Category: Editorial

Why Is Cell Line Development Crucial For Biologics?

Biologics have revolutionized the field of medicine, offering advanced treatments for a wide range of diseases, including cancer, autoimmune disorders, and genetic conditions. These therapies, which include complex molecules such as monoclonal antibodies and therapeutic proteins, are produced using living cells.

As a result, the development and optimization of cell lines are critical steps in the production of biologics. This article delves into the importance of cell line development for biologics, highlighting the key components and the role of specialized services in ensuring the success of biologic therapies.

Understanding The Role Of Cell Line Development
Cell line development involves creating and optimizing cell lines that can produce the desired biologic product efficiently and consistently. These cell lines serve as the foundation for the production of biologics, making them a crucial component of the entire manufacturing process. The cells used in biologics production are often derived from mammalian sources, such as Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, due to their ability to produce complex proteins with human-like post-translational modifications.

Key Steps In Cell Line Development
The development of a cell line for biologics production involves several critical steps, including:
— Gene Insertion: Introducing the gene of interest into the host cells to produce the desired therapeutic protein.
— Selection: Screening and selecting cell clones that exhibit high productivity and stability.
— Expansion: Scaling up the selected cell line to produce larger quantities of the biologic product.
— Characterization: Conducting thorough testing to ensure the cell line’s genetic stability, productivity, and safety.

The Importance Of Cell Line Development For Biologics
Ensuring Consistent And High-Quality Production
One of the primary reasons why cell line development is crucial for biologics is its role in ensuring consistent and high-quality production. The stability and productivity of the cell line directly impact the efficiency of the manufacturing process and the quality of the final product. A well-developed cell line can produce the biologic product at high yields and with the necessary purity and potency required for therapeutic use.

Organizations specializing in cell line development services provide the expertise and infrastructure needed to develop and optimize cell lines that meet the stringent requirements of biologics manufacturing. These services play a critical role in maintaining the consistency and quality of biologic therapies.

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How To Fight Obesity?

Losing weight can really make a difference in daily life. However, changing attitudes and habits is very difficult for many people, and often seems even impossible.

Fortunately, with the help of specialists and doctors, it is possible to achieve the figure of your dreams in a safe, healthy and effective way.

How to effectively lose weight?

Medical weight loss – what is it and how can it be helpful?
How can you effectively shed excessive pounds? Let’s find out more about this topic.

How to effectively lose weight?

To lose weight, if it is not the result of disease but an inadequate lifestyle, you need primarily diet and physical activity. Many people try to change their habits on their own.

However, this is very difficult. It should be remembered that self-prepared diets are very often ineffective. Many people make numerous mistakes when trying to plan a healthy menu with a caloric deficit. As a result, food cravings, feelings of hunger, fatigue often make it easy to break the resolutions made. As a result, a hungry, tired person throws himself on food, wasting all the effort made.

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Adopting AI In Behavioral Health Practices: Three Factors for Success

Profile photo of Carina Edwards
Carina Edwards

By Carina Edwards, CEO, Kipu Health.

According to one report, business executives mentioned Artificial Intelligence (AI) more than 30,000 times in earnings calls at the end of 2023. AI, and debates around fears, capabilities and ethics have dominated discussions in both the board room and at the water cooler in most industries. I’ve experienced several major technology shifts and innovations throughout my career but the buzz around AI is groundbreaking.

In behavioral health, we’re talking about AI every day and uncovering how it can be a great complement to other technologies used in treatment centers and practices. Our provider clients have reported it boosts note-taking and documentation processes with improvements in accuracy and efficiency. Data produced by Eleos shows providers have reported that documentation time has been reduced up to 50%, allowing clinical teams to spend more focused time with patients.

Providers leveraging AI also said they have 90% of their notes submitted within 24 hours, reducing documentation backlog and avoiding denials due to late submissions. Another key benefit is care teams indicate they’re able to use AI insights to deliver evidence-based best practices, which is excellent for improving patient outcomes.

Testing the waters
Our colleagues at All Points North (APN), a multi-site, 77-bed Behavioral Health system based in Colorado, decided to move ahead with an AI solution. APN was already using Kipu’s EMR, so they chose to go with Eleos, which is integrated with the Kipu EMR. Eleos focuses on supporting documentation and note taking in therapeutic sessions through their AI solution, which was a key area APN was hoping to improve.

Andrea Boorse, senior manager of operations at APN, shared that their clients have two individual therapy sessions each week, rather than one—which means double the documentation. When they became aware of AI solutions that could listen in on sessions and help with that documentation, they decided to test the waters with Eleos’s Scribe solution, which automatically transforms raw conversations into progress note suggestions.

APN found that the tool started to understand and recognize therapists’ style and language, making the notes get more specific and tailored to each client. This has been a big help for APN since it now takes an average of 11 minutes to complete a note, compared to the industry standard of 15 minutes.

Embarking on AI implementation
With benefits like APN has experienced, I’ve seen a shared, cautious excitement across our industry that continues to suffer from provider and staffing burnout and attrition. By removing some of these administrative burdens, they hope to combat staffing issues and improve patient reach and care.

And while there is good reason to remain cautious, I think providers can confidently move towards AI solutions by focusing on three key areas.

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Alleviating the Prior Authorization Headache  

Matt Bridge

By Matt Bridge and Ryan Chapin of AGS Health 

The prior authorization process has evolved in complexity as the healthcare industry transitions from fee-for-service to value-based care. At the same time, payers are expanding the number of services subject to prior authorization to establish medical necessity and appropriateness. It’s a one-two punch that leaves providers and provider organizations struggling under the weight of a prior authorization burden that, left unaddressed, can have long-term revenue cycle impacts.  

Today’s prior authorization process involves time-consuming steps, including gathering and submitting medical documents to insurance companies and waiting for approval. It also often involves dealing with denials and appeals – all while guidance around required documentation becomes stricter.  

The number of procedures subject to authorization is also expanding, creating new challenges for staff who must understand the clinical documentation and office notes necessary to support the authorization. This also means the addition of new administrative requirements with far-reaching impacts on finances, operations, and patients. Additionally, when establishing a centralized prior authorization team is infeasible, expanded prior authorization needs exacerbate the problem of competing priorities for staff tasked with obtaining authorizations amidst other core responsibilities, including patient care. 

Prior Authorization Challenges  

The impact of today’s challenging prior authorization environment is felt in three key areas:  financial, operational, and the patient experience. 

On the financial front, the administrative burden of prior authorization has increased steadily over the years, leading to additional costs and workload. Among the most significant financial impacts are higher administrative costs and reduced or lost revenues due to denials, which can be difficult to overturn. The prior authorization process can also delay cash flow. 

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Assistive Devices and Technologies for Traumatic Brain Injury Victims

Life after a traumatic brain injury can be challenging. It can result in severe cognitive and physical limitations. While it’s possible to recover, you may experience sensory issues, cognitive impairment, and other challenges. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) victims may require additional assistance to perform their daily life activities. This is where assistive devices and technologies come in. They enhance a TBI survivor’s quality of life while boosting their independence. Discussed below are several assisted devices and technologies for traumatic brain injury victims.

Mobility aids

Traumatic brain injuries happen due to various incidents or accidents, such as falls, auto crashes, or sports-related injuries. These injuries can cause severe, lasting disabilities like physical limitations that need the use of mobility devices. These aids include:

With the help of physical therapists and specialists from trusted TBI care facilities, you can select a mobility aid suitable for your loved one’s needs.

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Can Patient Care Be Powered By AI? Healthcare That Focuses On Quality Care

Michael BradfordBy Michael Bradford, head of operations of Americas, HappyOrNot.

In today’s healthcare, organizations encounter several obstacles while trying to provide high-quality treatment to patients, such as limited resources and the ever-changing demands and expectations of patients, to name just a few examples.

This means that healthcare organizations are under increasing pressure to deliver outstanding patient care to be the provider of choice. Dissatisfaction among patients and the economic climate, which has personnel issues impacting the industry’s capacity to adequately address patient needs, have intensified the sense of urgency.

Common Patient Complaints and the Need for Improved Care

When patients voice their dissatisfaction, it usually leads healthcare providers to new opportunities for improvement. Long wait periods, impersonal treatment, and inadequate communication are among the most common grievances.

Patient satisfaction is greatly affected by communication issues, especially when healthcare practitioners are viewed as being uncaring, according to research conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Patient satisfaction and health outcomes are negatively impacted by long wait times, according to the American Journal of Managed Care, and healthcare organizations must address these concerns by using new solutions that improve the patient experience.

Economic and Staffing Challenges in Healthcare

Due to tight budgets and staffing challenges, hospitals’ provision of good patient care is hampered. According to the American Hospital Association, health service systems have been stressed by a shortage of manpower, especially since the international health crisis.

Staff cutbacks will impose even more strain on already overworked people, reducing their capacity to give each patient the individual attention they deserve. Given these constraints, it is of the utmost importance to examine possible substitutes for the sake of upholding and improving the quality of patient care.

The Imperative for Solutions in Patient Experience

For hospitals looking to better understand patient experiences and how they might be improved, data analytics and artificial intelligence offer significant opportunity. As AI’s analysis of vast quantities of patient data shows, information on treatment outcomes, organizational efficiencies and patient satisfaction can be uprooted and used to make strategic decisions.

When doctors and hospitals work from this novel information, they are able to come up with approaches better suited to each patient’s individual needs and tastes. Take, for example, patient flow. By integrating predictive analytics into it, wait times for patients can be decreased.

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Reform In AI Oversight – How the Healthcare Sector Will Be Impacted

Israel Krush

By Israel Krush, CEO and co-founder, Hyro.

Generative AI, until recently an uncharted frontier, is now encountering regulatory roadblocks. Fueled by minimal oversight, its meteoric rise is slowing as frameworks take shape. Businesses and users alike brace for the ripple effect, wondering how increased scrutiny will reshape this booming sector.

While AI automation could revolutionize efficiency and speed up processes in many customer-facing industries, healthcare demands a different approach. Here, “consumers” are patients, and their data is deeply personal: their health information. In this highly sensitive and regulated field, caution takes center stage.

The healthcare industry’s embrace of AI is inevitable, but the optimal areas for its impact are still being mapped out. As new regulations aim to curb this disruptive technology, a crucial balance must be struck: fostering smarter, more efficient AI tools while ensuring compliance and trust.

The Need for Regulation

Regulatory mechanisms and compliance procedures will play a crucial role in minimizing risk and optimizing AI applicability in the coming decade. 

These regulations must be developed to effectively safeguard sensitive patient data and prevent unauthorized access, breaches, and misuse—necessary steps in gaining patient trust in these tools. Imagine the added friction of AI systems that misdiagnose patients, spew incorrect information, or suffer from regular data leaks. The legal and financial implications would be dire.

Optimized workflows simply cannot come at the cost of unaddressed risks. Regulated and responsible AI is the only way forward. And in order to achieve both, three foundational pillars must be met: explainability, control, and compliance

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Great Expectations: What Health Systems Want from AI Vendors

Andrew Lockhart

By Andrew Lockhart, CEO, Fathom.

Imagine this: physicians spend more time with their patients than with their paperwork. Billing is quick and accurate, with minimal denials. Healthcare workers enjoy a positive work/life balance. Thanks to the rapid advancement of AI, this vision of healthcare is becoming increasingly possible.

Health system leaders are already investing toward this ideal state. From roundtable discussions at Healthcare Financial Management Association and Becker’s Healthcare to Zoom chats every week, I’ve connected with many C-suite executives at health systems about their expectations for AI. There is, across the board, a clear set of priorities for the next one to two years. The overarching vision is not just to integrate new technologies but to do so in a way that delivers tangible improvements in workforce experiences and satisfaction, revenues and costs, and patient care outcomes.

Here are a few resounding themes that I’ve heard.

  1. Proving ROI

Proving ROI on AI investments is crucial: put plainly, you want to ensure you’re getting more than enough bang for your buck. Applications of AI need to map back clearly to measurable cost and revenue impacts. Health system CFOs expect predictable ROI and are screening new technologies closely.

Many AI tools on the administrative side can meet this proof of hard ROI. For example, organizations like ApolloMD have experienced significant improvements in coding efficiency and revenue capture by minimizing coding errors and denials through autonomous coding.

While vendors typically report impressive ROI from their technology, any vendor worth its salt will agree to a proof of concept allowing you to test and validate impact for your organization. For example, an easy way to build confidence in autonomous coding is to compare coding results between your team and the AI system before committing to go-live.

  1. Increasing end-to-end strategies

Many AI tools have surfaced to address a single use case. However, health system leaders are more interested in comprehensive, integrated solutions across departments. Consider the case of ambient documentation and autonomous coding: ambient documentation works as a medical scribe using AI to document clinician-patient encounters, and then autonomous coding steps in as a medical coder to translate and assign the necessary codes for billing.

These types of end-to-end strategies are more compelling and impactful. Health system CEOs increasingly gravitate toward them to ease administrative burdens, speed up visit-related processes, and enhance patient outcomes. The market is supporting this expectation: Abridge, an ambient documentation platform, recently raised $150 million in funding, and Google Cloud added an autonomous medical coding solution to its marketplace earlier this year. Used in conjunction, these technologies offer more integrated – and more valuable – strategies for health systems.

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