Sat.Sep 07, 2024 - Fri.Sep 13, 2024

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PBM executives decline to revise controversial testimony to House committee

Health Care Dive

The leaders of Caremark, Optum Rx and Express Scripts had until Wednesday to walk back statements they made in July — or face potential legal action. However, the executives are sticking to their guns.

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UTHealth Houston collaborates with OpenAI to offer clinicians HIPAA-compliant ChatGPT solutions

Fierce Healthcare

UTHealth Houston unveiled a partnership with OpenAI on Friday to build and deploy algorithms for use in medical training and at the patient’s bedside. | UTHealth Houston, an academic medical center in Texas, is partnering with OpenAI to give clinicians, faculty and students access to ChatGPT tools to build custom, HIPAA-compliant AI solutions.

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Virtual physical therapy programs help patients stay motivated

Healthcare It News

Luca Chittaro of Italy's University of Udine talks about how immersive virtual reality stories can gamify physical therapy to help distract from pain and encourage patients to increase treatment compliance.

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CPT 2025 Code Set Released, Featuring AI Integration, Digital Medicine

HIT Consultant

What You Should Know: – The American Medical Association (AMA) has released the CPT® 2025 code set , a comprehensive update that reflects the latest advancements in medical procedures and services. – This year’s release features 420 total changes, including 270 new codes, 112 deletions, and 38 revisions. Key Updates in CPT 2025 CPT codes are essential for data sharing, billing, and reimbursement in the healthcare industry.

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Fertility Benefits Playbook: How HR Leaders Are Delivering Value in 2025

Speaker: Kaitlin Ruby Carroll

Fertility benefits have become a crucial component of employee well-being and retention strategies. In today’s competitive landscape, creating a fertility benefits program that aligns with both employee needs and organizational goals can be more complex than it seems. From cycle-based to flat-dollar and telehealth models, each solution offers unique advantages and challenges that directly affect employee satisfaction and financial well-being.

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Where healthcare AI startups are raising venture capital funding

Health Care Dive

Just over 5% of companies selling AI to health systems have matured beyond seed and early-stage funding rounds, according to an analysis by Flare Capital Partners.

More Trending

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AI-powered cognitive priming helps one PT clinic improve care and boost its bottom line

Healthcare It News

Matt Mastenbrook, DPT, clinic manager and treating physical therapist at Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation, says one of his first goals as a manager was to set his clinic apart from the many others in the area. And leading-edge technology would be a key change agent. THE PROBLEM Mastenbrook decided to advance and optimize Baylor's use of the CogPT platform, developed by vendor Academy Medtech Ventures.

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Top Home Health Operators: If You’re Not Really Good At Something, Ditch It

Home Health Care

Yet another significant cut to home health payments has been proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for 2025. For providers, that means more pushback against cuts is in order, locally and in Washington, D.C. But it also means preparing for a world where Medicare fee-for-service is no longer a reliable backbone. CMS proposed a permanent prospective adjustment to the CY 2025 home health payment rate of -4.067% back in June.

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AHA’s new deputy cyber advisor: Hospitals need to think regionally about cyberattacks

Health Care Dive

Hospitals are primed for natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes, but many haven’t thought about the domino effect cyberattacks can have locally, said Scott Gee, who joined AHA last month.

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Nationwide hospital mortality risk fell as acuity, volumes rose, report finds

Fierce Healthcare

Hospital patients’ risk of death has fallen substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic and the months preceding it, even as hospitals are treating more and sicker patients, according to a new report | An analysis of 715 hospitals' patient safety metrics showed that patients hospitalized in Q1 2024 were about 22% more likely to survive as compared to Q4 2019, after adjusting for illness severity.

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Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide

Managing HR tasks like payroll, compliance, and employee data can overwhelm small businesses. That’s where a Human Capital Management (HCM) solution comes in. Our eBook, Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide , shows how an HCM system automates tedious processes, ensuring your business stays compliant and efficient. You’ll learn how to simplify payroll, eliminate costly errors, and empower your employees with self-service tools.

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Queensland begins telestroke pilot and more briefs

Healthcare It News

Queensland to pilot telestroke service at Hervey Bay Hospital The Queensland government has designated Hervey Bay Hospital as the pilot site for the upcoming statewide telestroke service. Based on a media release, doctors and nurses at Hervey Bay Hospital are being prepared for the Queensland Telestroke Service pilot happening in the coming weeks. Queensland is the remaining Australian state to launch a telestroke service.

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The Imperative to Stay the Course on Value-Based Transformation

HIT Consultant

Courtney Fortner, President and Chief Executive Officer at Navvis Is value-based care still the right strategy to reduce U.S. healthcare costs? Or is it time to move to what comes next in the generation-long battle to constrain total medical spending? The question is being increasingly asked and with good reason. For 2024 medical costs are projected to rise 7.0% year over year for Individual and Group markets.

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Telehealth groups urge Congress, White House to extend controlled substance virtual prescribing

Health Care Dive

More than 300 telehealth and provider groups say time is running out for regulators to propose a rule before pandemic-era flexibilities expire at the end of the year.

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Biden admin mandates mental health parity in final rule

Fierce Healthcare

The Biden administration is strengthening private health coverage for individuals seeking mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) care in a final rule unveiled Monday. | The feds are attempting to better regulate mental health coverage by bolstering protections around prior authorization, step therapy and provider networks.

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Best Practices to Streamline Compensation Management: A Foundation for Growth

Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson

Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.

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Many women skip care due to access issues, survey shows

Healthcare It News

The U.S. healthcare system may not be fully meeting the needs of women, if a new report is any indication. In a survey of consumers conducted by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, women are 35% more likely than men to say they've skipped or delayed medical care over a 12-month period. The reasons for this come down to access, affordability and past negative experiences.

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Small Language Models vs. Large Language Models: Which is Better for Healthcare?

HIT Consultant

Diego Espada, VP of Delivery, BairesDev Large language models (LLMs) use AI to reply to questions in a conversational manner. Our friend ChatGPT is an LLM. It can reply to an uncapped range of queries because it taps into one billion or more parameters of data. Small language models (SLMs) are their pocket-sized cousins. An SLM specializes in tasks associated with smaller, more focused datasets.

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Major PBMs could be zeroing in on specific payer markets for dominance, study suggests

Health Care Dive

Though CVS Caremark holds a dominant share of the commercial, Medicare Part D and Medicaid managed care markets, each large pharmacy benefit manager seems to be focusing on one particular arena.

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Mercer: Employer benefit costs set to rise by more 5% in 2025 for 3rd straight year

Fierce Healthcare

Employers are bracing for a third straight year with health benefit costs increasing more than 5%, according to a new report from Mercer. | Employers are bracing for a third straight year with health benefit cost increases of more than 5%, according to a new report from Mercer.

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How to Battle Layoffs: The Career Star Accelerator Bootcamp

Facing layoffs in your organization? Support your team members' career transition with Career Star Accelerator Bootcamp: Custom Resume & LinkedIn Revamp + 6 Weeks of Career Coaching. Our certified resume writers will create job search-winning resumes and LinkedIn profiles while they work with a career coach to learn unique strategies to stand out, attract the right employers, automate their job search, and land their dream job.

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World Sepsis Day 2024: Focus on Protecting Children from Sepsis

CDC

For the last seven years, Get Ahead of Sepsis has encouraged patients, their loved ones, and healthcare professionals to know the risks, spot the signs and symptoms, and act fast if they suspect sepsis during Sepsis Awareness Month and year-round. Anyone can get an infection, and almost any infection can lead to sepsis. Some people are at higher risk, including children younger than one.

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Better Referral Source Relationships Kickstart Growth For Home-Based Care Providers

Home Health Care

This article is a part of your HHCN+ Membership Referral sources are the lifeblood of home-based care companies. Even with payment and staffing headwinds, solid referral source relationships offer a path to sustainability for providers. At Avid Health at Home, there are a number of elements that go into its referral source strategy. The company prioritizes routine communication, and personalizing outreach.

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Iowa awards Centene Medicaid managed care contract

Health Care Dive

Iowa Total Care, a subsidiary of the St. Louis-based payer, can continue doing business in Iowa’s managed care program, which paid it $2.8 billion in the last fiscal year.

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AppliedVR's flagship VR device for chronic lower back pain now in network for Highmark members

Fierce Healthcare

Pittsburgh-based Highmark has signed on as AppliedVR's first commercial payer partner, making its flagship VR device for chronic lower back pain a covered treatment for more than 4 million plan mem | Pittsburgh-based Highmark has signed on as AppliedVR's first commercial payer partner, making its flagship VR device for chronic lower back pain a covered treatment for more than 4 million plan members.

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How To Empower Your Workforce With Modern Fertility Benefits

Speaker: Andrea Wuchiski

In an era where a workforce spans multiple generations, HR managers and Total Rewards leaders face the unique challenge of designing benefits packages that cater to diverse employee needs. This session will delve into how comprehensive fertility benefits can bridge generational gaps, support employees’ health, and enhance workplace satisfaction. Join us for an insightful session that highlights the strategic importance of fertility benefits in today’s competitive job market.

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Fathom Autonomous Medical Coding Available in Epic Toolbox

HIT Consultant

What You Should Know: – Fathom , a pioneer in autonomous medical coding, announced today that its technology has been added to Epic’s Toolbox program within the Fully Autonomous Coding category. – By being part of Toolbox, Fathom can reach a wider audience of healthcare providers and demonstrate its compatibility with Epic’s systems.

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Bayada, HomeWell Leaders Share Strategies For Recognizing And Retaining Office Staff

Home Health Care

Office staff have the highest client satisfaction scores among home health care provider employees. They also have the lowest administrative salaries. These salaries can impact job satisfaction and cause employees to seek employment elsewhere, according to the 2024 Activated Insights Benchmarking Report. Some organizations are turning to recognition to combat this trend.

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Medicare Advantage bonuses poised to drop this year for first time since 2015, KFF says

Health Care Dive

Still, plans are expected to rake in $11.8 billion in bonuses, with half of that tranche going to just two insurers: UnitedHealthcare and Humana.

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Gridlock over schedule II telehealth prescribing could impede extension of pandemic-era flexibilities

Fierce Healthcare

Over 300 organizations sent letters to the White House and Congress on Tuesday asking them to extend telehealth controlled substance prescribing rules for an additional two years. | Stakeholders that support the prescription of all controlled substances via telehealth are fighting an uphill battle to get the pandemic-era prescribing flexibilities extended.

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Enhance Healthcare Efficiency With Top Payroll & HCM Services

Running a healthcare facility requires precision and care, not just for patients but also for your staff. Our guide, "A Buyer’s Guide to Payroll & HCM Services," helps healthcare providers choose the best provider. Efficient payroll management ensures timely, accurate payments, critical for maintaining staff morale and trust. Compliance support helps navigate complex healthcare regulations and avoid costly fines.

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AI Shows Promise in Early Lung Cancer Detection via Chest X-rays

HIT Consultant

What You Should Know: – A new study presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer offers exciting possibilities for early lung cancer detection. – Researchers at Phrapokklao Hospital’s Cancer Centre of Excellence in Bangkok, Thailand, used an AI-powered chest X-ray interpretation tool (qXR from Qure.a i) and found promising initial results.

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‘Only The Beginning’: Signify Health Dives Into Condition-Focused Home Visits

Home Health Care

Signify Health has launched condition focused visits, a new service that provides screening and preventive care tailored around various complex chronic conditions. These services are delivered in the home. “Condition focused visits are really giving the member, and the provider who is with them in their home, more dedicated time to do some customized care planning and education about that particular condition,” Dr.

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CMS says data breach at contractor could affect more than 946K Medicare beneficiaries

Health Care Dive

The incident was related to a vulnerability in the MOVEit file transfer software, which was linked to data breaches at thousands of organizations last year.

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