Insurance has a long enrollment process that goes against the modern technology experience in all other areas of our lives, says National Practice Leader Gay Davis of Noyo.

In a short time online, organizations can capture more patient concerns, reduce more open cases and improve staff experiences, says Alpa Vyas of Stanford Health Care and Dr. Adrienne Boissy of Qualtrics and The Cleveland Clinic.

RevSpring coordinates patient interactions from pre-care to post-care to payment for rural organizations with limited resources, says Kristen Jacobsen, VP of omnichannel engagement and marketing. 

"Finding out the patient is high-risk after they are diagnosed with cancer is too late," says Dr. Eric Brown, surgical oncologist and breast multidisciplinary team co-lead.

Its integrated care helped earn two of its plans earn 5 stars in the most recent MA star ratings.

The lifespan for Americans has decreased from age 78 to 76 in the past year-and-a-half, says Andy Davis, principal for Deloitte Consulting’s Health Care practice.

Leaders at provider organizations must consider a distributed landscape for healthcare and health IT and various new technologies, says William Lewkowski, vice president of HCTec, a healthcare consulting firm.

Protect your data and stay compliant with private AI architecture .

Unifying clinical communication improves ED patient flow

Encourage collaboration for more personalized treatment plans

Dylan George, director of the CDC's Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, explains how the new public-private collaboration InsightNet is using advanced analytics and biosurveillance to respond to disease outbreaks and prevent future pandemics.

Get insights from patients’ histories and clinical decision support

Kalderos focuses on drug programs to make sure they’re in compliance with the laws that created them or the contracts signed to negotiate those discounts, says President Micah Litow.And, don't miss the HIMSS AI in Healthcare forum coming up December 14 and 15. Taking place in San Diego, this is a must-attend event will cover everything you need to know about the adaptation of AI into your healthcare system. Learn more and register at https://www.himss.org/event-ai-healthcare-forum. Sign up today and use promo code HIMSSPOD23 and save 25% off your registration!https://www.himss.org/event-ai-healthcare-forum

Connect your organization with a unified collaboration platform

The ability to give clinicians and care teams the right tools - integrated into their workflows and evidence-based - has a direct correlation not just with improved quality and outcomes, but better patient experience. These care tools can result in large amounts of data although much of it is retrospective. To truly optimize clinical decision-making, healthcare organizations need insights across a patient population. By leveraging these aggregated real-time insights during the patient care journey, providers can make more informed decisions that lead to better patient outcomes. In this podcast, we'll speak with clinical informatics leaders and patient engagement experts about how data analytics and technology can be used to enhance clinical decision-making, optimize care delivery, and improve patient experience across the healthcare organization. We will discuss the next steps in CDS analytics and how to ensure that the medical information delivered through these technologies is accurate and reliable.

Explaining the bill, offering payment flexibility and finding financial assistance is critical, says Seth Cohen, president of Cedar.

DeLorean AI’s CEO & Founder, Severence MacLaughlin speaks about how AI can offer real-time support for improved patient health, enhanced value-based care, and decreased care costs and the challenges of AI adoption and overcoming barriers.

Deploying AI to handle authorization decisions can improve patient experience.

Learn how healthcare organizations are elevating staff experiences.

Rich Amelio, vice president of healthcare IT operations and consulting at consulting firm e4health, talks what’s needed during big EHR and other system changes to protect cashflow, improve data integrity in new systems, and drive better system adoption and satisfaction.

The Emergency Department is perhaps the singular environment in a hospital where the greatest concentration of decisions are made with the least amount of clinical data; and the acuity-level assigned at triage can massively impact the trajectory of care for apatient. Additionally, Emergency Departments in the United States have experiencedunprecedented levels of crowding over the last two decades, with correlation to worsened patient outcomes, preventable errors, and staff burnout.In 2017, the ED at Johns Hopkins deployed a CDS tool that leverages AI to generaterisk-driven triage acuity recommendations, instead of relying on resource-based ESI. The tool has provided more reliable detection of patients with critical illness and reduced the time patients wait for care. They’ve also seen marked decrease in those assigned to the mid-acuity level 3, and instead more utilization of the low-acuity levels 4 and 5, which lends to better fast-track throughput for those patients who are to be discharged.Jeremiah Hinson, MD PhD, will speak of his experience developing and utilizing the toolwith his team at Johns Hopkins.

Pharma & Healthtech partnerships have great potential. But delivering on thesepartnerships brings hurdles and challenges. From misaligned expectations to differences in culture and communication, it can be hard for the two worlds to find effective collaboration. Hear from Ameya Phadke, PhD. Patients Non-Pharma Solutions Leader at Chiesi Pharmaceuticals and Dennis Hermann, Head of Europe at Kaia Health discuss their partnership, as well as Dan Weinstein, Associate Principal at ZS Associates describe broader trends.

The mandate could have a detrimental effect on providers who can’t meet staffing levels, says Lee Hudson Teslik, founder and CEO of Reverence.

Clinical decision support is needed to handle the avalanche of data and to advance value-based care, says Yaw Fellin, VP of Products and Solutions for Wolters Kluwer Health’s Clinical Effectiveness team.

Prophecy International is an Australian based, publicly traded corporation thatstarted in the early ‘80’s. For over 40 years, Prophecy’s ever-evolving focuscontinues to bring reliable, secure, and trustworthy software solutions tomarkets across the globe. In the early 2000’s, Prophecy acquired its flagshipcyber security product, Snare, which was designed for the Australian military and defense. Snare’s suite of solutions continues to be a market leadingcentralized log management solution which is adopted by large enterpriseorganizations, military & defense, and government agencies through the world.

Drug+ care models allow patients to recover at home.

Moving forward on value-based care requires the collective weight of employers in these models, says APG President and CEO Susan Dentzer. 

Challenges and considerations for pharma and device companies.

While whole person care depends upon secure portability, there are three pathways to consider, according to Dr. Ben Zaniello, chief medical officer of PointClickCare.

Ferdinand Hamada and Matt DeFrain of MorganFranklin Consulting discuss the existing and evolving threat landscape – and give some tips on robust business continuity approaches.

The fastest growing part of healthcare expense is the current 20% of the bill that commercial patients owe, says PayMedix CEO Tom Policelli.

States are taking widely different approaches to the redetermination process, says John Barkett, managing director at Berkeley Research Group and a former White House Senior Policy Advisor.

Collaborate without risking patient confidentiality using Zero Trust Data

Dr. Don Rucker, chief strategy officer of 1Uphealth and former ONC chief, gives updates on TEFCA, FHIR, where the industry is at in terms of support, and what the main questions/comments/concerns from stakeholders are

Automation and AI represent time savings that take work out of the system, says Laudio CEO and cofounder Russ Richmond.

Control costs, increase care access and elevate patient experiences.

Ryan Sousa, chief data and analytics officer at Children's Minnesota, spells out what that data problem means for the future of health IT, and talks about AI and the right to health.

Amish Patel, CTO of Elevance Health, and Niranjan Ramsunder, CTO of UST, discuss how to build tech foundations for whole-health experience in a fast-evolving health tech landscape.

The number of connected devices in the healthcare industry is growing at an unprecedented rate. While designed to connect to the network, these devices were not developed with security in mind, leaving a large attack surface that requires constant monitoring, patching, and remediation. Bad actors pursue the lowest barrier to entry in efforts to accomplish theft, extortion, and service disruption.John Vecchi, Chief Marketing Officer at Phosphorus Cybersecurity, joins the HIMSScast to discuss the challenges in securing xIoT devices, like Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), the personal nature of healthcare data, and the steps organizations can take to disappoint bad actors.

Dr. Melek Somai, CTO at Inception Health, a subsidiary of Froedtert Health, discusses incorporating cloud-native architecture, agile methodologies, product-driven development and DevOps.

Explore the results of the HHS hospital cyber resiliency report

Venky Anant, a partner at research and consulting firm McKinsey Digital, walks through how the technology can and is being used, and how health IT leaders need to respond.

Manage resource challenges and streamline staff workflows

Matt Doyle, interoperability software development lead at Epic, discusses the company's data exchange efforts and describes its plans to help advance patient care across its 2,000 hospitals and 600,000 physician users.

Dr. Oscar Alleyne, managing director of the public health division inside the health federally funded research and development center operated by MITRE, talks technology, equity, workforce and policy.

More than 50% of medical devices have known vulnerabilities that are published and available to cybercriminals, says Mark Bowling, chief risk, security, and information security officer at ExtraHop.

Move beyond PACS-based strategies to leverage cloud capabilities

Eddie Ades, executive advisor at Booz Allen Hamilton and former associate director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offers his perspective on data modernization imperatives.

Craig Behm, CEO of CRISP and CRISP Shared Services, explains how health information exchanges, regional health networks and other organizations building out the data sharing ecosystem. And he explains how hospitals and health systems should be partnering with those groups to broaden interoperability and advance the movement of key clinical and public health data.

Premier’s holistic balance dashboard brings together elements of hospital operations to reveal gaps, says President and CEO Mike Alkire.

A reduction in clinical note taking leads to better outcomes for both patients and physicians facing burnout, says Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli, co president and CEO of Cooper University Health Care.

Dr. Blackford Middleton, a preeminent figure in health IT who now is working on learning health systems, talks what provider CIOs and other health IT leaders must consider while moving forward with AI.

MPulse Mobile is a digital engagement platform for payers to engage members and improve outcomes, says CEO Bob Farrell.

The AI approach could vastly improve the efficacy and accuracy of ECG assessment, as the model enables interpretation of cardiac readings as language.

Jennifer Eaton, research director, value-based healthcare IT transformation strategies, at IDC Research, details these steps provider organizations can take to help their patients – and their overall quality.

This National AI R&D Strategic Plan – with key updates from OSTP for the first time in four years – describes the priorities and goals for federal investments.

Madaket Health coordinates real-time data between providers and payers, says CEO Eric Demers.

The rule would allow CMS to have more insight into what the most expensive drugs on the market actually cost to manufacture and distribute.

Ryan Oliver, research director at KLAS, discusses the correlation between Best in KLAS status and successful implementations, and offers a deep dive into some of the most important implementation best practices for provider organizations.

Names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, medication lists and health insurance information were exposed in the breach

CMS has indicated its support by releasing RTM monitoring codes last year, says Bronwyn Spira, CEO and cofounder of Force Therapeutics, a digital care management platform.

What platforms can do to improve healthcare leaders' confidence.

David Metcalf, PhD, director of METIL.org at the UCF Institute for Simulation & Training, offers a deep dive into the Machine Learning and AI Forum at April's HIMSS23 Conference & Exhibition.

Masimo sued Apple in 2020 for allegedly poaching its employees and stealing trade secrets related to smartwatch technology.

Non-licensed but trained staff can make sure high-risk patients are safe and comfortable, says Lauren Prepchuck, Crothall Healthcare’s head of Patient Observation.

Experts discuss how healthcare data can help drive health equity initiatives and improve patient outcomes.

Smaller hospitals face having adequate funding and capital constraints, says Kate Pierce, Fortified Health Security’s senior virtual Information security officer, who testified before the Senate’s Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee.

QliqSOFT Founder & CEO Krishna Kurapati talks about how digital assistants can automate routine tasks and simplify administrative workflows to allow for patient engagement outside of healthcare facilities.

Increase your organization’s data access and accuracy.

Manav Sevak joins HIMSSCast to discuss Memora Health's tech platform that aims to help patients and providers manage complex care. The startup recently raised $30 million.

Albert Marinez, chief analytics officer at Intermountain Healthcare, offers perspective on artificial intelligence for performance improvement: building effective models with "AI building blocks," getting buy-in from various stakeholders and more.

Julie Rish, associate chief improvement officer of design at the Cleveland Clinic, explains the principles of human-centered design and how they apply in healthcare.

Dr. Sonya Makhni, medical director of Mayo Clinic Platform Solutions, discusses some fast-evolving trends around artificial intelligence in clinical settings: promising use cases, deployment challenges, algorithmic integrity, patient safety and more.

Patricia A. McGaffigan, vice president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, discusses how health systems lost ground on patient and provider safety during the COVID-19 pandemic and where health IT can help.

Healthcare leaders discuss strategies for overcoming resistance to adopting analytics platforms.

The agencies came to this conclusion after a meeting of the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, which released its annual reports late last week.

An estimated 771 alarms per bed, per day were measured at peak at John Hopkins and other locations, says Ophir Ronen, CEO of CalmWave

The lawsuit criticizes PBM market consolidation, which has left the three largest PBMs, including Express Scripts, in control of more than 75% of the drug market.

How healthcare organizations are implementing AI & ML tools

Robert Booker, chief strategy officer at the Health Information Trust Alliance and a 30-year cybersecurity veteran, offers healthcare provider organizations his expertise.

Telehealth services are not a luxury for millions who cannot access in-person healthcare. A poor digital experience can result in an incorrect diagnosis, misinterpretation, risks, poor patient care, and low adoption. Are healthcare organizations willing to take the risk by turning a blind eye to poor Telehealth visits? In this podcast, Hubble IQ co-founder & CRO will discuss how healthcare organizations can proactively anticipate and avoid technical challenges that impact the digital experience of Telehealth.

In this podcast, experts from Amazon Web Services and Quantiphi discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications can play an enablement role in overcoming challenges and barriers along the journey to micro-targeted personalized care.

The new IBM Quantum System One now deployed at Cleveland Clinic is being touted as the first on-site private sector IBM-managed quantum computer in the United States.

Innovations that advance care play the largest role in the increased cost of healthcare, says Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil.

Paul Robke, President and Founder of Sparrow.AI discusses the challenges that must be overcome to bring innovative, accurate solutions to the healthcare market to improve patient outcomes.  Process, defects and technology hurdles can be overcome to enable the subject matter experts to truly impact the end result of healthcare.  Our healtchcare and healthcare technology community has the best and brightest minds on the planet yet getting their solutions to market is riddled with problems.  How do businesses unlock revenue streams in a timely manner to keep funding improvements to the healthcare market?

CMS is saying the advance notice would result in a little over 1% increase for Medicare Advantage plans, while payers are saying this would result in a more than 2% decrease

Telehealth and virtual care are enabling cost savings and streamlined access to treatment and second opinions, says Frank McGillin, CEO of The Clinic by Cleveland Clinic.

The partners said their deal would pair the health system's established telehealth and hospital-at-home programs with Best Buy's in-home services and supply chain.

Consumers don’t care so much about price but  what they’re going to pay out-of-pocket, says Cedar President Seth Cohen.

The top drug agency proposed tighter limits for online prescriptions of some medications, such as Adderall and opioids.

Sri Velamoor, chief growth and strategy officer at NextGen Healthcare, offers some thoughts on managing and improving EHRs, and discusses what appears to be a fast-consolidating vendor landscape.

What healthcare organizations can expect under this law

BioPlus provides a range of specialty pharmacy services for patients living with complex and chronic conditions, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis C, autoimmune diseases and conditions in rheumatology.

The security, mobility and reliability benefits of cellular technology

The trend is toward add-on transactions to bring in smaller companies, says Vin Phan, partner and national leader of BDO’s Healthcare Transaction Advisory Services practice.

The company said adding Natural Cycles' technology will "give users more detailed insight into their menstrual cycle."

Dr. Jackie Gerhart, VP of clinical informatics at Epic, and Phil Lindemann, its VP of business intelligence and analytics, discuss data-driven improvements that are enabling design of better trials and delivery of better healthcare.

Defendants purportedly engaged in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts to people seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses.

Dr. Kedar Mate, president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, explains why adding health equity to the Quadruple Aim is so important, and how it affects provider CIOs.

Rosendale has harshly criticized the VA's new EHR since 2021, citing operational inadequacies and implementation struggles, as well as the expense of government funding. 

The NSA’s “baseball arbitration” seeks to take patients out of the middle of provider and payer negotiations over rates, says K&L Gates Health Care partner, Gary Qualls.

Value-based care is emerging in the healthcare ecosystem, largely due to its ability to offer benefits for everyone from patients to physicians to payers. With the power of data and analytics, users can track and improve patient outcomes and control healthcare costs while delivering better quality of care. Patient 360 can provide an optimal experience to patients and healthcare providers with first-rate payment integrity.

Optum Rx positioned the tool as an enhancement of the company's ability to offer a lower price on generics at about a 90% rate.

Steve Irvine, founder and CEO of integrate.ai, explains how a lack of quality data is hindering clinical AI models – and describes how federated learning approaches can enable secure access to a wider array of datasets.

The AG’s office accused drugmakers of "unlawful, unfair, and deceptive business practices"; GE HealthCare said it plans to fund the acquisition with cash on hand.

In their service lines, hospitals need to think about whether they can be all things to all people, says Peter Urbanowicz, a managing director with Alvarez & Marsal.

In this podcast, experts from Amazon Web Services and Quantiphi discuss how healthcare organizations can empower the healthcare workers with AI & data.

Carbon said its shifting it focus to its core primary care and urgent care services; 44.4% of ransomware attacks were disruptive to healthcare.

Mutaz Shegewi, research director at IDC Health Insights, discusses the research firm's 10 health industry predictions for the next year and beyond.

The telehealth group's ATA Action affiliate also praised the package for including provisions delaying the Medicare telemental health in-person requirement.

Hospital systems should focus on internal answers to the supply chain and not rely solely on group purchasing, says David Pennino, founder & CEO of LogicSource.

Drive-by downloads are a major entry point for sophisticated threat actors to deploy destructive ransomware. And cybercrime research shows these attacks are not limited to unwanted browser extensions and tech support scams but are also executed through threats like SocGolish, GootLoader, DarkTortilla, and others. Keith Jarvis, CTU technical lead for cybercrime research, investigates the state of the drive-by download in 2022 where it maintains its place amongst malspam, scan-and-exploit, and credential theft as the preferred infection vector for malware. Keeping up-to-date on these and other evolving threats helps prepare your organization to defend against attack.

Socio-economic factors such as geographic location, educational background, occupation, access to healthcare, etc. significantly impact a person’s health. With the power of AI to analyze complex interrelated patient data, multiple links to social determinants of health (SDoH) are revealed, which can positively impact health outcomes. Patient 360 and AI together can help make healthcare support services available to disadvantaged populations and develop inclusive policies.

Senior Security Researcher and intel analysis lead for cybercrime Tim Mitchell will discuss how ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) has significantly lowered the bar to entry for cybercriminals. As a result, the scale of ransomware operations has expanded, allowing cybercrime groups and their affiliates to exploit more networks resulting in higher revenue. Expertise has also improved as each element of the process has become specialized, making ransomware the formidable threat it is today.

Join members of the HIMSS Government Relations team as they look back at an eventful election – and look ahead to what its results might mean for 2023 and beyond.

Threat actors have been escalating cyberattacks on healthcare, especially during Covid, with devastating ransomware attacks that cripple most health systems. What can we do to be more resilient against those attacks to protect our organizations and patients?

One in 2 CFOs predict stagnating or declining operating margins this year, says Tina Wheeler, U.S. Health Care Leader at Deloitte

BehaVR and OxfordVR say their combination creates the largest virtual reality healthcare delivery platform; Color Health has partnered with NIH to offer no-cost follow-up clinical DNA tests for patients.

HIMSS Media editors from Healthcare IT News, MobiHealthNews and Healthcare Finance News get out their crystal balls and look to the year ahead.

Why integration of medical devices is criticalto patient care - Connecting medical devices, such as infusion pumps, patient monitoring systems and dialysis machines, to the electronic medical record (EMR) can help maximize resources while providing a pathway to critical clinical information. “Medical devices were seen as only able to deliver a therapy or service. That is changing,” said Donny Patel, vice president, Enterprise Technology at Baxter. “The real value of connectivity lies in delivering information that helps clinicians care for patients more efficiently or effectively – and medical devices can be an important source for that rich information.”

Healthcare organizations are facing unprecedented challenges: high staff turnover leading to nursing burnout, hiring of temp/travel staff requires regular onboarding and hits tight budgets, and scheduling in-person meetings and trainings can become bottlenecks. Mixed Reality simulation offers a fully virtual, on-demand tool. Users can train where they want, when they want reducing scheduling bottlenecks and reducing training T&E spend. It also supports reinforced learning and repetition, combatting the loss of information.

Pitfalls and opportunities with medical device data aggregation, storage, and consumption/usability – Healthcare data is growing exponentially, driven by multiple factors including the prevalence of consumer health devices, connected medical devices, and remote patient monitoring solutions. Aggregating and analyzing the mass amounts of data available can make a significant impact on the outcomes of patients through better insights into the diagnosis and treatment of disease. However, many challenges exist to bridge the gap between data and ‘valuable information’.

This discussion will focus on the security& privacy issues associated with remote patient monitoring applications and devices, including medical IoT (Internet of Things) devices.  We’ll discuss how NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, Langone Medical Center, and Center for Cybersecurity are collaborating on innovative research and educational programs around cybersecurity and healthcare.

United allegedly paid the group 30% of the amount the judges determined to be fair; recent cyberattacks provide precedent for FBI’s mitigation efforts.

In this special edition of HIMSSCast, recorded live at the HIMSS Healthcare Cybersecurity Forum in Boston, McKesson's Roshal Marshall talks about those issues and others: AI integrity, information blocking compliance and more.

Audits uncovered about $12 million in net overpayments for the care of 18,090 patients sampled; AGs say lax rules for safeguarding reproductive health data could harm patients or providers.

Geisinger's strategic plan has resulted in a redesigned workflow, cost savings and a happier workforce, says  Emily Fry, VP of Innovation Operations at Geisinger.

This discussion will focus on the dangers of fragmented digital identity. Digital identities, or the unique identifiers and credentials an individual uses to interact online, are the most important part of an organization to secure. Although many solutions can bolster cybersecurity, a holistic digital identity management strategy is the best way to secure user identity and access without hindering workflow productivity. Organizations should implement products that follow this strategy, not uncoordinated solutions.

As healthcare embraces the cloud for surge capacity, agility,  and to alleviate supply chain challenges, bad actors are intentionally targeting the industry.  Comprehensive data management and ransomware protection is now critical.  Please join Veritas for a discussion on protecting your healthcare organization from the edge to the cloud.

The accelerated digital transformation in healthcare has extended the healthcare ecosystem exponentially. Wearables and monitoring devices, the acceptance of telehealth as a care modality, and the explosion of patient-facing apps – and more — have all taken cybersecurity from something that was in the backroom in the mid-2000s to the boardroom today.Given recent high-profile ransomware attacks affecting patient care and data security, the stakes have never been higher when it comes to ensuring care continuity while meeting expanding regulatory requirements.The healthcare and life sciences cybersecurity profession must continue to meet the pace of need with the pace of speed when it comes to ensuring operational resilience, patient safety, and data security — into 2023 and beyond.

Blockchain expert Maria Palombini, director, healthcare and life sciences practice lead, global business strategy and intelligence, at the IEEE Standards Association, discusses where the tech is making progress and where it's lagging.

Healthcare is no different from other industries from a threat landscape perspective. Of course, the stakes are higher because hospitals are responsible for ensuring the care of their patients, but the protections needed are quite standard. In this podcast we debunk the myths of healthcare cybersecurity. We focus on strategic security initiatives you must take specific to healthcare, how to invest in the right personnel, and immediate steps needed to secure your sensitive patient and organizational systems. 

Patient data collected from doctor visits, diagnosis, and medication, as well as the data collected through wearables play a huge role in delivering care. However, healthcare data is very complex and carries sensitive information making it difficult to share healthcare data and provide a unified view.With Apexon’s Patient 360, built on AWS, we enable healthcare firms to overcome data silos, securely process and monetize their data, achieve HL7/ FHIR interoperability, and enable regulatory reporting and compliance by leveraging pre-built accelerators and reference architecture. 

How Cyber Threat Intelligence can protect your network

There are higher levels of organizational trust and a reduction in the after-hours workload, but staffing issues remain; Amazon’s clinic will operate in 32 states.

Mutaz Shegewi, research director, provider IT transformation strategies, at IDC Health Insights, talks where EHRs are evolving to, innovations leading the evolution, and where EHR technology will be in 10 years.

Assessing how to counter growing threats and attacks

Building a better way forward through strategic partnership

Why healthcare must invest in cybersecurity transformation

The VillageMD deal includes investments from Walgreens Boots Alliance and Cigna subsidiary Evernorth; Mark Warner, D-Virginia, wants to establish a new senior leader accountable for healthcare cybersecurity.

Tyler Cohen Wood, co-founder of Dark Cryptonite and a former U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency deputy division chief, talks where CISOs, CIOs and other health security leaders should begin, educational best practices, things to avoid, and how to keep cybersecurity education going.

Ransomware continues to remain the primary threat facing organizations, according to  the most recent Secureworks® 2022 State of the Threat Report. Despite a series of high-profile law enforcement interventions, public leaks, and a small slowdown over the summer months, ransomware operators have maintained high levels of activity. Join Secureworks Security Threat Researcher Alex Tilley as he discusses ransomware and what you can do to defend against it.

Rediscovering a decades-old cybersecurity protocol

Sophia Genetics' data display module leverages Microsoft Azure services to provide AI and machine learning capabilities; Teladoc CEO says the economy may determine the company’s outlook.

Babylon Health Global Chief Equity Officer discusses going digital in Rwanda and how lessons there can be applied in the U.S.

The use of intelligent medical devices increases health providers’ risk exposure—and that that the consequences of a cyberattack can go far beyond mere data theft. People’s health and safety are also on the line. Decrease the risk exposure with adversarial testing. Adversarial testing is essential to ensure the safety of patients, the confidence of regulators, and the continued acceptance of a technology that is transforming healthcare for the better.

Secureworks® State of the Threat Report 2022 has seen a 150% rise in the use of infostealers, making them a key precursor to ransomware. Join Secureworks Security and Threat Researcher John Mancuso as he discusses the growing concern of infostealers malware, malicious software targeting your information. This malware targets almost anything that a cybercriminal can use to turn a profit, from login credentials to stored browser information and cryptocurrency data. 

HIMSS is advocating for the protection of COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities; Cerebral said its cuts would affect employees across the company, while Philips is planning on making cuts of its own.

Robin Farmanfarmaian, co-author of the new book How AI Can Democratize Healthcare, discusses how virtual therapeutics, voice recognition and fast-evolving artificial intelligence tools are opening new avenues in home-based care.

Adopting a multi-level approach to data protection

In this podcast, experts from Amazon Web Services and Quantiphi discuss how healthcare organizations can create positive patient experiences by bridging siloed data across the patient journey.

The feds claim Cigna artificially inflated the payments it received for MA coverage, while the new Calm Health app I designed to bridge the gap between physical and mental healthcare.

Necessary healthcare leadership skills have been changing for CIOs, CMIOs and other health IT leaders after the industry-changing events of the COVID-19 pandemic. J. Bryan Bennett, executive director of the Healthcare Center of Excellence, offers leaders help in navigating the changing environment.

The number of contracts earning 4.5 stars is also down significantly, as is the number of four-star plans, though Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and UnitedHealth Group continued to fare well.

Miriam McNicholas, Hackensack Meridian Health

UnitedHealthcare has activated an emotional support line, while others are waiving prior authorizations and adding support services. 

Digital twins form the foundation of Gridraster’s work

HHS data reported that breaches of healthcare facilities rose 55% in 2020, with nearly 1 million patients affected monthly.

Healthcare IT organizations have weathered numerous storms over the past two years—and the lessons these teams learned while on the forefront of the pandemic are shaping their approaches looking ahead. Automation initiatives and the resulting workforce transformation are delivering real-world operational efficiencies while improving the patient experience. Hear Dr. Yan Chow, Global Healthcare Leader at Automation Anywhere and Marcus Johnson, Managing Director of Delivery at Lumevity, Highmark Health’s transformation specialist, discuss how automation has and is improving key aspects of the business.

The merger will combine the owner of the nation’s largest health insurer and one of the nation's largest electronic data interchange clearinghouses.

Michael A. Stoto, PhD, professor emeritus in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the School of Health at Georgetown University, discusses what every health IT leader needs to know about these Affordable Care Act mandates.

The DHS final rule applies to non-citizens requesting admission to the U.S. or applying for a green card from within the country.

With a new mandate looming, Timi Leslie of Connecting for Better Health explains how Golden State stakeholders are working on the huge project of building an info exchange infrastructure for providers, payers and public health agencies.

Patients need to see their hospitals as their full continuum of care providers, says Duane Fitch, healthcare partner for Plante Moran.

Praduman "PJ" Jain, CEO of Vibrent Health and a principal investigator of the NIH All of Us Research Program, talks about patient engagement and more.

“We can engage patients when engagement needs to happen,” says Andrew Lovewell, CEO Columbia Orthopaedic Group.

David Bucciferro, vice chair of the Electronic Health Record Association and co-chair of the association's Opioid Crisis Task Force, explains how electronic records make a difference.

An explosion of data within healthcare coupled with new regulatory requirements are adding pressure to the already overworked medical industry. Automation can relieve many of these pressures – but some are hesitant to implement these solutions due to preconceived opinions. In this podcast, Dr. Yan Chow, Global Healthcare Leader at Automation Anywhere, will unpack the top five myths associated with automation in healthcare to help you overcome implementation barriers within your organization.

What’s needed is communication, education and access, says Dr. Cheryl Rucker-Whitaker.

April Kapu, DNP, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, talks about how health IT can hurt and benefit nurses in their daily routine, and gets to the heart of the nursing shortage.

John Kansky, president and CEO of Indiana Health Information Exchange, discusses how statewide and regional exchanges have evolved during the pandemic – and predicts where they're headed next.

In healthcare, the simple correlations of data isn’t good enough, says Stephen Zander, chief analytics officer at Cedar Gate Technologies

The unparalleled nursing shortage facing the health care industry in a post-pandemic world is a result of many contributing factors, some that have been developing for decades. Hospitals cannot function without nurses, and we are just now starting to fully understand some of the far-reaching consequences of this shortage.  In this podcast, Joel Ray, CNO at UNC Rex Health describes the extent of the nursing shortage, the real consequences of being understaffed at their facility, and how technology has helped them, both now and in the future.

With Google, Meta and others pushing the envelope in artificial intelligence research, Chirag Shah, professor at the iSchool at the University of Washington, talks practical and ethical considerations.Additional reading can be viewed here:https://www.healthcareitnews.com/blog/sentient-ai-convincing-you-it-s-human-just-part-lamda-s-job

Strategies for protecting clinicians across the industry.Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, violence against clinicians was a pressing concern for the healthcare industry – with violence about four times more prevalent in healthcare than in any other industry. The pandemic has added new stressors and exacerbated those already present, leading to an uptick in workplace violence against clinicians across the country. Join host Mike Miliard as he talks to Jennifer Schmitz, president of the Emergency Nurses Association and chief nursing officer for Southern Maine Health Care, and Whitney Lloyd, VP of Customer Experience at Baxter International, about what strategies have worked for them in addressing workplace violence – and what digital tools have helped.

The Congressionally enacted Information Blocking Rule takes effect across all healthcare system on October 6. This legislation will put new pressure on hospitals and medical establishments to provide patient-requested medical records in a timely manner—or face costly penalties. Automation can help. Hear Dr. Yan Chow, Global Healthcare Leader at Automation Anywhere share approaches to address this new regulation. 

The CEO of the American Telemedicine Association, Ann Mond Johnson, discusses the ATA's CEO Advisory Group on Using Telehealth to Eliminate Disparities and Inequities, and digs deep into various telehealth topics.

The director of virtual care at Detroit's Henry Ford Health System discusses optimizing telehealth integration into care pathways, conducting comprehensive exams via video and improving digital literacy.

Rebecca Pinn, director of innovation strategy at EPAM Continuum, describes how non-clinical technologies such as TV monitors and wearable smart objects can enable a more human-centered approach to inpatient stays.

Shahab Vagefi, managing director at investment firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, specializes in healthcare information technology. He paints the landscape, talks how he "picks his spots" and reveals what's top of his mind on the sliding market.

There is a need to bring non-traditional organizations into value-based efforts, says Lynn Carroll, COO HSBlox

Firstsource uploads contract information to give patients a bill estimate, says Randall Shafer, executive VP and Global Head, Hospital Business.

Health Systems and Life Sciences organizations continue to be exposed to ransomware attacks during the global pandemic with increased impact to patient care and exposure to large global integrated health delivery systems. Patients have recognized significant patient care impacts such as rescheduled surgeries, increased patient wait times, delayed COVID-19 test results, and challenges filling prescription medications.  This presentation will provide healthcare executives a guide to understanding how their organization is positioned to protect against emerging ransomware threats.

Sponsored: Dan Dennis, Hyland Software’s senior vice president and chief information security officer, outlines how organizations can navigate the ever-changing cyber threat landscape and keep staff engaged through talent retention and training.

Physician Partners of America has agreed to pay $24.5 million for allegedly billing for unnecessary services, while the American Hospital Association says CMS’ proposed rule doesn’t increase payments enough.

(Sponsored) Building an agile, resilient and scalable infrastructure  

This week: The end of the public health emergency is nearing; Federal agencies hit with EHR outage. Plus: Akili's video game-like intervention improved users' cognitive functioning.Links to the stories:HHS is giving clear signals of wind down of public health emergencyEHR outage takes down federal Cerner systemsAkili Interactive's DTx improves cognitive function in adults with MDD

(Sponsored) Jennifer Jones, CNIO at Integris Health, explains how standardizing and optimizing their care communications technology may help lead to better and safer workflows for their caregivers and ultimately stronger outcomes for patients.

The world has gone digital. How are you adapting? In this episode, we are sitting down with Julie Campbell, VP of Healthbox to talk about digital strategy. Healthbox, a HIMSS solution, supports and advises orgs that are developing, adopting, and investing in the digital solutions that will transform healthcare. How do our preconceptions about seniors, Medicaid, cybersecurity, EMR/EHRs, and digital strategy influence our progress towards the ideal digital health ecosystem? Join us as we walk through the myths holding back digital transformation and how we can use the Digital Health Indicator (DHI) to build a plan to overcome them in the post-COVID world.

From registration to imaging, smart hospitals deploy AI, IoT, 5G networks, and other technologies from edge to cloud for improved connectivity and secure data sharing to deliver better patient experiences, streamline workflows, and reduce costs. On this podcast, we’ll be focused on how virtual care is being reimagined; transforming patient rooms and critical care environments to streamline operations and improve patient care. Chris Gough, General Manager of the Health and Life Sciences at Intel, works with partners and hospital systems of all sizes to solve complex challenges related to the future of care. In-patient virtual care solutions that utilize predictive analytics, machine learning, and computer vision technologies are becoming more prevalent and have expanded. We’re seeing applications expand into remote patient observation, virtual ICUs, and many more. The benefits of these virtual care solutions include improved patient outcomes, increased operational efficiency, and reduced COVID-19 exposure for both patients and healthcare staff

Healthcare IT News Executive Editor Mike Miliard sat down at HIMSS22 with Google Cloud Director of Global Healthcare Strategy and Solutions Aashima Gupta and Healthcare and Life Sciences Industries Managing Director Joe Miles to discuss the future of hybrid care, what COVID-19 revealed about information silos and how technology can strengthen human-to-human connections.Talking points:-How interoperable data is driving strategy and insights-COVID-19 shined a bright light on the siloed information in the industry-What Google Cloud is hearing from customers-Helping providers and payers have better visibility into problem areas-Is hybrid care the new future?-Seamless data exchange is necessary for patient experience-How to make sense of unstructured data-AI helping to reduce costs and make the system more intuitive-"Big AI" versus "small AI"?-Lowering the barriers to AI adoption-The acquisition of Mandiant-How healthcare rose to the challenge of the pandemicMore about this episode:Google Cloud, Amwell foresee a 'new narrative' of virtual careGoogle Cloud Healthcare API focused on interoperability, during pandemic and beyondGoogle Cloud unveils AI tools to help healthcare analyze unstructured medical textGoogle Cloud intros new interoperability platformAI can play a key role in turning unstructured data into actionable insightsGoogle to acquire Mandiant for $5.4B

Hi from HIMSS22! We're on the ground in sunny Orlando, Florida, for Global Conference. In this episode, Healthcare IT News Senior Editor Kat Jercich is joined by Executive Editor Mike Miliard and Executive Editor Susan Morse to talk about what they've seen at the conference and any predictions for next year.Talking points:-Using the hard lessons of COVID-19 as inspiration moving forward-The importance of using data to address inequities-Data cleanliness and governance as AI takes a larger role in healthcare-How clinicians can be supported in times of increasing stress and burnout-What cybersecurity experts have to say about ransomware -How the pandemic has accelerated change-Any predictions for next year?More about this episode:HIMSS22 opening keynote: 'What will we do to reimagine health together?''Recognize it, monitor it, audit it': Taking action to avoid biased healthcare AIHealth inequity solutions require data, analytics and awareness turned into actionTo work toward health equity, 'be a data detective'National Coordinator: TEFCA will enable 'North Star' architecture for public health60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley addresses workforce challenges at HIMSS22

Health equity takes a village: community leaders, providers, payers, and most importantly, the patients themselves. Join Ankoor Shah, Accenture’s Health Equity Lead, community member Nicole Gyimah, and Kelly Binder from Unite Us as they speak to the challenges patients face when trying to access healthcare, as well as how systems can form community-led collaborations to drive forward health equity.

In January, President Joe Biden announced plans to reignite the Cancer Moonshot, setting the ambitious goal of reducing the cancer death rate by 50% over the next 25 years.Through genomic testing, precision oncology and immunotherapy, the goal is reachable, said Dr. Suresh Nair, Physician in Chief at Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Topper Cancer Institute, in an interview with Healthcare Finance News Executive Editor Susan Morse. Talking points:Innovations include strong robotic surgery programs for less invasive treatments and faster recoveryThe alliance reduces the delay between cancer research and care due to advancements in technologyThe Topper Cancer Institute, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, is participating in clinical trials on the molecular profiling of tumors. This is a real-time tumor tracking systemGenomic testing, precision medicine and immunotherapy will help reach the goal of the Cancer Moonshot to reduce the cancer death rate by 50% over the next 25 yearsThe combined expertise of multidisciplinary teams in cancer treatment can leverage new research and clinical trials, sometimes years ahead of other cancer research and treatmentThe alliance allows for the rapid deployment of increased standards of care – in real time – as new research becomes available.More about this episode:CMS expands coverage of lung cancer screening with low dose computed tomographyThe benefits of using genomic data for health systems and patientsCancer patients potentially overlooked in COVID-19 vaccine rolloutAetna launches gene therapy network as a standard medical benefitLack of diversity in clinical trials influences drug development

Fitbit Ionic smartwatches recalled due to burn risk; ONC analyzes information blocking claims. Plus: More than $1 billion in annual excess healthcare expenditure due to turnover of primary care physicians.Links to the stories:Fitbit recalls Ionic smartwatches due to burn hazardONC receives nearly 300 info blocking reportsPrimary care physician turnover leads to almost $980M in excess healthcare costs

This week: EHRs vulnerable to cyberattackers, agency claims; Senators urge CMS to keep Medicare Advantage rates stable. Plus: Mindler purchasing Medified Solutions Oy for an undisclosed sum.Links to the stories:HHS cyber arm warns of EHR vulnerabilitiesSenate calls on CMS to keep Medicare Advantage rates stableMindler scoops up Finnish mental health tracker Medified Solutions Oy

A negative billing experience can cause patients to lose trust in a provider. Michael Axt, Chief Member Empowerment Officer for Zelis, talks about enabling the patient financial experience from initially shopping for services to post-service financial responsibility. 

This week: Mayo irks insurers by ceasing MA patient scheduling; Mercy locks down ICU after online attacks . Plus: VillageMD announces plans to buy chronic care management company Healthy Interactions .Links to the stories:Mayo Clinic halts scheduling of out-of-network Medicare Advantage patients'Baseless attacks' online trigger lockdown at Oklahoma hospital ICUVillageMD buys chronic care management company Healthy Interactions

With private equity investing billions, digital products are in a boom period. Clover COO Jamie Reynoso, whose area of expertise is on health insurance innovation, talks about what healthcare leaders need to know about the intersection of digital health and private equity. 

Healthcare organizations are at the center of clinical technology innovation, and with good reason: Healthcare technology advancements need to remain focused on the patient experience. Join Mobile Heartbeat VP of Product Management Bill Reid as he provides insights into the development of clinical collaboration technology. Learn how to future-proof your organization’s technology investments, and develop an actionable strategy for transitioning to cloud technology.

This week: Racial, ethnic minorities experience worse care than whites; Amazon Care expanding to 20 new cities. Plus: Epic announces Cheers, a new customer relationship management system.Links to the stories:Medicaid enrollees in minority groups experience worse care than white counterpartsAmazon Care expanding in-person services this yearEpic to showcase new CRM system and more at HIMSS22

This week: VA struggling with data migration into Cerner HER; AliveCor debuts personal ECG tech. Plus: Federal court bans Martin Shkreli from pharmaceutical industry for life.Links to the stories:Watchdog: VA did not ensure quality of migrated data in EHR modernization effortsAliveCor rolls out credit card-sized ECGCourt bans Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli for life from the pharma industry

When payers adopt electronic payments, reimbursement can be slowed down by legacy systems and manual processes. Kimberly Scaccia, VP of Revenue Cycle for Mercyhealth, talks about end-to-end solutions to accelerate the payment cycle. 

(Sponsored) Pandemic-induced delays have exacerbated gaps in patient care. Technology can help empower your clinicians to close these gaps and boost the overall success of population health management programs.

This week: OSHA rescinds vaccine mandate for employees at large companies; Akili to merge with Social Capital. Plus: Vulnerabilities found in Log4J logging tool.Links to the stories:OSHA scraps rule mandating vaccines for large employers after SCOTUS decisionVideo game therapeutic developer Akili Interactive to go public via SPACFeds: Health sector bad actors 'actively leveraging' Log4J vulnerabilities

The future includes decision-support tools, remote patient monitoring and digital therapeutics, says Jodi Daniel, partner in Crowell & Moring’s Health Care Group.

This week: U.S. on high alert as Russian cyber actors target healthcare; MA emergency orders meant to ease staffing strains. Plus: Thread purchases inVibe for an undisclosed sum.Links to the stories:Feds sound alert on Russian cyber threats amid potential Ukraine escalationMassachusetts governor releases emergency orders to ease strain on the healthcare systemDecentralized clinical trial platform Thread scoops up voice tech inVibe

(Sponsored) Some organizations are abandoning population health programs because of inability to scale. Population health success requires taking a marathon approach; ensuring leaders and providers are committed to the long haul is key.

This week: EHR vendor QRS sued following cyberattack; New York mandating booster shots for healthcare workers . Plus: Headspace Health acquires Sayana.Links to the stories:EHR vendor hit with lawsuit following data breachNew York now requiring COVID-19 boosters for healthcare workersHeadspace Health acquires mental wellness tracking, sleep app maker Sayana

This week: Former Theranos CEO found guilty of fraud; Broward Health reports data breach incident . Plus: Healthcare is among the top three industries cited in a 3% rise in the monthly "quits rate."Links to the stories:Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes found guilty on 4 of 11 chargesHackers breach info of 1.3M in Florida health system incidentHealthcare second largest sector hit by Great Resignation

(Sponsored) Digital healthcare has long-term potential to improve the patient experience, particularly in reducing costs and removing barriers to care. Combining AI and data with digital endpoints for patient care is the future of healthcare.

The technology leader looks back on his decision, 10 years ago, to transition a 130-year old diversified conglomerate into a company focused on healthcare. He also describes the forward-looking investments Philips is making in data and informatics – and discusses the future of telemedicine, remote monitoring, imaging,  artificial intelligence, patient experience and more.

To give patients the healthcare experience they expect, providers and payers must first free themselves from rigid data architectures, legacy hardware, and monolithic patient record and care applications. Hear how Humana is using FHIR to address these challenges and build the future of connected healthcare.

The American Telemedicine Association and other business groups want Congress to continue allowing telehealth services to be treated as an excepted benefit, and senior assistance company Papa raises $150 million in Series D funding.

Health care employee well-being is often touted as a business necessity, and strong evidence confirms that it’s smart business. Accenture’s multi-industry “Care to do Better” study shows how it unlocks workers’ full potential, with significant positive business impact. The study references the Accenture “Net Better Off” framework, which quantifies human well-being in terms of six dimensions. Learn how human pressures affect your health workforce and uncover our four suggestions to leave your staff (and business) better off.

After its rapid adoption during the pandemic, virtual care is here to stay. Going forward, providers must balance in-person and virtual care to provide a seamless experience for patients along every step of the care journey.Lisa Johnson, managing director, Tegria, and Srini Surendranath, Chief Product & Strategy Officer, Andor Health, discuss how understanding the patient journey is vital for developing workflows that incorporate both virtual and in-person care.

A shortage of nurses and other healthcare workers continue to hurt hospitals' financial performance, and senior living communities and health systems will soon be able to use the Alexa voice assistant at scale.

Democrats push for healthcare provisions in reconciliation bill; Google unveils mobile version of Care Studio. Plus: Providence CIO touts benefits of AI and machine learning.Links to the stories:CBO estimates $553 billion price tag for healthcare provisions in reconciliation packageGoogle rolls out mobile app version of Care StudioHow CIOs are prioritizing AI investments for the next 5 years

Here  why Fast Interoperability Health Resources, or FHIR, is the new agent of change in healthcare.  Organizations around the world are capitalizing on FHIR adoption, using the new data standard to kickstart their legacy modernization and digital transformation journey.

Medicare Advantage star ratings released; Security firm raises FIN12 ransomware attack concerns. Plus: Withings receivesan FDA clearance for Scan Watch’s ECG and SpO2 monitoring features .Links to the stories:See the rankings: More than 70 health plans earned 5 stars in Medicare Advantage star ratingsCyber experts warn of 'aggressive' threat actor targeting healthcareWithings scores FDA clearance for smartwatch ECG and SpO2 monitoring

Join Mobile Heartbeat Chief Operating Officer, Mike Detjen, as he uses his expertise to project future capabilities of the clinical collaboration space.

Lenovo will discuss what was learned by attending all the sessions at HIMSS.  They will offer their impressions and opinions for how Lenovo can best adapt and transform the way we got to market and productively enable our customers.  We want to be the number one technology provider that Healthcare leaders think about when making new technology decisions.

Cerner mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all U.S employees; SWORD Health acquires wearable firm Vigilant Technologies . Plus: Air ambulance services among commercial insurers have risen 27.6% .Links to the stories:Cerner announces vaccine mandate as Feinberg takes the reinsSWORD Health buys workplace health-focused wearable company Vigilant TechnologiesAir ambulance charges rise 28% in four years, analysis finds

Digital transformation has increased exponentially in the healthcare industry over the past year, as organizations harness the power of digital to reach patients, accelerate research and develop new therapies to beat the global pandemic. Unfortunately, this digital transformation has been paired with an increasing cohort of highly capable cyber extortionists that have been using ransomware to compromise operations and hold patient data hostage to extract money from health organizations. As ransomware attacks become more rampant and advanced in our industry, the risk of an organization falling victim is more real than ever. In light of this reality, one question stands central for all of us: how do we make sure we are prepared to prevent and respond to a ransomware attack.

As Healthcare organizations explore how to evolve the care delivery model, they must consider how to safely evolve within an ever-increasing threat landscape. Modernizing Healthcare IT solutions provide great promise to improve Secure Care environments, but in order to ensure adoption and achieve maximum value, all stakeholders must be involved.Join  Kevin Crosby, Dell Technologies Healthcare Director, Americas as he discusses how Healthcare IT can enable innovation and the evolution of the care delivery model, ultimately helping Healthcare providers provide better outcomes for the organization and their patients.

Walmart to begin rolling out Epic platform in its healthcare centers; 73% of metropolitan areas are controlled by large health insurers . Plus: Amazon adds to its fitness tracking line with Halo View.Links to the stories:Walmart Health announces partnership with EpicAMA: Nearly three-quarters of metropolitan areas are concentrated health insurance marketsNew Amazon Halo device and features compete against Fitbit, Apple Fitness+

In this new episode of the HIMSS21 Changemaker Podcast series, a HIMSSCast production, Healthcare IT News Executive Editor Mike Miliard speaks with Sue Feldman, RN, PhD, director of the graduate programs in health informatics at University of Alabama at Birmingham.We chat about some of her projects at UAB before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the “Map it, Zap it” coronavirus symptom tracker she has helped develop, and the GuideSafe initiative she spearheaded with support of Alabama’s governor, which has helped maintain in-person learning at schools across the state.We also discuss her ethos of “innovation, implementation and collaboration” and learn more about new health IT projects she’s working on as we seek a new normal beyond the public health emergency.Earlier this year, HIMSS (parent company of Healthcare IT News) named the first recipients of the Changemakers in Health Awards, meant to recognize leaders worldwide who are harnessing information and technology toward better health outcomes. Check back in the weeks and months ahead for more podcast interviews with other healthcare leaders from this year’s list.Themes and talking points in this Changemaker Podcast episode:The health and safety trackers developed and stood-up quickly at UAB in March 2020How those tools enabled safer reopening and face-to-face learning in Alabama schoolsLessons learned and surprises from the COVID-19 pandemicWhy it’s important to have a “We can do this!” approach to technology challengesHow public health crises can spur lasting innovationHow Feldman’s experience as a nurse shapes her IT and informatics work

Hospitals poised to lose $54B in net income this year; Apple looks to create new mental health detection feature . Plus: Ransomware attacks during COVID-19 have impacted patient safety and care availability.Links to the stories:Hospitals projected to lose $54 billion in net income this yearApple looks to digital biomarkers for features detecting depression, cognitive declinePonemon study finds link between ransomware, increased mortality rate

Lawsuit alleges Aetna discriminates against LGBTQ+ members; Organizations at security risk due to skills gaps. Also: Elvie launches smart breast pump.Links to the stories:Aetna hit with lawsuit claiming LGBTQ+ fertility discriminationSkills gap in healthcare IT industry cause security threats, according to new reportElvie launches new smart breast pump in the US covered by insurance

The chief innovation officer of Geisinger's Steele Institute for Health Innovation discusses how COVID-19 led to new thinking about technology-enabled cost and quality improvements – and why the pandemic has shown that fee-for-service doesn't work.

Amazon expanding telehealth and in-person care to 20 more cities; Cityblock Health raises $400M in funding round. Also: AHIP is concerned about the timeline for an interim final rule on surprise billing.Links to the stories:Amazon looks to bring telehealth, in-person care to 20 more citiesCityblock rakes in $400M for platform focused on Medicaid and low-income populations and other digital health fundingsAHIP wants more time for insurers to implement the interim final rule on surprise billing

California union workers score raises in new contracts; Inspiration4 to collect data on effects of space flight. Also: Telehealth should focus on interoperability, usability.Links to the stories:Caregivers at three California Tenet Healthcare hospitals approve double-digit pay raises in new contractsInspiration4 mission expands health research on spaceflightStanford researchers: Telemedicine optimization requires training, interoperability

Feinberg’s departure, and Google’s strategic shift, has raised questions about whether big tech firms are truly equipped to take on the healthcare space.

FHIR, AI, and the cloud are reshaping healthcare, radically altering how organizations engage with patients. Learn how to embrace the changes, and drive more meaningful healthcare outcomes with MongoDB. Patients expect a more personal and digitally enabled healthcare experience. In this podcast, Jeff Needham, Principal, Healthcare Solutions and Robert Oberhofer, Head of Product Solutions at MongoDB discuss how the most successful providers and organizations will be those who embrace new technologies, like the cloud, and leverage data to deliver the best patient experiences and health outcomes.

Healthcare IT is on the cusp of finally realizing the long-discussed, much-hyped, yet ever-elusive promise of true interoperability. Why now? Because of the cloud, and cloud vendors’ embrace of open standards in their APIs. The cloud also offers other potential benefits to healthcare IT – for instance, wider use of AI and robust analytics – but the real game-changer will be widespread system interoperability. In this podcast, PatientKeeper CTO John Kelly discusses how the migration of health IT to the cloud will make the vast trove of patient data that has been digitized over the past decade more broadly accessible and clinically useful.

As technological advances continue to disrupt the traditional primary-care model, providers must find a way to reconcile patients’ expectations for personal attention and on-demand service with an increasingly tech-driven healthcare landscape.

COVID-19 pandemic exposes vulnerabilities in the digital ecosystem; CMS anticipates $33 Medicare Part D Premiums . Plus: WellSky is deepens its social determinants of health offerings by acquiring Healthify.Links to the stories:Healthcare data breaches on the riseMedicare Part D average premiums to increase nearly 5% in 2022, CMS saysWellSky beefs up community care tools with Healthify acquisition

Health systems across the board are increasingly embracing digital transformation initiatives as the impact of the pandemic subsides.  The events of the past year have highlighted areas in need of immediate change that demand a different approach.  Key among these changes is simplification of the clinical IT experience, reducing and removing IT backpressure that distracts caregivers from the clinical experience.  By deliberately approaching the resources and information clinicians need, presented as a simplified and aggregated set of tools, Healthcare IT can accelerate the digital transformation efforts.

As Point-of-Care Ultrasound use continues to proliferate through the healthcare landscape, organizations are being challenged to properly capture, manage, and integrate that imaging content with the rest of the enterprise. It is imperative to develop a strategy early in your adoption of POCUS for consistent management of all types of clinical images. Proper planning ensures their availably and integrity for both clinical care and future research efforts. Julie McDonald, RN (Senior Customer Success Manager) and Lyle McMillin (Product Manager) will walk you through considerations and best practices Hyland has discovered for developing end-to-end POCUS workflows.

In this new episode of the HIMSS21 Changemaker Podcast series, a HIMSSCast production, Healthcare IT News Executive Editor Mike Miliard speaks with Isaiah Nathaniel, chief information officer at Delaware Valley Community Health, a private, non-profit health system, based in Philadelphia, that provides medical, dental and behavioral health services to patients – whether or not they're able to pay.In this interview, Nathaniel explains how Delaware Valley Community Health, which operates seven Federally Qualified Health Centers in the region, was able to respond to the early days of the COVID-19 public health emergency, and configuring and scaling up its IT resources and telehealth capabilities. He talks about interoperability, public health information exchange, vaccine outreach, SDOH data management and much more.In June, HIMSS (parent company of Healthcare IT News) named the first recipients of the Changemakers in Health Awards, meant to recognize leaders worldwide who are harnessing information and technology toward better health outcomes. The awardees will be recognized at the 2021 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, scheduled for August 9-13 in Las Vegas. Check back in the weeks and months ahead for more podcast interviews with other healthcare leaders from this year's list.Themes and talking points in this Changemaker Podcast episode:The importance and the value of FQHCsHow DVCH was able to maintain its full workforce during the pandemicDeploying telehealth capabilities in just a week and a halfEnabling interoperability that's equitableBuilding technology that better serves the patient and provider experienceLinks related to this episode:HIMSS names 2021 Changemaker Award winnersThe role of health systems in empowering communitiesHospitals facing big hurdles to public health data reportingDigital health literacy as a social determinant of healthFCC awards Massachusetts FQHC Telehealth Consortium $3.1MDigital health tools can help with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancyMedical groups urge racial data collection efforts for COVID-19 vaccinations

Jenna Date and Adam Paulisick will share their ‘how to’s’ on the interactions, environment and process it takes to make services and products simple. They collaborated with a brilliant cross-functional team, and together they created a mobile interface for physicians. The team started with empathy for the doctors they served, they mixed in Human-Centered Design and a good dose of the agile development process. What emerged was a simple product; built by, and for, physicians. With wit, speed and a bit of humor, Jenna and Adam will retell their story, and reveal the growth mindset and 'secret sauce' that made the team’s collaboration a success for the physicians they serve.

Amwell pursues M&A to grow into new markets; AMA joins the call for mandatory vaccines for healthcare workers . Plus: The Department of Veterans Affairs will not continue to deploy its Cerner electronic health record at any more sites for at least the next six months.Links to the stories:Amwell furthers behavioral health, patient automation services via SilverCloud, Conversa Health M&AAMA adds voice to providers and others calling for vaccine mandates for healthcare workersVA will stop Cerner EHR rollouts until next year

Mobile Heartbeat CEO, Ron Remy, shares his perspective on the evolving clinical communication & communication landscape across the healthcare continuum. He explores the developing market needs and emerging trends that are informing the roadmap of his company.

Hear how enterprise IT strategies present numerous opportunities for improving and transforming healthcare including; improving administrative efficiencies, facilitating clinical advancement, and improving staff efficiency across numerous health system departments. As organizations look for a competitive edge, a cohesive IT strategy is critical to avoid the short-term outcomes of patch work approaches.

Direct contracting reimbursement model proving popular among payers and providers; Mass General teams with YouTube to tackle medical disinformation. Also: Gamified strategies show only modest success in changing people's health behaviors.Links to the stories: Providers, payers see direct contracting's capitation as an important move to value-based careYouTube tapped to support access to accurate medical infoGamification boosts physical activity, healthy behaviors in new study

Security is not just a hardware or software issue. Privacy is not a static filter and safety is not just about signage.  Our world has changed, along with the working environment, threat landscape, and the lines between work and life.  Today’s IT Leaders need tools to address compliance. Technology partners can help IT Leaders address privacy, security, and safety compliance issues.  In this podcast, we will discuss these 3 compliance focus areas and give real world advice on how IT Leaders address these areas with support from their technology partners.

The 2020s mark the transition to digital-first healthcare. By 2023, 65% of patients worldwide will have accessed care through a digital front door as healthcare providers look for better ways to improve access, engagement, and experiences across all services. As such, the rapid adoption of virtual reality, 3D print, telehealth, artificial intelligence (AI), microfluidics and other innovative technologies are enabling healthcare providers and patients to access their information conveniently and in real time. Such digital enabled technologies are supporting care coordination across the care continuum, connecting providers and patients, and bringing care to patients when and where it is needed. However, this rapid march to digital transformation has also shone a harsh spotlight on the digital divide in healthcare. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 1 in 8 Americans lives in poverty, with low-income individuals having lower rates of smartphone ownership (71%), home broadband access (59%), Internet use (82%), and basic digital literacy (53%).Listen in as Fran Ayalasomayajula, HP’s Head of Digital Strategies and Daniel Colling, Global Head of Healthcare Solutions and Practice talk about patient-first technology innovations ranging from VR, 3D Print and AI to Hospital at Home, Point-of-Care Diagnostics and Intelligent Care Coordination. In this episode, we’ll explore what happens when such technologies are developed and intentionally implemented with these communities in mind. This will be an engaging discussion on the new frontier of care delivery, one that brings all providers and patients together and has a positive impact on patient outcomes. 

The pandemic showed healthcare organizations the importance of mobility, collaboration and streamlining clinical workflow. Going forward, IT departments can better support providers in delivering patient care by leveraging these lessons.

Explore the most pressing challenges of the post-COVID landscape, and discover how Hospital Automation technology is the linchpin of an elevated telehealth platform that bothpatients and clinicians can depend on.

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has flagged unreliable IT infrastructure cost estimates; A recently approved Alzheimer’s drug could strain Medicaid budgets . Plus: Amazon gets FCC clearance for radar sensors for remote sleep monitoring.Links to the stories:VA EHR update: Watchdog flags unreliable cost estimates, training deficienciesNew Alzheimer's drug could cost Medicaid more than $2 billionFCC gives Amazon green light to use radar for monitoring sleep

Explore the most pressing challenges of the post-COVID landscape, and discover how Hospital Automation technology is the linchpin of an elevated telehealth platform that bothpatients and clinicians can depend on.

In this episode, we discuss some of the key steps in moving to the cloud, focusing on four core concepts to help make your migration as smooth as possible.  Understanding your workloads, people and processes are critical to any major shift in operations, but this is magnified with a shift into cloud environments.  We talk with Jonnie Irvine, a Principal Architect with Hyland Cloud Services with experience in public and private cloud migrations from both sides of the process.

Medical, social services organizations advocate for passage of a new social determinants of health bill; Fitbit files patent for a ring that collects medical data . Plus: Supreme Court to hear challenge to HHS move to cut 340B drug reimbursement.Links to the stories:Hundreds of stakeholders support passage of SDOH bill in CongressFitbit patent reveals it could be working on a health monitoring ringSupreme Court to decide legality of drug payment cuts to 340B hospitals

CMS lacks authority to ensure hospital preparedness for next pandemic, says OIG; Virtual health company Ro plans to buy Kit in second acquisition in two months . Plus: Telehealth usage starting to decline as the pandemic wanes.Links to the stories:OIG says CMS lacks authority to ensure hospital safety during pandemicsRo purchases at-home diagnostic company Kit, marking its second M&A in two monthsReport: Telehealth use beginning to taper

Scripps Health hit with multiple lawsuits following a ransomware attack; Amazon Web Services seeks to boost technical training for 10 digital startups. Plus: Five Blues plans launch for-profit pharmacy solutions startup.Links to the stories:Scripps Health hit with class action suits after ransomware attackAWS looks to digital health with new acceleratorFive Blues plans launch Evio, a for-profit company focused on lowering drug prices

A direct-to-consumer telehealth company looks to expand globally with new acquisition; AHA asks Express Scripts to rescind its 340B claims policy. Also: EHRs say customers can establish greater patient control over record-sharing with Apple Health app.Links to the stories: Hims & Hers eyes UK expansion with Honest Health acquisitionAHA wants Express Scripts to rescind 340B claims reporting policyCerner, Meditech to support record-sharing via Apple

Health Current’s CIO Keith Parker and IMO’s Chief Strategy Officer Dale Sanders discuss big data management in healthcare: challenges and lessons learned.

UnitedHealthcare institutes policy allowing it to retroactively deny ED claims; Apple unveils walking stability assessments in iPhone update . Also: Mount Sinai Health System teams with Caregility and Language Line to help cater to patients with limited English proficiency.Links to the stories:UnitedHealthcare looks to retroactively deny emergency room claimsApple adds walking stability, family and provider health sharing, and more at WWDC 2021Mount Sinai eases translation in 200 languages through its Epic telehealth platform

President Joe Biden’s proposed 2022 budget includes funds set aside for healthcare, including health IT infrastructure and the Strategic National Stockpile. Plus: A new digital health accelerator with a focus on pharma.Links to the stories:HHS: Biden's FY22 budget will invest in pandemic preparedness, expanding affordable careBiden's $6T budget includes cybersecurity, broadband infrastructureNew accelerator aims to help pharma and digital health companies get on the same page

Hospital financial performance beginning to improve, though there’s still a long road ahead; Google helps fund new data platform that highlights COVID-19 impacts on marginalize communities . Plus: FBI warns of Conti ransomware attacks on healthcare and first responder networks.Links to the stories:Hospitals saw gains in volume, revenue and margin in April, finds Kaufman HallGoogle rolls out Health Equity Tracker platform, highlighting disparities between communitiesFBI warns of Conti ransomware attacks targeting U.S. healthcare networks

Angel Mena, MD, and Steven Rube, MD, discuss the challenges of managing and sharing patient data post-pandemic and lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis. Merging clinical, technical and data realms to capture and share patient data most effectively has been ramping up quickly during the pandemic, according to Steven Rube, MD, Senior Vice President, Global Clinical Services, IMO. He and Angel Mena, MD, Adult Medicine Physician, TriHealth, and  CMIO of Clinician Collaboration Platform, Halo Health, share their expertise on adapting technology to the clinical world in this podcast.Specifically, Mena and Rube talk about:The impact of the pandemic on provider organizations' access to patient dataHow technology can overcome bottlenecks to patient data accessLessons learned to ensure accessing complete picture of patients post-pandemic

Cyberattack leads to a network outage at Scripps Health; HRSA tells 6 drugmakers they’re in violation of the 340B statute. Also: Google using AI to help patients find answers to dermatology questions.Links to the stories:Scripps Health network still down, 2 weeks after cyberattackSix drugmakers are in violation of 340B statute, says HRSAGoogle gives a sneak peek into its new AI dermatology assistant

Susan Collins, Twilio’s Global Head of Healthcare Services, joins us to discuss the changing landscape of healthcare and the need to consider both the provider and patient when thinking about consumerization. Learn about strategies healthcare organizations can take to create a sustainable patient-centric experience that enhances value-based care.

CaptureRx ransomware attack exposes patient information from multiple provider systems; Insurers are concerned that telehealth reimbursement parity may lead to overutilization. Also: Bigfoot Biomedical receives FDA clearance for its Bigfoot Unity Diabetes Management System.Links to the stories:Thousands of patient records exposed after ransomware attack on CaptureRxTelehealth reimbursement parity spurs insurer concerns of overutilizationFDA greenlights Bigfoot Biomedical's insulin recommending diabetes management system

Biden Administration aims to get 70% of Americans at least one vaccine dose by July 4; Healthcare among the top industries affected by tracked ransomware incidents . Also: Employer health benefits management platform Collective Health has scores $280 million in Series F funding .Links to the stories:Biden sets new goal of 70% of adults getting the COVID-19 vaccine by July 4Healthcare hackers demanded an average ransom of $4.6M last year, says BakerHostetlerCollective Health scores $280M to scale employer health benefits platform

Encouraging girls and young women to study for careers in health IT is ongoing. Experts say it will take years to reach gender parity. In this podcast, IMO CEO Ann Barnes talks about her philosophy on what’s needed now, the changes she’s made in her company and how the health IT industry can come together to bring about gender equity in a cohesive, collaborative way.In this podcast, we’ll discuss:•Learning from one another to bring more parity to the health IT industry•Best practices in developing women leaders in health IT•How the industry is collaborating and sharing best practices for greatest impact

On this podcast Christina Sung, Twilio’s Director of Product for Healthcare,  shares how scalable and secure Programmable Video solutions are easily integrated into clinical workflows throughout the patient journey.  She discusses  the benefits of a platform approach versus a point solution and the tools that providers should consider as communities adjust to hybrid in-person and virtual health appointments.This podcast is presented jointly with Twilio.

A healthcare coalition releases a framework protecting the safety and security of patient information; Biden signals goal to lower ACA premiums, deductibles and prescription drug costs. Plus: Accolade eyes the telemedicine space with the acquisition of PlushCare.Links to the stories:Patient ID Now coalition releases national strategic framework for identity, matchingIn his first joint address, Biden promotes giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug pricesAccolade acquires virtual primary care platform PlushCare

In this podcast, presented jointly with Twilio, we welcome Twilio’s Sr. Global CX Consultant, Mauro Faili joins us to talk about innovation and different strategies to reimagine your communication operations using the existing data your system has. Additionally, learn about different ways you can personalize your patient communication.Mauro Failli is a Senior Global CX Consultant is currently the team lead for Twilio Foundry - a consulting practice designed to inspire executive engagement vision. With over 20+ years of industry experience his knowledge spans from communication technologies, IT service management and lifecycle frameworks, and customer engagement / experience management. He enables customers to deliver their engagement vision through reference architectures, milestone planning and facilitating the creation of success criteria through diversified stakeholder discussions.

Peloton comes under fire for safety concerns about its Tread+ treadmill; Electronic health record usability scores take a nosedive, possibly contributing to burnout among nurses . Also: HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said the U.S. needs to do more to promote racial equity.Links to the stories:Consumer safety group warns parents to stop using Peloton Tread+ after reports of child injuries and deathNurses give EHR usability an 'F' in new studyDerek Chauvin conviction prompts HHS vow to tackle racism as a serious public health threat

The CDC and FDA halt use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to rare, severe reactions; Mayo Clinic launches new AI-powered clinical decision support platform . Also: Omada Health rolls out new physical therapy tool.Links to the stories:CDC and FDA pause Johnson & Johnson vaccine over rare blood clot concernsMayo Clinic launches remote diagnostics platform, forms 2 new companies to support itOmada's latest MSK tech empowers physical therapists to conduct remote appointments

U.S. Anesthesia Partners files lawsuit against UnitedHealth alleging market shenanigans; Insurtech company Bright Health looks to strengthen telehealth foothold with Zipnosis acquisition. Also: AstraZeneca is teaming with Massachusetts General Hospital to create and clinically validate patient-centric digital health solutions.Links to the stories:U.S. Anesthesia Partners files lawsuits against UnitedHealthcareInsuretech company Bright Health buys telemedicine startup ZipnosisAstraZeneca working with Mass General on tech for heart failure, asthma

WHO says the introduction of the coronavirus through a laboratory incident is “extremely unlikely”; Amazon secures EAU for an at-home COVID-19 test kit. Plus: Digital health and wellness practitioners believe their sector to be high-risk.Links to the stories: Spread of coronavirus from lab is extremely unlikely, WHO report saysCoronavirus likely escaped from a Wuhan lab, says former CDC Director Robert RedfieldAmazon lands EUA for COVID-19 test with home sample collection89% of digital health leaders perceive the industry as risky, says report

AstraZeneca vaccine shows 79% efficacy in trials but is not without controversy; Everlywell acquires PWNHealth and subsidiary Home Access Health . Plus: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs undertaking a strategic review of its Cerner electronic health record modernization program .Links to the stories:AstraZeneca vaccine shows 79% efficacy in phase III trialAstraZeneca is questioned over potential use of outdated information in its COVID-19 clinical trialEverlywell forms new at-home lab testing subsidiary through PWNHealth purchaseVA to undertake strategic review of EHR modernization program

Amazon Care set to expand app-based services nationwide in the coming months; Doctor on Demand signals merger with Grand Rounds. Also: HHS releases new funding aimed at helping schools reopen and to expand access to COVID-19 testing and treatments.Links to the stories:Amazon confirms nationwide expansion of telehealth servicesDoctor on Demand merges with Grand Rounds to form new virtual healthcare companyBiden administration invests in expanding COVID-19 testing and treatments

House gives final approval to the $1.9T American Rescue Plan; Bad bots are complicating vaccine sign-ups. Also: PatientPoint merges with Outcome Health to facilitate patient-clinician communications.Links to the stories:House approves $1.9 trillion rescue plan, which now goes before Biden for his signatureBig uptick in bot traffic jeopardizes vaccine appointmentsPatientPoint merges with Outcome Health to form combined patient engagement entity

Medical groups urge racial data collection efforts for COVID-19 vaccinations; Apple and the University of Michigan share first results from hearing study. Also: Merck and Johnson & Johnson partner with the federal government to ramp up vaccine manufacturing.Links to the stories:Medical groups urge racial data collection efforts for COVID-19 vaccinationsApple, University of Michigan share first results from Apple Hearing StudyMerck to open facilities to Johnson & Johnson for speedier COVID-19 vaccine production

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Operating margins and other hospital metrics are struggling to recover from a winter COVID-19 surge; HHS pick Becerra praises telehealth. Plus: Google launches CareStudio to tackle EHR navigation issues.Links to the stories:U.S. hospitals and health systems face a long road to recoveryHHS Secretary nominee Xavier Becerra signals support for virtual careGoogle rolls out EHR navigation tool Care Studio

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Online platform ClassPass unveils a new COVID-19 vaccine locator, while New Jersey struggles with its Microsoft-powered vaccine registration portal. Plus: Insurers are feeling the financial effects of the pandemic.Links to the stories:ClassPass adds COVID-19 vaccine search feature to its platformNew Jersey blames Microsoft for weeks of vaccine rollout glitchesFourth quarter COVID-19 costs catch up to insurers

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse:  Best practices for weathering the COVID-19 pandemic are emerging among hospital CEOs, while reimbursement restrictions for telehealth have been removed at a rapid pace. Plus: Fitbit introduces blood glucose monitoring.Links to the stories:The top 10 things CEOs got right during the pandemicReport shows 'vast improvement' in state telehealth reimbursement policiesFitbit adds blood glucose tracking to its connected app

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Google Cloud joins the national COVID-19 vaccination effort with a new tool, while the feds plan on additional doses. Plus: A security breach at a New York health system.Links to the stories:Google Cloud launches vaccine distribution tool for local governmentsOne million COVID-19 vaccine doses are going to 6,500 pharmaciesEHR snooping at Montefiore leads to security breach

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: the House of Representatives seeks to safeguard telehealth access beyond the end of the COVID-19 pandemic; DarioHealth acquires Upright Technologies. Plus: the AHA pushes back on a new CMS rule.Links to the stories:U.S. lawmakers reintroduce House bill safeguarding access to telehealthDarioHealth buys into MSK with Upright Technologies acquisition and announces $70M private placementAHA condemns most favored nation model and asks CMS to withdraw it

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse, Joe Biden begins his presidency with an aggressive healthcare agenda, including new appointments and nominations for HHS and CMS positions. Plus: YouTube will push for higher quality medical content on its platform.Links to the stories:President Joe Biden's pan to control the COVID-19 pandemic on day oneMicky Tripathi named by Biden Administration to lead ONCBiden nominates Dr. Rachel Levine as assistant secretary of healthYouTube taps Dr. Garth Graham to lead new health partnerships team

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse, Flo Health lands in hot water with the FTC for allegedly deceitful practices; Feds are no longer holding back on vaccine doses. Plus: a new coalition looking to improve the vaccine rollout infrastructure.Links to the stories:Fertility app Flo Health settles with FTC over sensitive data sharing complaintFederal government tells states not to hold vaccine in reserve for second doseEpic, Cerner and other health IT heavy hitters join forces for Vaccine Credential Initiative

In today's Top Stories: Optum and Change are joining forces to create a new healthcare powerhouse; Haven pulls the plug after a three-year run. Plus: How patient engagement tools can help with the vaccine rollout.Links to the stories:Optum to acquire Change HealthcareAmazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan's employee health joint venture is officially winding downPatient engagement tools can speed, streamline COVID-19 vaccine rollout

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Hackers use the SolarWinds platform to target the National Institutes of Health in a large data breach; Vaccine preparedness gets a boost from the federal government. Plus: Apple is rolling out a new low VO2 Max feature on its Apple Watch wearable.Links to this week's stories:NIH among agencies targeted by Russian 'Cozy Bear' hackers, says WaPoWhat healthcare orgs should be doing in response to the SolarWinds breachCDC is giving $227 million for COVID-19 vaccine preparedness and trackingNew low VO2 Max feature comes to Apple Watch

In today's Top Stories: With a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon, cybersecurity concerns have emerged; Despite this, the rollout is already underway in the U.K. Plus: Google launches a new app for clinical trial research.Links to the stories:Vaccine distribution pipeline faces serious cybersecurity risksThousands in the United Kingdom are the first to receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccineGoogle's new research app shows participants how their data is driving health insights

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: CMS allows 60 new telehealth services to be covered by Medicare, drawing commendation – and caution – from the American Telemedicine Association. Plus: Google's Deep Mind AI makes protein-folding breakthrough.Links to the stories:Congressional action is needed for telehealth not to return to a rural benefit, Seema Verma saysATA responds to CMS final rule making some telehealth coverage permanentDeepMind AI's protein folding prediction achieves unprecedented accuracy, opening doors to new disease treatments

In today's Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: NorthShore University HealthSystem is utilizing targeted labor strategies and robust analytics to weather the COVID-19 surge; Amazon muscles into the online pharmacy space. Plus: What's taking up clinician's time? (It's not patient care!)Links to the stories:NorthShore University HealthSystem's digital strategy is being tested against second waveAmazon furthers foothold in digital pharmacies with launch of Amazon Pharmacy storeFrontline workers say they spend more time on EHRs than patient care

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse:  The Supreme Court appears favorable to keeping the Affordable Care Act after hearing arguments this week; Google launches a pair of AI tools. Plus: Epic and Cleveland Clinic partner on COVID risk model.Links to the stories:Supreme Court appears favorable to keeping Affordable Care ActGoogle Cloud unveils AI tools to help healthcare analyze unstructured medical textEpic makes Cleveland Clinic-devised COVID-19 risk model available in MyChart

In this episode of Top Stories with Jonah Comstock: Under Armour sells off MyFitnessPal for $345 million; HHS unveils final five-year plan for Health IT. Plus: CMS approves controversial Georgia ACA waiver.Links to the stories:Under Armour sells off MyFitnessPal for $345M, will shut down Endomondo by 2021HHS unveils new 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic PlanCMS approves Georgia waiver to transition to a non-ACA private sector marketplace

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Intelligence agencies warn of cybercriminals’ renewed push to target healthcare providers; President Trump’s claims of COVID-19 over-reporting draws backlack from hospital groups. Plus: A new digital eye health tool from CVS.Links to the stories:FBI, HHS warn of 'increased and imminent' cyber threat to hospitalsProvider groups push back against Trump claims that doctors are inflating COVID-19 numbersCVS launches telemedicine enabled contact renewal service

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Experts agree that racial bias makes it more difficult for communities of color to combat COVID-19; Hospital admissions are down 10.5% this year due to the coronavirus. Plus: How Borderlands 3 is helping scientists map the microbiome.Links to the stories:COVID-19 hasn't just spotlighted healthcare inequity – it's made it worseHospital admissions projected to be down 10.5% in 2020Borderlands 3 is using its millions of gamers to help map the human gut microbiome

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: The federal government awards $481 million to a diagnostics startup to ramp up COVID-19 testing; Operational risks of owning a public hospital could compound fiscal challenges for counties. Plus: New concerns about CMS data reporting rules.Links to the stories:Cue Health awarded $481M from HHS, DoD to ramp up production of its app-connected COVID-19 rapid diagnosticPublic hospitals are compounding COVID-19 budget risks for large urban counties, Moody's findsTrump administration crackdown 'couldn't come at a worse time' for hospitals

Within healthcare, virtual reality (VR) applications are currently being used to control pain, decrease anxiety, and reduce stress. New research has demonstrated a strong case for VR use in care both at home and in the hospital. How can this new, effective therapy be scaled to a broader population of patients? John Sharp will answer just that question as he speaks with Dr. Brennan Spiegel, Director of Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai & Author of the upcoming book: How Virtual Therapeutics Will Revolutionize Medicine.Subscribe to the Accelerate Health podcast here.Check out our previous HIMSSCast interview with Brennan here.

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Hospitals must now include flu data along with their COVID-19 data; Mental health tops the list of preferred uses for telehealth. Plus: Clover Health goes public.Links to the stories:HHS will require hospitals to report flu information, in addition to COVID-19Americans want mental healthcare via telehealth, but data security worries remainClover Health will join the public market by merging with Social Capital SPAC

The COVID-19 crisis thrust hospital supply chain issues into the national spotlight as we heard about shortages of personal protective equipment almost daily during the early days of the crisis. But the issues that lead to these shortages are only a few of the many challenges that hospital supply chain managers face every day. For this week’s episode, co-host, Rob Havasy is joined by Rich Kucera, Principal of Symmetric Health Solutions and the winner of the 2019 SCAN Health Design Competition to discuss their innovative solution to the supply chain problem. For more information about the SCAN Health Design Challenge, click here. Learn more about how Accelerate Health is redefining health at HIMSS here.

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Cyberattack hits Universal Health Services, forcing shutdown of user access to IT applications; Anthem reaches $40M settlement in in 2015 cyberattack. Plus: Is the Apple Watch causing unnecessary healthcare utilization?Links to the stories:UHS hospital chain hit with apparent ransomware attackSo you've been hit with a ransomware attack. What now?Anthem settles 2015 cybersecurity breach for $39.5 millionApple Watch's abnormal pulse feature driving many unnecessary healthcare visits, Mayo Clinic researchers say

This week's episode will feature co-host Indu Subaiya, President of Catalyst @ Health 2.0 and Senior Advisor to HIMSS speaking with Farzad Mostashari, Co-founder and CEO of Aledade and Former Head of the Office of the National Coordinator.  Dr. Farzad Mostashari will provide an expert perspective on what a 21st century public health system could look like including real-time disease surveillance, targeted prevention and the smart allocation of resources. He will discuss how healthcare providers can effectively partner using new technology and data-enabled primary care models.Learn more about how Accelerate Health is redefining health at HIMSS here.Subscribe to the Accelerate Health podcast here.

In this inaugural episode, Kerry Amato kicks off the Accelerate Health Podcast with Omkar Kulkarni, Chief Innovation Officer for Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Managing Director for KidsX, a new pediatric health accelerator. KidsX is a global ecosystem of pediatric innovators, anchored by a consortium of 30 children’s hospitals from North America, Europe and Australia motivated to partner with early stage digital health companies to transform pediatric care. Omkar Kulkarni will discuss how this amazing consortium will build, test and deploy software solutions to make pediatric care exceptionally effective, safe, efficient and convenient for children and families. To subscribe to the Accelerate Health Podcast, click here.To register for the Accelerate Health event, click here.

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsurg’s absence on the Supreme Court throws the future of the ACA into question; Femtech companies bemoan advertising difficulties on social media. Plus: the emergence of 'social informatics'.Links to the stories:Death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could have ramifications for Affordable Care ActFemtech players call out Facebook for rejecting women's health adsA new health IT discipline: Social informaticsEpic users at some Wisconsin providers to get EHR-embedded SDOH tool

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Apple partners with VA to offer telehealth services for veterans – and announces new health-tracking functionality for its next Apple Watch. Plus: Hospital CEO changeover rates are dropping after a five-year hold.Links to the stories:Here's what primary care clinicians say they need to effectively implement telehealthVA working with Apple to broaden telehealth access for veteransApple adds SpO2 & V02 Max to Apple Watch Series 6, and launches three new studiesHospital CEO turnover rate dipped in 2019 for the first time in five years

In this episode of Top Stories: Former CEO of Zocdoc files a lawsuit alleging that executives forced him out of the company in 2015; Telehealth likely represents the biggest threat to healthcare cybersecurity.Links to the stories:Ousted Zocdoc CEO accuses fellow cofounders and CFO of foul play in new lawsuitTelehealth is biggest threat to healthcare cybersecurity, says reportPersonal information of 348,000 people potentially exposed in NorthShore data breachFull coverage: HIMSS & Health 2.0 European Digital Event 2020

In this episode of Top Stories: California has passed the nation’s first law mandating a 45-day supply of PPE; Digital health company GoodRX has filed to go public after a strong financial showing in 2020. Plus: The top technical challenge of the pandemic.Links to the stories:California passes nation's first bill requiring hospitals to keep a 45-day supply of PPEGoodRx files to go public, revealing jumps in year-over-year revenue growthHealthcare execs say telehealth is their No. 1 pandemic tech problem

In this episode of Top Stories: VA healthcare is slated for modernization with a new scheduling platform; Nursing homes are now required to test staff for COVID-19. Plus: AmWell going public with $100 million of Google's money.Links to the stories:First component of VA EHR modernization goes live in OhioNursing homes are now required to test staff for COVID-19Amwell inks deal with Google Cloud and files to go publicCheck out a video version of this episode here

In this episode of Top Stories: Larger hospital systems such as AdventHealth are feeling the COVID-19 pinch; ICD-10 codes may not effectively capture patients with cough and fever. Plus: How postal service delays are affecting the healthcare sector.Links to the stories:AdventHealth laments $260 million in losses since the start of the COVID-19 pandemicDr. Anthony Fauci 'cautiously optimistic' that a vaccine will be available in 2020 or 2021ICD-10 codes don't accurately capture COVID-19 symptoms, study showsUSPS service delays are hitting some mail-order pharmacies and telehealth platforms harder than others

In this episode of Top Stories: Health Information Exchanges can expect a monetary boost from the ONC; M&A activity is down precipitously Plus: Medtronic's latest acquisition.Links to the stories:ONC to offer new funding for state and local HIE innovationAt ONC Tech Forum, Rucker touts value of HIEs in COVID-19 responseHealthcare M&A transactions see large decline from Q1 to Q2Medtronic plans to buy connected insulin pen startup Companion Medical

In this episode of Top Stories: Telehealth companies propose $18B merger; Trump issues executive order to make telehealth permanent. Plus: dispatches from the Taskforce of Telehealth Policy’s virtual town hall.Links to the stories:Teladoc Health absorbs chronic care company Livongo in $18.5B mergerOnline prescription discount platform GoodRx reported to be filing for IPOTelehealth to become permanent under Trump executive orderCMS proposes telehealth changes under Trump executive orderTaskforce on Telehealth Policy holds town hall to solicit public input

In this episode of Top Stories with Jeff Lagasse: Ro and Hims would both be valued at more than $1 billion if the latter completes its sale to an unknown acquisition company, while the healthcare industry says more funds are needed to make up for lost revenue due to the pandemic.Links to the stories:Ro receives $200 million in funding and is now valued at $1.5 billionHims eyes deal to go public and expands its remote mental health servicesDoctors and hospitals are asking for $100 billion in next COVID-19 relief billAMA & other med groups express 'dismay' at prospect of waivers made permanent