In recent years, the global healthcare industry has been under heavy attack by cybercriminals. The sector stands in fourth place among the most targeted industries, and one-fifth of its spending is dedicated to cybersecurity. The global healthcare cybersecurity market was valued at $12.6 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at an annual growth rate of 18.3% from 2022 to 2030.
93% of healthcare organizations faced a data breach
The healthcare industry has suffered from significant growth in the number of cyberattacks. Forty-five million records of patients were exposed to healthcare attacks in 2021, a number that has tripled in the last three years. One-third of all significant data breaches targeted hospital accounts.
Thirty-four percent of data breaches are related to unauthorized access to healthcare networks. Furthermore, 1.5 billion users’ personally identifiable information (PII) was leaked due to third-party violations in 2021. Ninety-three percent of healthcare organizations experienced a data breach in 2016-2019 and a quarter of physicians couldn’t identify the common signs of malware.
Revenue cycle management solutions leader, AGS Health, announces the opening of a new office location in Jaipur, India. The new facility will support the organization’s ongoing expansion and dedication to cultivating workforce talent.
AGS Health opened in 2011 with offices in Chennai, India, and New York City. As the company celebrates its 11th anniversary, it now employs a 100% graduate workforce of approximately 10,000 employees, serving more than 100 major healthcare providers across the U.S. As the company continues to grow, AGS Health is diversifying its global operating locations.
Jaipur was selected as the newest office location, in part for its skilled talent pool. By partnering with local universities, AGS Health is able to recruit and train recent graduates on medical coding and revenue cycle management in the AGS Health Training Academy. “We believe the quality of talent in this region will allow us to continue delivering world-class service as we grow,” said Patrice R. Wolfe, chief executive officer of AGS Health. The company has already begun hiring for the Jaipur location and expects to be staffed at approximately 350 team members by August, with a goal of scaling up to 3,000 as operations are established.
By Ashley Walsh, vice president of client services, iQueue for OR, LeanTaaS.
After a two-month decline, COVID-19 is rising again, in the form of the Omicron BA.2 subvariant.S. On top of managing perpetual variants, health systems will continue navigating the ongoing staffing shortages that have been exacerbated by pandemic-related case surges.
These escalating shortages of clinical staff cause massive challenges for health systems, including fluctuations in surgical case volumes and ongoing backlogs of deferred procedures – a vicious cycle that can be costly to health systems.
Health systems often turn to hiring or spending more to mitigate the strain of staffing shortages, but that is not always the best answer as demand and capacity will inevitably fluctuate. AI-powered technology can help bridge the fundamental gaps between supply and demand in health systems. Here are three ways AI-based technology can improve efficiencies and combat critical resource challenges heightened by COVID-19 patient surges.
Optimize Scheduling and Communication
One of the biggest challenges health systems face during patient surges is scheduling inefficiencies. Health systems are often forced to temporarily close some of their surgical sites, then manage them as they re-open at different paces with specific location-based criteria for rescheduling cases. Clinic schedulers struggle to keep up with changes through back and forth calls, emails, booking forms, or fax messages. Instead of relying on outdated and inefficient communications, health systems can implement centralized AI-based scheduling tools.
Baptist Health Jacksonville, for example, successfully utilized an electronic case scheduling tool during a COVID-19 surge. In July 2021, the system had to shut down elective surgeries at three hospitals and two ASCs for nearly two months, and all non-critical surgical procedures requiring a bed needed to be rescheduled. To keep up with ongoing demand and changes in scheduling and regulations they used an automated scheduling platform that allowed in-app communication, streamlining the process across the entire health system. Instead of spending time with circular calls and emails, Baptist Health was able to quickly respond to scheduling changes, reduce errors and alleviate stress on an already overburdened staff.
Enhance Workflows with Backlog Visibility
As mentioned, there have been a significant number of surgeries needing to be rescheduled from patient surges, leading to a growing backlog of cases. As hospitals struggle to match their limited OR staff and resources with this built-up demand, these staff and clinic schedulers are further limited and burdened by inefficient workflows. This leads to poor use of available OR time and space and higher costs for the health system overall.
A solution is to provide accessible backlog transparency. Backlog management solutions offer complete visibility into the surgeon’s backlog so that staff and schedulers can execute recovery strategies appropriately, including by shifting volume, extending hours, and building effective block schedules. By supporting their personnel in adjusting and reallocating resources quickly, health systems can improve workflows, maximize OR time and reduce extra work for staff.
By Christine Cooper, CEO and member; and Jack Towarnicky, member, aequum LLC.
Effective healthcare consumerism requires timely access to accurate provider and hospital fees and estimated out of pocket costs of services – before receiving care. Price transparency puts employer-sponsored benefit plans in the driver’s seat, empowering participants with information that helps them be more prepared, involved and informed in proactively making cost-conscious decisions about their health care options and utilization.
This empowerment is especially important in today’s economy. Many workers are “financially fragile” and have not set aside savings specifically earmarked for out-of-pocket medical expenses, including regular cost sharing – deductibles, copayments, coinsurance. As healthcare continues to see rising cost inflation, price transparency is more in the spotlight, triggering a (re)introduction of healthcare consumer strategies. By taking advantage of price transparency, making comparative cost and quality information available, and capitalizing on cost containment opportunities, plan sponsors and their participants can fully optimize the value of their health benefits plan.
Taking Advantage of Price Transparency
There is complexity in healthcare due to a lack of price transparency. This is especially prevalent in medical billing. Health policy changes have been enacted to make cost information in the healthcare industry more easily available to consumers with the expectation that price transparency will provide better metrics for healthcare spending. The appeal of price transparency is based on the view that increased consumer choice and less information asymmetry will aid in achieving higher-quality, lower-cost health care.
Legislation is now in effect to better enable Americans with knowing the true cost of provider health services before receiving care and submitting a claim. Federal law now supports employer-sponsored health plan access to price transparency with added levels of protection and fairness. Executive Order 13877—Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First, significantly expanded the requirements for hospital and other medical provider price transparency.
By Rebecca Chi, chief client experience officer, AristaMD.
Accessing specialty medical care shouldn’t be difficult, yet 27% of people in the U.S. wait one month or more to see healthcare specialists. A survey by AristaMD of four in-demand specialties – cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, and gastroenterology, revealed that appointment wait times for some specialties exceed 90-days.
Endocrinology has an average wait period of 67 days, which surpasses the overall survey average by 19 days. Gastroenterology generally has more providers per clinic, yet still averages a 64-day wait time per provider and a 16-day increase from the overall average.
While these metrics reflect a broader trend of rising healthcare wait times across the country, the daily impact on individuals is cause for concern. Each day that patients wait to receive specialty care, the likelihood the appointment will be canceled, or the person will suffer additional medical complications rises. The time-lapse to see a specialist is lengthening in the U.S., but one solution is working to effectively combat the wait-time challenge – eConsults.
The Issue of Long Wait Times
While endocrinology and gastroenterology top the wait-per-provider by specialty, several states are experiencing higher-than-average wait times as compared to the rest of the nation. For example, Oregon has the most extreme wait times with an above-average wait time across cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology and gastroenterology. Specifically, the city of Portland ranks as having one of the highest appointment wait times in the country, averaging a total of two months to secure a patient appointment for an emergent condition. Additionally, areas such as Tacoma, Washington and Richmond, Virginia are seeing staggering appointment scheduling challenges with dermatology appointments booked 139 days out, which is 103-days greater than the specialty’s average.
Complicated referral process that delays appointment scheduling
Shortage of specialists nationwide
Poor distribution of specialists across the country
Office staffing shortages
Challenges finding a specialist who participates in health plan’s provider network
Regardless of the issue behind the rising delay in scheduling patients needing advice from a specialist, the outcomes are:
Increasing health risks
Driving patients to more expensive alternatives, like the emergency department
Decreasing patient satisfaction
Negatively impacting primary care physicians’ health plan star ratings
The Benefits of eConsults
As wait times continue to soar at healthcare clinics, there is a solution to reduce the impact of the shortage of available specialist appointments. With electronic physician-to-physician consultations, or eConsults, primary care physicians are empowered to provide specialist-guided care to patients – efficiently and effectively. All patients deserve timely, cost-effective access to healthcare, and eConsults are available to help reach this goal.
Electronic consultations are online medical consultations between physicians to communicate about a patient’s current symptoms, possible diagnosis and appropriate treatment plan with the benefit of the expertise of a physician specialist. This collaboration between primary care providers and specialists not only improves the patient experience but also optimizes clinical revenue, offers rapid access to specialty care and reduces routine clinical referrals by 70 percent. Instead of sending patients to find a specialist who participates in their health plan’s provider network, primary care physicians can reach out to specialists and get back to their patients within hours with the next steps in their treatment plan. A process that required multiple trips to the specialist’s office and traditionally spanned months is completed within hours.
It’s time to challenge the status quo against unprecedented healthcare wait times with a solution that advocates for timely patient care and less unnecessary face-to-face referrals and repeated diagnostics. eConsults can connect primary care physicians to specialists to decrease wait times, expand care capacity, and improve quality ratings. With the average wait per specialty provider growing, physicians can take the issue into their own hands and meet patients’ needs in the primary care setting.
It’s no secret that America’s mental health is in crisis, with more than 7.5% of adult Americans reporting at least one depressive episode per year, according to Time Magazine. The mental health challenges for young adults are even more disparaging, with 17% of those aged 18-25 struggling with a mental health-related issue.
Yet the initiatives and measures put in place to curb America’s mental health crisis are in shambles. The same folks who have been protesting against progressive programs like Critical Race Theory have now switched their attention to mental health, as per an NBC News report, some wondering why certain professional school counselors are paid $90k.
Most experts note that the COVID-19 pandemic is partly responsible for the restricted access to psychotherapy personnel and therefore a big player in the ongoing mental health crisis. It’s imperative that we need a better medical care system to match.
Pay per click (PPC) is a paid advertising strategy that can help your hospital or clinic generate more leads. It helps you reach your target market by placing ads in search engines like Google and Bing.
Though organic digital marketing efforts can help establish a long-term brand identity, sales revenue may take months to begin. PPC is the quickest way to generate leads and accommodate patients online. Here are some ideas for using PPC to attract new patients.
Show Your Ads on Google
Google lets you to bid for keywords and show your brand in the top search result. If you are just starting your website and want timmediate patient inquiries through PPC, you will need to bid higher for keywords to beat those who have established high website ranks.
While you’re doing your PPC came, continue with your search engine optimization (SEO). As you gain a higher website rank, you will spend less on your medical PPC ads, according to Digital Authority Partners.
To improve your sites, create well-researched content, and providing exceptional customer support.
Meanwhlie, to generate quality leads, refine your Google ad campaign’s demographic profile. For example, if you house patients near a hospital, target local women of childbearing age.
Choose keywords with a high click-through rates but are not too expensive. Go for those that will bring traffic to your hospital or clinic. If you have more money, bid on expensive keywords.
Maximize YouTube’s Ad Campaign Potential
Google owns YouTube. If you have video materials for clinic promotion, you can also use YouTube’s PPC to drive more inquiries and boost your lead generation campaign. YouTube can provide a separate ad promotion for your website or brand aside from your Google PPC.
YouTube leverages your video material. Still, you must join the bidding process and specify your target audience to attract suitable patients or clients for your advertisement.
You should also build and optimize your YouTube account, you might buy subscribers to optimize your channel perfectly. It’s important to mention that the community tab is available to channels with at least 500 subscribers on YouTube. So you can get fans if you’re struggling to build manually.Be consistent with your messages across the platform to establish your credibility online.
In essence, if your YouTube ad contains a website link, the landing page must have related medical content that helps the user know more about what the ad contains. If a user cannot find more information about the ad’s content, he or she will simply leave the page. You wouldn’t want to waste leads because PPC campaigns cost more.
By Andrea Kowalski, senior vice president of product, Tebra.
As private practices everywhere struggle to maintain their independence, they face changing reimbursements, demanding regulatory requirements, and ever-increasing costs. Implementing an electronic health record (EHR) system can help them to address these challenges. An EHR can improve profitability, reduce operational costs, and increase patient and physician satisfaction — all while having an overall positive impact on patient care.
An EHR has the ability to shape the future of a small practice. From efficiency to a satisfying return on investment to saving time and money, an EHR has demonstrable advantages. Implementing and having a system in place requires commitment and investment. However, such a step will help practices maintain their independence and continue to adapt and thrive in the future.
Centralized Data and Analytics
Thanks to its visual representation, an EHR dashboard offers relevant data with immediate analytics that relate to financial performance, patient care, and open tasks. Each member of the practice can take in a full-picture view that constantly refreshes with new or updated data. With a certified EHR solution, providers and clinical staff have better control of how they deliver care. The practice’s needs, whether charting, documentation, patient history, or eLabs, are delivered all together for smoother operations.
An EHR not only provides insights into critical information but also allows providers to easily and quickly generate reports and examine the data behind the analytics. For example, practice managers can access a real-time view of patients scheduled for the day and their eligibility data, copay information, and more.
