Literature Review

Cleveland Clinic names first Chief AI OfficerCleveland Clinic press release; 7/29/24Cleveland Clinic has appointed its first Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer to direct the use of AI across the health system. Ben Shahshahani, Ph.D., a technology executive with more than 20 years of experience in AI and machine learning, will serve as Vice President, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, starting Aug. 12, 2024.Publisher's note: Hospice implications...?

Empowering patient access, protection, and choice: The 21st Century Cures Act eight years on Healthcare Business Today; by David Navarro; 7/26/24 The 21st Century Cures Act, signed into law in December 2016, marked a significant shift in the healthcare landscape by focusing on patient empowerment through enhanced access to medical records, stringent privacy protections, and increased choices in healthcare options. Eight years later, this landmark legislation continues to revolutionize the interaction between patients, providers, and the healthcare system. Recently, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an updated ruling to the Act to establish penalties for healthcare providers who engage in information blocking. This rule, aims to deter practices that prevent or discourage the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information (EHI).

HHS unveils major revamp to shift health data, AI strategy and policy under ONC Fierce Healthcare; by Emma Beavins; 7/25/24 The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has been renamed and restructured, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced [July 25]. The restructuring will affect technology, cybersecurity, data and artificial intelligence strategy and policy functions. The agency will be renamed the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC). Head of ONC, Micky Tripathi, will hold the new title of assistant secretary for technology policy in addition to his title of national coordinator for health IT. ... Under ASTP, there will be an Office of Policy, an Office of Technology, an Office of Standards, Certification and Analysis and an Office of the Chief Operating Officer. 

Baptist Health taps 3 vendors to build a population health system that works Healthcare IT News; by Bill Siwicki; 7/26/24With help from Oracle, Innovaccer and Salesforce, the South Florida provider is scoring big population health wins, including a 7% increase in coding gap closure rate and a 17% increase in annual wellness visit completion rates. Baptist Health South Florida operates a network of 11 hospitals covering four counties. It also includes numerous ambulatory facilities, urgent care centers and emergency departments to provide comprehensive healthcare services across the region. ... "One of our primary issues was the fragmented nature of patient data across multiple provider organizations and electronic health record systems," said Milady Cervera, vice president, population health and physician integrated networks, at Baptist Health South Florida. "This lack of interoperability made it difficult to gain a comprehensive view of our patients' health status, care history and ongoing needs. ..."

Can Artificial Intelligence speak for incapacitated patients at the end of life? JAMA Internal Medicine; by Teva D. Brender, MD; Alexander K. Smith, MD; Brian L. Block, MD; 7/22/24 Viewpoint: Imagine meeting with the daughter of a critically ill patient. The patient (her mother) had a cardiac arrest, is in multiorgan failure, and cannot communicate. The daughter is uncomfortable making decisions because they are estranged and never discussed what her mother would want in this type of situation. The patient has no advance directive or alternative surrogate. Now imagine this meeting taking place in a future where the mother’s medical visits have been audio recorded. Furthermore, you have access to an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that can identify and play excerpts of the mother talking about what mattered most to her. You and the daughter listen to these recordings together. Then you share that another algorithm, trained on 7 million patient records, predicts that the mother’s chance of walking again is less than 5%. ...

Keeping staff members safe and sound by optimizing security technology Security; by Paul Sarnese; 7/12/24 Nobody wants to invest in technology, only to have it go the way of the stationary bike that sits unused in the corner of a room. That holds true for healthcare organization leaders who are looking to invest in staff safety alarm systems that can help avert potentially dangerous situations. With workplace violence against caregivers increasing 115% since 2021, many healthcare organizations are, indeed, looking to protect workers from harm — and to shield their organizations from resultant financial distress.Editor's Note: Workplace violence and staff safety continues to trend as a root cause for nursing and other healthcare strikes across the nation. Examine your organization's Incident Reports and QAPI initiatives. What needs to be addressed?

Telehealth can drive more meaningful serious illness conversations in MDS, AML AJMC - American Journal of Managed Care; by AJMC contributor; 7/10/24 Using telehealth to have conversations about serious illnesses with patients may help increase clinician confidence in having these types of conversations, suggest findings from a small pilot study. Researchers collected feedback from 20 clinicians implementing a telehealth serious illness conversation with their patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The group found the intervention was considered simple and easy, and helped clinicians better understand the unique needs of their patients at end of life. The findings were published in JMIR Formative Research.

How 'Human-Kind' AI can reshape your business Forbes; by Mark Cameron; 7/1/24 As AI models mature, their impact on the economy is becoming increasingly profound. They offer unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency. Here's how. ... AI enables traditional businesses to accomplish more with fewer resources. ... As AI begins to take over mundane tasks, the role of the human workforce is evolving. Employees are no longer cogs in the machine—they're becoming value creators. The focus is evolving toward roles that require critical thinking, creativity and emotional intelligence—areas where humans excel, but AI still has limitations. This shift necessitates upskilling and reskilling initiatives to prepare the workforce for new, high-value roles in an AI-driven economy.

7 of the top tech and IT jobs in demand for the future TechTarget; by David Weldon; 6/24/24 Businesses of the future will rely on workers with IT skills even more than they do today. Find out which jobs might be most in demand and what those roles entail. ... Organizations are having to create new tech roles and redefine existing ones to manage the integration of AI and data into core business functions. Meanwhile, cybersecurity continues to be a top concern, as do digital transformation and cloud computing. These challenges are increasing the demand for job roles that merge technical expertise with strategic business acumen. ... So, what will be some of the hottest IT jobs of the future? ... Roles are listed in alphabetical order. 

A paradigm shift for healthtech CEOs: Increasing patient satisfaction and retention Forbes; by Eric Giesecke; 6/24/24In our hyperconnected world, seamless communication is the norm. From the latest news to customer service chats, consumers expect streamlined interactions. However, the healthcare and healthtech industries have lagged in adopting consumer-friendly practices. ... A patient’s experience is extremely important for healthcare organizations to thrive. It’s important to remember that in the digital age, competitors are not just other healthcare companies. ... So how can we customize experiences better than ever before? One important step is taking the time to understand your organization's current technology. ...

171K+ clicks saved: Inside Johns Hopkins' nurse documentation revamp Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Erica Carbajal; 6/17/24 Across healthcare, efforts to advance documentation are often focused on enhancing physicians' workflow. But at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Hospital, leaders are equally focused on improving documentation in nursing. ... [The] American Nurses Credentialing Center recognized Johns Hopkins with 10 exemplars, one of which recognized the hospital as a leader in nursing informatics. Case in point: The hospital has saved nurses 170,620 clicks in four months, April Saathoff, DNP, RN, vice president and chief nursing information officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine, told Becker's. ... "Instead of the nurse having to go in and document on every single row on a head-to-toe reassessment for the patient, we now have some fields added to the top where the nurse can document reassessment changes noted or reassessed no changes," Dr. Saathoff said, adding that the changes are saving nurses an average of 13 minutes per reassessment. Editor's Note: What might your organization be able to streamline in your online documentation? Before IT or clinical management decides unilaterally, get input from your clinicians who make the visits and use the system. Include your psychosocial/spiritual care team members as well, as you might delete something crucial that they need.

Better manage privacy concerns related to AI in healthcare Fior Reports; by Becca Roberts; 6/17/24 Artificial intelligence technologies offer tremendous potential in healthcare, but it is critical for organizations to carefully consider the complex privacy concerns associated with different types of AI products and deployments, says Karen Habercoss, privacy officer at UChicago Medicine. “It’s critical to really understand what the use cases are and how we can minimize the amount of data we share to protect our patients, their privacy and their data,” she said. “I'm very much in favor of AI. I think it will bring about a fundamental change in the way we care for patients clinically in healthcare. Those are the very positive things that will come out of it. But with that comes a great responsibility to protect our patients from things they may not understand,” she said. 

Prisma uses VR tech to bring outdoors to hospice patients UpstateToday.com, Seneca, SC; by Andrea Kelley; 6/8/24 Years ago, Lisa Dwiggins headed out West to visit her father, Bobby Finch. They hopped on his motorcycle — a Harley Davidson — and wound through the canyons, taking in the view. Thanks to a new virtual reality program at Prisma Health Hospice of the Foothills, Dwiggins and Finch were able to visit those places again — together. ... “Those were areas Dad talked about over the years,” Dwiggins told The Journal. “He lived in Las Vegas for over 30 years, rode his Harley all through the canyons and up along the coast, and talked about the sunsets at Huntington Beach. It’s been 6 years since Dad has been back there, and he has been trying to get back to visit but his health prevented him to getting back. This program at least allowed him to reminisce the good times he had.” The experience was made even more special because with Tandem VR, Dwiggins could join Finch.