malnutrition Care Automation. Severe malnutrition is frequently overlooked in acute settings, resulting in longer hospital stays, higher readmission risks, and an average loss of $10,000 per
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Baba Emerges from Stealth with $6.5M to Launch Medicare Advocacy Platform
What You Should Know
The Launch: Baba, a new patient advocacy platform for older adults, has emerged from stealth with over $6.5M in seed funding led by General Catalyst.The Model: Baba embeds dedicated human advocates (nurses/social workers) into the care journey to handle "operational breakdowns" like insurance denials and scheduling. It pairs this with an AI companion for daily engagement—a hybrid model covered by Medicare and Medicare Advantage.The Backing: The startup is advised by
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How AI-Powered Voice and Situational Intelligence Improve Patient Access
Consumers continue to expect (and increasingly demand) less friction in their provider interactions and greater access to healthcare. The adoption of AI and automation is a powerful accelerator in transforming organizations to deliver consumer-driven access, which maximizes scarce organizational resources.
Scheduling and managing appointments sit at the heart of this shift. It is the primary definition of “access” for consumers and is often the most meaningful touchpoint a patient has
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Beyond Generative AI: Why Healthcare’s Next Leap Depends on Agentic Systems That Can Actually Do the Work
Healthcare’s administrative burden is not a documentation problem, it is a workflow problem.
Over the past year, healthcare organizations have widely adopted generative AI for an array of documentation-related activities such as drafting appeal letters, producing patient-friendly summaries, and even assisting with administrative writing. While these tools have improved how information is created, they do little to address the underlying issue: a fragmented, manual, and procedurally
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Frist Cressey Ventures Raises $425M Fund to Invest in AI-Native Care
What You Should Know
The Raise: Frist Cressey Ventures (FCV) has closed an oversubscribed $425M Fund IV, bringing its total assets under management to nearly $1 billion.The Strategy: The new fund will focus on early-stage healthcare companies transforming care delivery, with a specific emphasis on AI-native business models and tech-enabled services.The "Moat": FCV’s strategic Limited Partners (LPs)—including The Cigna Group, MedStar Health, and OhioHealth—provide healthcare to over 50% of the
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