Literature Review

Change cyberattack affected 'substantial proportion' of America Modern Healthcare, by Lauren Berryman; 4/23/24UnitedHealth Group said the cyberattack against its Change Healthcare unit potentially exposed the personal information of  "a substantial proportion of people in America," and it will be months before it is able to identify and notify patients affected. The company also confirmed it paid an unspecified ransom to protect patient data, as reported by Bloomberg Monday.

Operator hopes to expand residents’ digital literacy with unique tech concierge program McKnights Senior Living, by John O'Connor; 4/22/24Beginning in June, residents in some BHI Senior Living communities will be able to take advantage of a unique tech concierge program. For residents, the new service will feature on-demand tech support, alongside virtual assistance, in-home appointments and a curriculum of tailored enrichment classes and training sessions. For the operator, the program will deliver immediate tech support while also gathering and analyzing data that can be used to inform future technology investments and strategic moves.Editor's Note: How might you adapt this creative service for the persons you serve? What differences might it make in patient care? In hospice caregiver/family satisfaction? What tech support do you have for your staff, especially when they are making home or other in-the-field visits? Relating this to today's articles on the importance of "trust" and "nurses' negativity about AI," do your innovative technologies improve or impede the patient/family's needs and experiences with you?

Mercy Hospital surgeon teaches high school student future of surgical medicine CBS News TV 13 Sacramento, CA; 4/21/24 A unique experience for high school students, taking a step into the world of robotic surgery. Mercy Hospital hosted students to learn the ins and outs of the future of surgical medicine.

Integrating AI in Palliative Care: A comparative perspectiveElBlog.PL - Decoding AI: Unveiling the Future of Machine Intelligence, by Roman Rember; 4/19/2Jan Gärtner (51), the head of a Palliative Center in Basel, Switzerland, recently shed light on the fundamental differences in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in palliative care across the United States and Switzerland. ... The Swiss model emphasizes the commencement of palliative care much earlier in the patient’s journey. ...

Remote access technologies expose home care firms to cybersecurity vulnerabilities, experts sayMcKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 4/18/24 Some of the most commonly used technologies in home care are also among the easiest for criminals to exploit. ... Remote access systems include any technology that allows users to connect to and access a computer, server or network remotely. Within home care, this could be tools such as remote patient monitoring devices, secure messaging apps, telehealth platforms, cloud-based applications or systems that allow users to remotely access patient data, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. And while these technologies bring efficiency, they can also expose providers and their patients to risk.

New phase of Change Healthcare attack begins as hackers leak data KFF Health News; 4/15/24RansomHub, a hacking group, is sharing pieces of data stolen in the Change Healthcare cyberattack as it seeks ransom payments. The data include hospital bills and company contracts, Axios says. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth took an $872 million profit hit from the February attack. Editor's Note: This post provides links to related articles in Axios, Reuters, The Hill, and Modern Healthcare.

Remote SNF monitoring partnership promises 25 percent rehospitalization reduction McKnights Senior Living, by Josh Henreckson; 4/15/24 A new partnership between technology company Circadia Health and 81 skilled nursing facilities operated by Ciena Healthcare aims to significantly improve preventive care and reduce preventable rehospitalizations. Circadia’s C100 remote monitoring devices ... will be installed in residents’ rooms. They are capable of continuously monitoring key vital signs like residents’ breathing rate, heart rate and unusual motions and compare them with personalized profiles. 

Providers still navigating Change outage as systems are restored Modern Healthcare, by Lauren Berryman; 4/10/24 Providers are seeing some improvements following the Change Healthcare cyberattack nearly two months ago, but not necessarily because they are reconnecting to restored systems. Hospitals and medical groups are submitting claims to payers through alternate vendors, allowing them to generate cash. But the level of claims and payments moving among healthcare organizations that had heavily relied on Change Healthcare is still far from normal.

Virtual reality therapy offers ‘sustained improvement’ in cancer-related pain Healio, by Josh Friedman; 4/8/24  Individuals with cancer reported significantly reduced pain immediately following a 10-minute virtual reality (VR) session, study results published in Cancer showed. The findings from the randomized trial suggest that pain reductions associated with VR use are sustainable for up to 24 hours and produced a reduction in pain bothersomeness and destress, according to researchers. 

Modern ultrasound tech benefits extend from Alzheimer’s to palliative care McKnights Senior Living, by Aaron Dorman; 4/9/24New research is showing that ultrasound innovations can be ultra-beneficial to seniors across a wide range of applications. ... [A] valuable use of ultrasound tech could be in palliative care. Portable or handheld ultrasound diagnostic tools could allow for more effective treatment options, and reduce the need for costly rehospitalizations. These imaging tools are already available and researchers conducted a narrative study of existing literature that appeared to validate their effectiveness; based on previous findings, new portable ultrasound devices made a difference in 50% of treatment decisions, the researchers found. 

Northwell, Memorial Hermann and others join Aegis consortiumModern Healthcare, by Gabriel Perna; 4/2/24 Nine health systems, including Northwell Health and Memorial Hermann Health, System joined a digital consortium led by startup studio Aegis Ventures. Aegis, which creates, invests and operates digital health companies, said Tuesday the consortium will develop, invest in and deploy digital health solutions. 

Telehealth effective in supporting rural caregivers Hospice News, by Jim Parker; 4/3/24Palliative care delivered via telehealth is effective at improving access to caregiver support. Moreover, these services can also be cost-effective, recent research has found. ... “[Technology-enhanced transitional palliative care] is a feasible, low cost and sustainable strategy to enhance [family caregiver] support in rural areas,” researches indicated in the study. “Potential reimbursement mechanisms are available to offset the costs to the health system for providing transitional palliative care to caregivers of patients recently hospitalized.”

FDA approves AI Tool that can detect sepsis Forbes, by Cailey Gleeson; 4/3/24 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an AI tool that can diagnose sepsis, Prenosis, the company behind the software, announced Wednesday, the latest in a series of agency approvals for AI diagnostic tools. ... At least 350,000. That’s how many adults who develop sepsis die from the condition or are discharged to hospice annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.