AI Is Only as Good as the Workflow Behind It

Healthcare organizations are rapidly investing in ambient AI and clinical documentation technologies to reduce administrative burden and give nurses more time at the bedside. Early implementations have demonstrated meaningful reductions in documentation time. While AI can accelerate documentation, layering this technology onto outdated workflows risks perpetuating inefficiencies. The next phase of innovation...

CMS' mandatory VBC programs brought substantial administrative costs for hospitals: study

Participation in mandatory value-based payment programs is tied to higher annual administrative costs for hospitals, according to a comparative study published in JAMA Health Forum. The analysis reviewed Medicare cost report data for different types of hospitals that did and did not participate in three mandatory programs initiated by the Centers for Medicare and...

CMS locks in 2.3% inpatient hospital base pay increase, nudges back CJR-X Model start date

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday locked in a 2.3% increase for base inpatient hospital payments for fiscal year 2027 and slightly delayed the launch of the CJR-X Model, the first mandatory nationwide test of an episode-based payment model. The finalized increase to the base pay rate is below what the agency floated in the Inpatient Prospective...

CMS proposal to block third-party vendors will upend remote monitoring services, health tech leaders say

The Trump administration proposed major changes to Medicare payment policies that will block third-party vendors from remote patient monitoring. The changes, health tech leaders say, will significantly disrupt services that help patients manage conditions like diabetes and hypertension.  The policy change, tucked inside a hefty Medicare physician pay...

Federal Health Leaders Lay Out a Roadmap for AI Adoption Across Healthcare

Federal health leaders are signaling that artificial intelligence is entering a new phase in U.S. healthcare. The question is no longer whether AI belongs in clinical care, but how quickly it can be deployed safely, governed responsibly and integrated into everyday workflows. Federal agencies are aligning on a comprehensive AI strategy focused on innovation, infrastructure, and...

CMS Creates Office of Health Technology and Products

To speed technology modernization efforts, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has established an Office of Health Technology and Products (OHTP) to provide enterprise leadership and oversight for CMS healthcare technology and digital products.  A document published in the Federal Register said the new office will oversee the design, development, delivery, and operation of CMS digital...

EHR-Based Prediction Model Identifies Diabetes Risk

An electronic health record-based prediction model successfully identified patients who were at the highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes up to 10 years later. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente presented the findings at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) meeting in New Orleans. The retrospective cohort study included 3,365,464 adults aged 18–70 receiving care at Kaiser Permanente Northern...

Patients with treatment-resistant depression are costing Medicare big

A patient with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) costs Medicare 21%, or $8,000, more annually than a patient with depression that is controlled.  So finds a new report from Health Management Associates (HMA), a health policy consulting firm. The report aimed to quantify the direct economic impact of the condition, looking at Medicare claims data from 2022 and 2023 for its analysis.

States Looking to Project ECHO to Meet Rural Health Transformation Goals

As states prepare for the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), several are incorporating Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), a successful telementoring and capacity-building program that began in 2003 in New Mexico to connect primary care clinicians with multidisciplinary teams of specialists using videoconferencing to co-manage complex...

Why Clinician-Led AI Strategies Are Gaining Momentum in Healthcare

The loudest voices in the AI revolution belong to technologists and executives. But the people who may be best suited to lead AI are the ones least likely to be handed the reins: in healthcare, that’s practicing clinicians.  At Presbyterian Healthcare Services, the largest integrated health system in New Mexico, that unlikely choice wasn’t an afterthought, it was the strategy. That...