Artificial intelligence is poised to make a major impact on healthcare and healthcare technology. Investment in the healthcare AI sector alone is predicted to reach $6.6 billion by 2021. By 2026, that number will balloon $150 billion. And there’s no doubt about the transformative power of artificial intelligence, however, in terms of healthcare, its restorative effects are truly life changing.
Today, there’s a term in healthcare called the “iron triangle.” The iron triangle refers to three combined factors that can have negatives trade offs: affordability, access, and effectiveness. Though closely interlocked, improving one area without neglecting another is very difficult—even in modern times. With AI, the healthcare is much better equipped to tackle these conundrums. Here’s how artificial intelligence will impact the future of healthcare tech:
Prevention Intervention
One of the biggest benefits of AI in healthcare is the ability to predict potential issues and eradicate them before they become too serious. Machine learning is a major part of prevention intervention. With machine learning, computer systems are handed data and use statistical techniques to identify patterns over time and “learn” more about the information it processes. Doctors can use these targeted analytics to make more accurate diagnosis, spot potential issues before they arise, assess risks, and offer better treatment plans.
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DrChrono Inc. rolled all of the DrChrono features from iPad and iPad Pro into iPhone mobile EHR/practice management app. DrChrono EHR is fully compatible with the new iPad 7, iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. In addition, for the first time ever, a medical records app can now use Apple Pencil features.
New iPhone EHR Features
DrChrono created parity, putting all of the DrChrono features from iPad and iPad Pro into the iPhone. Using the new “Messages” icon on the DrChrono EHR on iPhone, physicians can get any information about their practice including incoming and outgoing faxes, lab results, prescription requests, referrals, and online appointments.
“Tasks” are also now available on iPhone to allow staff and physicians to track complex patient workflows. For example, if a provider orders a lab for a patient, a task can be set for the provider to follow up with that patient. On iPhone, some of the new “Tasks” features include task creation, custom statuses, categorization, filtering, searching, setting due dates, the ability to associate a task to inbox messages and/or patients and task templates for common tasks.
New iPad EHR and Apple Pencil Feature
DrChrono also supports the new seventh generation iPad, which includes a 10.2-inch retina display, support for Apple Pencil, a full-size smart keyboard, and A10 fusion chip at a $329.00 price point. DrChrono also just launched the first Apple Pencil medical record experience, allowing providers to double tap on Apple Pencil while drawing on medical record images.
“We are excited about the new iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch that were just announced. With our commitment to Apple, DrChrono just launched a big enhancement to our mobile EHR app on iPhone to ensure that we’re creating the very best experience on both iPad as well as iPhone,” said Daniel Kivatinos, Co-founder and COO of DrChrono. “We envision a world where providers can do everything on iPhone, making a physician’s life easier.” Kivatinos adds, ”It is the little things that make an amazing experience, for example the new Apple Pencil double-tap is a wow experience which allows providers to do their very best work while seeing patients.”
Eagle Telemedicine has begun a telehospitalist/telenocturnist program at Jersey Community Hospital (JCH) in Jerseyville, Ill. The rural hospital about an hour north of St. Louis now joins the more than 150 hospitals nationwide that use Eagle’s TeleHospitalist and TeleSpecialty services.
“We are pleased to welcome JCH to the Eagle family,” said Talbot “Mac” McCormick, MD, president and CEO of Eagle Telemedicine. “JCH was at a turning point, the kind of thing a lot of hospitals face today. When the private physicians were in their offices seeing patients and a full load of work in front of them, calls from the hospital encountered constant interruption, delays, and disconnect in communication. JCH took a bold step to do something different.”
JCH had faced challenges like those of many rural hospitals. Licensed for under 50 beds, it was unable to sustain a full-time onsite hospitalist program and was putting too great a strain on local physicians to share rounding and emergency calls, especially at night and on weekends. Patient retention was suffering. When its part-time hospitalist announced plans to begin semi-retirement, the hospital’s leadership knew it had to try a different approach, something that was a long-term solution.
NPs and Telehospitalists Work Collaboratively
Now with Eagle, JCH has implemented a model where onsite nurse practitioners (NPs) work collaboratively with Eagle telemedicine physicians, who provide support and guidance whenever they are needed.
“We have NPs who are the boots-on-the-ground on the medical floor,” said Michael McNear, M.D., JCH’s chief medical officer. “They are here seven days a week and are the touchpoint with the Eagle telephysicians.” Now the facility is no longer struggling to compete for physicians with larger hospitals in St. Louis and has greatly eased the burden on primary care physicians practicing in Jerseyville.
Most of the physicians on the Eagle team are in Kansas and are part of a Great Plains consortium founded to help rural hospitals in critical access areas solve staffing challenges.
Patient Transfers Already Reduced
Though it’s too early to have metrics showing the positive contribution of the Eagle program—it went live May 13—Dr. McNear says it’s clear the program has reduced the number of patients JCH was transferring to other hospitals.
“We had seen a general movement of more patients being transferred from our Emergency Room (ER) to other hospitals for several reasons, including the fact that our physicians just weren’t comfortable caring for a higher level of patients. With Eagle’s telemedicine physicians handling our admissions and our coverage, we have eliminated that. They are very experienced and comfortable with hospital medicine and caring for critically ill patients.”
Program Well-Accepted
Patients and staff have adapted well to the new program, according to Julie Smith, RN, JCH’s chief nursing officer. “After the announcement of the program at JCH, we had a lot of questions about rolling a computer robot into patient rooms,” she said. “But when the telemedicine physicians appeared on the monitor and talked with us, everyone was really impressed. When we finally went live, the patients were easily happy with the situation. There weren’t any naysayers left after the first week.”
Erin Kochan, population health director for JCH, had worked with Eagle at her previous position at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon, Ill., which has a TeleStroke/TeleNeurology program managed by Eagle. She helped JCH make the initial connection with Eagle.
“Fifteen years ago, before I got into administration, I probably would have said that telemedicine will never work,” said Dr. McNear. “But over the last 10 years, you start to see the bigger picture. These kinds of programs absolutely can work. The main thing the patient wants is to be treated well and be listened to. Wherever that comes from, they’re going to be happy.”
Humankind is prone to much insecurity. Human beings are fragile creations, and they tend to slip in and fall for various wrong things that might often land them into a tizzy.
One of these is, of course, drug addiction– a weapon from the dark side that looms a catastrophic shadow on the brightest of minds squanders aspirations of millions of young people and stops countries from growing their productivity. Yes, this problem is indeed a fatal epidemic.
Now that we are on a canvas where blotches of drug and substance abuse are ubiquitous, shouldn’t we be the ones put an end to it? Well, it’s easier said than done, and this is all the more a reason to work with the masses and put an end to drug addiction. The question that everyone asks is, how can drug addiction be stopped? We don’t have any control over the person’s cravings or his/her nerves, so what do we do? The answer is simple.
The important thing that we have to do to stop drug addiction is to kill the baby before it transcends into a gregarious monster. For that reason, it is imperative to catch symptoms of someone getting hooked to drugs and substances to refrain them from falling into its enchanting trap. And this is not only valid for people around us, our family and our friends — but to the person reading this.
Now’s the time to take over the wheel and here’s how you can make sure that you or anybody around you doesn’t give in to drug or substance addiction and you must come out unscathed too. Drug abuse is no joke, and people out there suffer from it. The fact that (if) you are sober calls for a celebration itself and this reevaluating joy should be shared among all your peers too.
Now that we know that drug addiction is all in one’s head, it should be a more straightforward task to move on from drugs. Even if you are the most rational person in the world and you took a solemn vow for yourself to never get addicted to drugs, still give it a read. It might be of help one way or another, according to drvorobjev clinic.
Here are some things individuals have to keep a check on so that they stay away from this severe and catastrophic problem of drug addiction. Read away and share of your wisdom with others, for your kind words might save a person from the evils of drug addiction.
Get your life together
We wanted to use the phrase “get your sh*t together,” but we thought it was too strong to be put out there. The biggest reason for alcohol, substance, and drug abuse is the inability of a person to cope with life’s pressures. Don’t worry, and these problems aren’t even as big as you think they might be. They are just daily life jitters that become too much to handle– something like you dropping your apartment keys while unlocking it after a tough day at work.
People often find alcohol, drugs, and various substances helpful in becoming their “escape route” from the realities of life. Many songs have tangibly brought forth how people “drink to forget” what they are going through. This is a severe test of your wits, rational thinking, and determination– stay away from drugs and alcohol as much as you can, focus on getting your life on track and never look back to lament on things.
They’re not your peers if they push you into drugs
“Here, try it once.”
This is how drug addiction kicks off in a general sense. A group of friends chilling out together, talking about things that aren’t going to change things and it’s all fun and games until one rotten fish pollutes the whole pond by pulling out drugs and substances and offering it for trial. This happens more than anything else in case of teenagers who can’t do a whole lot but get into the groove for fame. Drugs and substances are no longer dopamine releasers, and they are fashion statements too.
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Pillo Health and BLACK+DECKER today announced an ongoing collaboration to further the companies’ shared mission to help adults and their caregivers independently and proactively manage their healthcare at home. Now available, the Pria by BLACK+DECKER robot assistant is the first commercially available product created in partnership by the two companies. Pillo Health developed the innovative, proprietary technology platform that powers Pria, and BLACK+DECKER is facilitating its direct launch to consumers in need of an in-home solution to extend the circle of caregiving.
The companion robot market is expected to reach $34.1 billion by 2022 and, specifically, the smart home elderly monitoring market is projected to grow 600 percent by 2020. The Pillo Health technology bringing Pria to life leverages facial recognition and AI, enabling adults to maintain safety, independence and wellness in-home, while providing peace of mind to those who are deeply involved in their care through a mobile app. The device proactively facilitates in-home healthcare management by scheduling up to 28 medication doses, providing reminder alerts, dispensing proper medication at the proper times, and providing the user with fast access to family or caregivers with a simple voice command and built-in camera.
The partnership between BLACK+DECKER, Inc., and Pillo Health to launch Pria direct-to-consumer was executed by Stanley Healthcare, which provides innovative solutions and technology for safer, more secure and more efficient care in senior living. Pria by BLACK+DECKER will employ a comprehensive care platform designed for the 40-plus million adults in the U.S. who act as caregivers to adults aging in place. Pillo Health will market Pillo, its version of the companion, directly to healthcare providers and other organizations that want to revolutionize and improve the health and wellness of patients at home.
“Our goal is to help Pria by BLACK+DECKER address the needs of people who want to improve their quality of life and safety while living in the comfort of their own homes,” said Emanuele Musini, co-founder and CEO of Pillo Health. “Together, we’re also creating a way for caregivers to connect with loved ones in an impactful way, and broadening our portfolio of home health and wellness products that allow adults to stay in their homes longer thanks to an engaging smart device, mobile app and data catered to their individual needs.”
“Pria is the first true home care companion designed specifically to facilitate the wellbeing of independent individuals at home, while providing a platform for caregivers to monitor and manage the delivery of medication and care plans,” said Sean O’Brien, director, Health-at-Home Technologies, Stanley Healthcare. “Collaborating with Pillo Health helped us bring Pria to market quickly and collectively address two critical care-focused market segments.”
Pria by BLACK+DECKER™ is available to consumers on www.okpria.com and through select retail partners for $749.99 for the product and a one year subscription for use. For more information, visit www.okpria.com.
Pillo Health is currently seeking additional partners who are looking for new ways to improve the safety and quality of in-home healthcare. For more information, visit www.pillohealth.com.
CAQH CORE and Health Level Seven International (HL7) announce a collaboration to address long-standing healthcare industry challenges by accelerating automation and improving interoperability between administrative and clinical systems. This is the first time these two organizations, which conduct complementary work to improve the electronic exchange of data across the healthcare industry, have collaborated on solutions to specific technical and administrative burdens.
“Our collaboration will help move the healthcare industry towards greater automation and streamlined business processes,” said April Todd, senior vice president, CAQH. “We are delighted to work with HL7 to address some of the biggest interoperability issues facing the industry.”
The two organizations will initially collaborate in three areas:
- Prior Authorization: Currently, the prior authorization process is a labor intensive, time consuming, and costly administrative burden for providers and payers. It also frustrates patients and, in some cases, delays care. HL7 and CAQH CORE will collaborate to move the industry towards end-to-end automation of the prior authorization process.
- Exchange of Medical Documentation: According to the CAQH Index, 84 percent of attachments, or documents that prove medical necessity, are exchanged manually and often contain too much, too little, or the wrong type of information. This delays prior authorizations, hinders the transition to value-based payments, and costs plans and providers time and money. HL7 and CAQH CORE will work to align their respective efforts to support the electronic exchange of clinical information and medical documentation.
- Value-Based Payments: The transition to value-based payment models has been slowed by a patchwork of administrative and technical approaches and work-arounds. HL7 and CAQH CORE will work together to address the interoperability challenges causing administrative burden for innovative payment models.
“HL7 and CAQH have made great strides to improve the exchange of information in the healthcare continuum,” said Charles Jaffe, MD, PhD, CEO, HL7 International. “Our collaboration will enable better alignment and accelerate progress toward interoperability between clinical and administrative systems.”
Heal announces its move into New York City and its acquisition of Doctors on Call (DOC), one of New York’s leading and trusted medical house call services for the elderly. The acquisition marks Heal’s entry into its largest single city, making Heal services available to more than 75 million Americans throughout Atlanta, Georgia; California, New York, Northern Virginia and D.C.
“Our acquisition of NYC-based Doctors on Call further extends our leadership in house call based primary care for people of all ages,” notes Nick Desai, co-founder, and CEO. “New York City is like a second home for us, and we’re thrilled to serve the Big Apple with the best personalized, innovative healthcare. The Doctors on Call team shares Heal’s values of providing leading-edge healthcare in a location that is convenient for the patient and offers the opportunity to learn about patient needs in order to best serve their medical needs.”
Heal’s acquisition of Doctors on Call – which averaged 42,000 house calls to seniors in NYC in 2018 – is aimed at transforming an old-school, people-intensive practice into an omni-modal care solution that lowers healthcare operating costs and provides always-on, connected care. In 2019 alone, Heal will perform more than 100,000 house calls, averaging an estimated $53,700,000 per year in overall healthcare cost savings. The consistent increase in consumer demand for Heal services has uptrended its growth by more than 310% over the last 12 months.
In less than four years, Heal has provided house calls across California, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia, and has reduced unnecessary emergency room and urgent care visits by up to 71%. Heal has also reduced hospitalization by 28%.
“Doctors on Call has focused on providing quality, compassionate care to the elderly and infirm and we are honored to become part of the Heal family and move our services to the next level,” notes Paul R. Rosenstock, MD, Doctors on Call Founder, named Medical Director at Heal. “Nick [Desai] and Dr. Renee Dua are working to repair the broken healthcare system and we are looking forward to joining the team and offer our patients the future of care.”
Amidst various initiatives to make healthcare bills less mystifying, educating providers on their spending habits may have a positive impact. A major factor contributing to the cost of care is what type of spender a patient’s provider is, according to new data released by IllumiCare.
IllumiCare’s research found thousands of dollars in disparities among providers of the same specialties taking care of the same type of patients, both across different hospitals and within the same hospital. The variations stem from costs providers make judgement calls about — such as ordering medications, lab tests and radiological exams.
Previous research in the Journal of American Medical Association was limited to hospitalists and internal medicine providers. It found that health care spending varies even more across individual physicians within the same hospital than it varies across different hospitals. IllumiCare’s analysis covered all subspecialties and sheds new light on cost variation in more targeted specialties such as cardiology and pulmonology.
IllumiCare presents costs, risks, and other key data in the clinical workflow using the Smart Ribbon platform, a floating ribbon of cost and risk data that unobtrusively overlays a hospital’s EMR. The data comes from dozens of acute care hospitals across the country. IllumiCare collected data about the wholesale cost of every order for a medication, lab, and radiology test, who ordered it (by provider/type) and the patient’s acuity.
The company’s Cost Variation eReport found substantial spending differences within providers working in the same specialty and on the same type of patients, including:
- A $5,438 variation between the 25th and 75th percentiles among pediatric hematology-oncologists
- Nearly a $3,000 difference among OB/GYNs between the 25th and 75th percentiles among vaginal deliveries without a complicating diagnosis
- A difference of $3,885 between the 25th and 75th percentile range of spending for OB/GYN orders of Cesarean Sections without complications or comorbidities.
While every patient and procedure has unique needs, vast cost variations on standard procedures without complications should be alarming to the health system. Moreover, providers need to understand how their own practice patterns differ from peers.
The report outlines the 15 sub-specialty/diagnosis-related group combinations with the largest cost variations. When costs are scaled to reflect the disparities between different diagnosis-related groups, cardiology and OB/GYN specialists showed the greatest variation. The study found these variations stem from differing practice patterns among providers in the same sub-specialties — for instance, in which medications they prescribe.
“These spending disparities ultimately impact patient bills and affordability of care, particularly with patients carrying greater responsibility for their healthcare costs in recent years,” said G.T. LaBorde, CEO of IllumiCare. “We built the Smart Ribbon to increase transparency for providers, who have been historically navigating care decisions without insight into cost. Bringing awareness to cost variation and providing a tool that allows providers to make more judicious decisions at the point of care promotes a culture of clinical stewardship that can greatly impact over utilization.”